November 2023 News & Updates
TPZ Welcomes Fenway High School
This fall, The Possible Zone (TPZ) welcomed Fenway High School as our new day-programming school partner. A Boston public school, Fenway is devoted to providing an early college, personalized education to students from all over the city. Two days each week, two classes of students come to TPZ’s Innovation Center during school hours to take part in our Discover program. During Discover, students explore their entrepreneurial mindsets by learning about factors that build a strong entrepreneurial spirit and they talk with local entrepreneurs. The teens engage in hands-on projects, developing skills on STEAM tools such as Adobe Illustrator, laser cutters, sewing machines, and 3D printers. Students identify opportunities or problems in need of solutions and create ideas to address them.
Fenway HS Logo
“This is a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore a creative option outside the usual academic books and computers,” said Byron Winder, Fenway High School Educator. “This is more hands-on where the students can bring their creativity to fruition–and they get to see it themselves. That in and of itself is just as powerful as a traditional classroom setting.”
Pictured above, Simeon Lichtenstein, Northeastern University Co-op Intern and TPZ alum, helped Fenway students create cars using Little Bits. Welcome to TPZ, Fenway H.S.!
National Grid Awards TPZ $50k Grant
The Possible Zone (TPZ) enjoyed a recent visit from Deborah Drew, Lynne Papetti, and Rhian Kelly, representatives from the National Grid Foundation and UK home office. The TPZ team shared details about the way National Grid’s previous grant was used to provide STEAM experiential learning opportunities for students last summer. The team also detailed plans for expanding programming tied to clean energy.
Janet Hollingsworth, VP of STEAM & Innovation, and Jeff Branson, Senior Director for STEAM Education & Partnerships, led a tour of TPZ’s FabLab and demonstrated activities focused on clean energy, inspiring a fruitful discussion about future potential collaborations.
We are grateful for National Grid’s support as we integrate green energy learning into our programming. Thank you, National Grid for helping us inspire the next generation of STEAM innovators!
TPZ Staff Shine at National Conference
Jeremy Taylor, Chief Research & Evaluation Officer; Emma Korolik, Senior Manager of Curriculum; and David Selles, Senior Director of STEAM, Design, and Educational Technology, attended the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) SEL Exchange, a national conference held earlier this month. During the convening, Emma and David presented a poster on “Diving Deep into Artificial Intelligence (AI): Using STEAM to Foster SEL,” a popular presentation that included examples of student and educators’ work. The team shared insights into TPZ’s mission, Theory of Change, and the immersive Deep Dive into the world of autonomous robots and introduction to AI through reinforcement learning that TPZ offered to students in February.
CASEL has helped grow social and emotional learning from a promising theory to an essential part of education. More than 2,000 experts from around the world joined the TPZ team in attending the Atlanta, GA, conference.
TPZ Hosts 2023 Girls’ Entrepreneurship Summit
Teen girls (and some parents) from across Boston gathered for a day of engaging and fun learning experiences that highlighted and encouraged entrepreneurship, business pursuits, and skill-building opportunities during the second annual Girls’ Entrepreneurship Summit, held at The Possible Zone’s Innovation Center in Jackson Square on November 4, 2023.
The Possible Zone, the chica project, the Center for Women & Enterprise, and Love Your Magic organized the event to build off the 2022 successful Summit, with the purpose to inspire, empower, and inform girls, ages 14-18, of the resources available to develop confidence, an entrepreneurial mindset, and the drive to explore new opportunities.
This year’s dynamic speakers included: Victoria Downes, Business Consultant & Empowerer of Minority Entrepreneurs; Danielle Johnson, Founder & CEO of Spark FM; Akou Diabakhate, Founder of BoldSkinBabe; Joëlle Fontaine, Haïtian American fashion designer; and Sumeit Aggarwal, Co-Founder & Managing Partner of Finhive.
Giving Anyday!
Missed Giving Tuesday?
Any day is a great day to help
TPZ students realize their dreams!
Join the TPZ Team
TPZ is growing and looking for new staff to join our team! We are currently hiring for a number of key roles, including:
EDUCATOR ADVISOR
TALENT MANAGER
EXECUTIVE ASSISTAN
Volunteer With TPZ
We are now getting ready to close out our fall semester and we need all hands on deck! Sign up for the opportunities below:
SHARK TANK INVESTMENT
GALLERY WALK
MOCK COLLEGE & CAREER FAIR
If you have any questions about volunteering with us, or want to connect us with someone who might be interested, please reply to this email or contact volunteers@possiblezone.org.