Sci.CORPS is Evolving!

By Thomas Small

Evolutions is not your average STEM afterschool program, it provides the student with necessary support and guidance throughout their whole high school journey. Sci.CORPS, being an extension of Evolutions provides you with a similar experience, but it also offers you the opportunity to develop communication skills, confidence, and adaptability in real world situations. EVO and Sci.CORPS, have never failed on achieving this goal, despite the world's current circumstances. In Sci.CORPS, we have completely evolved our work, preparing everyone for a post-quarantine work environment. A new Coordinator, named Anna Khairi, an EVO and Sci.CORPS alumna, joined the team. Communication between supervisors and employees, of all levels, is great. This communication and mutual respect is what allowed us to adjust to an online working environment.

Sci.CORPS has had a significant impact on the Yale Peabody Museum experience, on weekends, since 2012. We have been trained to interpret to every kind of visitor that enters the museum, no matter their age or if they even speak english. So obviously, adaptability is the name of the game. This isn't the easiest to achieve, especially with high school students, but our supervisors are able to mentor each one of us, which makes us confident not only in the content we must interpret, but in ourselves. Though we are in trying times, supervisors are still managing to be mentors. By mentoring, they develop unique relationships with each one of us, making it easier for them to understand our needs as employees. Now, an average shift contains about 5-10 people working on projects we were given based on our interest. Many jobs makes you work on things you have no emotions toward, which ultimately shows in the final product. Most of these project ideas were also proposed by the employees. All of Sci.CORPS has a say in the direction we will be heading. The higher Sci.CORPS staff is always there to support and guide us to do the best we can, no matter the situation. Since we were given the proper tools to be independent thinkers on our first day on the job, everyone is adaptable. Not just supervisors and coordinators, everyone. Without our adaptability and communication at every level, Sci.CORPS would have never succeeded.

In most educational programs, Coordinators do not change, but not in Sci.CORPS. The Coordinator position is a year long position. This is to introduce new ideas, which improves the entire program. We may have only one Coordinator at a time, but we have the knowledge and experiences of everyone who held the position in times prior. The position being held on a one year cycle, also encourages the rest of the staff to adjust to different management styles. Our Director, Dr. Andrea Motto, is the hardest working boss anyone can have. Andrea always makes sure every single one of us is comfortable and that our voices are being heard. Working at a place like Yale, may be a bit intimidating at times, but Andrea taught us that our voices matter everywhere. Through Sci.CORPS and EVO, we are taught to persevere under all circumstances. The entire EVO and Sci.CORPS program is designed for us to do exactly that, evolve, in normal daily life and during unprecedented times like these.