Have you ever felt that you could not explore more into a STEM subject due to restraints of age? Or that being able to publish your own STEM research would be impossible? Well, there is a solution. The Scientific Teen, an international nonprofit STEM media organization created by a group of teens from around the world, has been nothing but welcoming to youth who share an interest in spreading their research about STEM across an international audience.

The Scientific Teen’s three Editors-in-Chief are Ryan Bose-Roy, a 2020 graduate from Hunter College High School (18), Tina Sindwani, a 2020 graduate from Mountain Ridge High School (17), and Amanda Zheng, a 2020 graduate from Union County Magnet High School (19). All three have been involved with the organization since its inception in June 2018. Bose-Roy brought about the initial idea.

“It is very hard for teenagers to get published or even write about science, which to me is very strange because at the end of the day, in ten years, twenty years, these same people are probably going to be the ones making big science discoveries,” says Bose-Roy.

According to both Sindwani and Zheng, the goals of the organization include: having a platform to bring more access to education in STEM as well as promoting STEM communication. The organization was created so that teenagers could have an interactive way to get involved in the world of STEM.

“Our long-term goals are to definitely bring more access to STEM education, promote STEM communication, and bring more awareness about future careers in STEM,” says Sindwani.

Originally a website with STEM articles, The Scientific Teen has now expanded to many different forms of media, including a podcast and a YouTube series.

“We started off just by putting up STEM articles. Now we are going to a video series and podcasts, and we are currently also doing interviews, and they are very fun. We’ve had a couple of live sessions and a hackathon, very cool stuff to extend our types of media,” says Bose-Roy.

Not only is TST a great network of discovering aspects of the STEM world, but it also is a welcoming family. It was clearly evident that this organization treats every member with respect, not to mention diversity within the Scientific Teen has only been encouraged. The Scientific Teen currently has about 80 members across the world from more than 20 countries, and they have applications always open for more teens who want to join.

“I think it is a good way to find people that we normally would not collaborate with, since they live all over the world, and we did get really close working on this project,” said Zheng.

Teens who are interested in this initiative are encouraged by the TST student board to register on their website: thescientificteen.org. The Scientific Teen currently has applications open for all of their teams, including, but not limited to, writing/editing, web development, outreach, recruitment, and design. TST also offers a unique opportunity called TST Ambassadors, and you do not have to be a teen to apply for this position. All sign up links can be found at the end of this article.

“The TST Ambassadors program is for anyone interested in promoting STEM education to support us on social media by making one post per month about TST or any STEM topic and tagging us,” said Sindwani.

As the organization expands, so does the cost of maintenance plus funds needed to bring new ideas and opportunities to life. The Editors-in-Chief also mentioned that they are waiting to hear back from the state of New York on their nonprofit integration process. TST has, therefore, set up a GoFundMe page to provide funds for all of their endeavors.

“We are doing a fundraiser for TST as well in order to get a grant for our maintenance cost, which includes our website and the print edition that we are planning to launch soon. We are looking into distributing hard copies of our magazines to schools and other educational institutions,” said Sindwani. 

TST, being the welcoming community it is, has sparked the interests of young minds as they continue to spread it across the world. What originally started as a thought or a dream is now being brought to life. As the saying goes “you are never too young to dream,” setting up goals will essentially help one reach their final destination. So if you have an interest in STEM education, the people at TST will encourage and support you through your journey in STEM!

Links related to The Scientific Teen:

TST Email: [email protected]

The Scientific Teen Website: thescientificteen.org 

TST Teams Sign-up Google Form: https://forms.gle/Qdo29aGhKHpXZLpm7

TST Ambassadors Sign-Up Google Form: https://forms.gle/K8xLZUt8dwZCpTs9A

GoFundMe Link: gf.me/u/zc9bw7