Bella is a senior who is passionate about community service and continuous professional growth. As an active member of the Boy Scouts of America and the mySTEM program, she exemplifies leadership and a strong commitment to civic engagement. Beyond her dedication to service, Bella is a well-rounded athlete who enjoys participating in a variety of sports. Her interdisciplinary interests and unwavering drive highlight her as an amazing and influential scholar.
Q1: Describe your action plan in detail. How did you choose this particular topic in your
project?
Originally, I came up with my Action Plan as the Eagle Project Plan, and when I was looking into projects to do for my Eagle rank, I wanted to do something that I enjoyed and liked. I found the idea of making a little free library, and I thought that was a cool idea!
When I joined mySTEM, I already had the idea slightly developed. Through the STEM Center’s resources, I found a plan on how to build a little library from wood material, which was incredibly helpful. I got to use that model and the supply list that I had created. I’ve had some experience before with building through Habitat for Humanity, so I had all the skills. I used tools from the Innovation Hub to do some of the building, along with tools from my grandma and grandpa’s house. Once all the wood was cut, I assembled and painted the libraries in the Hub. I made one library that was permanent, it was fixed to a post that was cemented in the ground. The other one had a box at the bottom that you fill with cinder blocks so that you can move it around when you need to.
The post was put in at some church sites and filled with books and food for people to grab. I had pretty quick deadlines since you have to get your Eagle before you turn 18. It took like two or three months. It was a pretty quick turnaround. Super cool.
Q2: In what ways has your mentor contributed to the development and successful completion
of your plan? What are some ways that you feel like mentors and other scholars were able to
help you succeed?
My mySTEM mentor is named Angel, and I had a scouting mentor for Eagle named Doug. He helped with more of the scouting aspect, but having both mentors was very helpful. Angel is a parent in scouting, and her son is also working on his Eagle. She had an idea of what requirements needed to mix so I could meet my Action Plan and the Eagle requirement. Angel and her kids came in and helped me build a lot of it, which was really nice. She was really, really involved in the plan. She would check in when we were at Scouts and also at the mySTEM meetings. She helped me do a lot of the process in terms of building and stuff, which I’m very grateful for.
Q3: What are your aspirations for the future of your project and what measurable impact have
you already observed as a result of your efforts?
One of the sites where I put a library in is a church where the scout troops meet, and then the other one’s the Rock Church, which is about five minutes from there. The hope is just that people who need food or books — those who can’t necessarily afford it — have access to it. We wanted to put cans or non-perishable foods in there as well. Food is not something that you can return like a book would be. Therefore, we started a little donation program at the churches so that they could have a supply of food coming in.
I’ve been checking up on the libraries, and there’s been some new stuff in there. I’ve definitely seen some new books and food — it’s definitely cycling through. I hope it’ll get some more momentum once people figure out that it’s there. But for now, it’s been a pretty good start.
Q4: Do you believe that your participation in the mySTEM program has facilitated the
growth of your STEM identity?
Like I mentioned before, I worked with Habitat for Humanity, and that really made me want to do more stuff with building because I got to use a lot of new tools there. Therefore, this experience was a good way for me to apply those concepts on my own.
This process has shown me what a great resource the STEM Center is, so I can work on further projects in the future. It’s just a really cool way to foster new ideas and build experience.
