When Del Norte High junior Saanvi Dogra competed at an international science and engineering fair in Dallas three years ago, she said the experience made her realize just how fortunate she is.
It also showed her the inequities students such as herself but living around the world have when it comes to learning more about science.
“I saw people from different countries, like China, India and Korea,” she said. “Each was a finalist with an inspiring story. I also saw their research constraints and lack of access to education. Some could not overcome barriers. Others did not have the resources to access (information).”
After talking with her family, she decided to open an organization with her sister, Arushi Dogra, who graduated from Del Norte High in 2020 and is slated to graduate this year with both a bachelor’s degree and master’s of public health from Yale University.
The result was the nonprofit organization Science Nexus, which is dedicated to youth empowerment by making science more inclusive, collaborative and accessible to everyone, Saanvi Dogra said.
“By hosting workshops and partnering with schools around the world, today we’ve grown to 18 chapters in 12 different countries,” she said.
According to the organization’s website, it has more than 25 partners and ers (such as the Fleet Science Center, Qualcomm, Bristol Myers Squibb and the University of California San Diego) and over 300 volunteers. The group has seen more than 4,000 hours of engagement and more than 20,000 students have benefited since its inception.
For her efforts, Dogra was honored by the National Youth Leadership Council with a Service Learning Excellence Award and $1,000 grant to continue her work. She also received a fully-paid trip to Minneapolis so she could speak on a about the power of leadership in shaping civic engagement, youth empowerment and community impact at the council’s annual conference from March 27-29. Dogra also spoke on the council’s Powered by Young People podcast.
“I’ve mainly learned the importance of being in other people’s shoes, the situational environment they live in,” she said. “I’ve learned that each community has specific needs.”
Science Nexus is not just helping students abroad. Locally, the organization hosts free workshops in venues such as libraries.
For example, on April 17 it held a Family Science Day in the Rancho Bernardo Library. Ten , many of whom attend Del Norte High, staffed stations so more than 80 children and teens could experience hands-on learning about topics such as robotics, coding, purifying water with plants, cybersecurity and extracting DNA from strawberries.
Science Nexus also works with teachers to bring such projects into the classroom and to help the teen leaders develop additional offerings for grades K-12, Dogra said.
“Most of our collaborators do not have funding … so we connect them with funding and locally-available materials or hold fundraisers,” she said. “We will give them books and have collected computers and books that we could ship to chapters that require resources. We also apply for grants.”
Dogra said she is focused on the workshops while her sister helps with outreach and connecting chapters with other organizations.
Through personal connections — like cousins living in India — and randomly ing schools in other countries that they find online that appear to be a good fit, Dogra said a global network of volunteers has been established. The Science Nexus team now includes advisers and chapter leads in the Philippines, Ghana, Pakistan, Latin America, India, Nigeria, Chile, Bangladesh and Nepal. In the United States, there are groups in Georgia, Illinois, Texas and California.
While many speak English, some do not, so they use a Google translator in order to communicate, Dogra said.
“For example, in Chile they use Google to translate. There are a lot of cultural barriers, but we use new technology to overcome them,” she said.
Dogra, the 17-year-old daughter of 4S Ranch residents Bhavna and Prashant Dogra, said she has been interested in science since elementary school.
“It was interesting to me to see how the change in one thing can lead to other things,” she said.
Dogra wants to continue her leadership in Science Nexus once she goes away to college, she said. While participating in workshops herself will be less likely, due to a strong group of volunteers she can take on more of a coordinator position.
“We already have chapter leads hosting events in different places, so I think I can stay involved (during) college,” she said. “When my sister started she was already in college.”
In addition to Science Nexus, Dogra said she is involved in a number of activities at Del Norte High. They include the speech and debate team, HOSA – Future Health Professionals (formerly known as Health Occupations Students of America), iGEM (International Genetically Engineered Machine) and the literary journal The Featherlist.
To learn more about Science Nexus and to get involved, visit ScienceNexus.org.
Corrected spelling of Bhavna Dogra
