Meet Mars, our March Youth Highlight!

Mars’ pronouns: Any

Meet our STEM Superstar, Mars!

While enrolled in the Migrant Education Oregon program at Hamlin Middle School, Mars learned about Connected Lane County’s BIPOC STEM program, Invention Club. Mars participated in 2021, and using limited materials, her team created a catapult to launch an item into a target. Mars’ group won first place that year at MESA Day!

After Invention Club, Mars learned about Invention Lab and was excited to have something to do to earn a little money over the summer! She most enjoyed marketing her inventions; her group made t-shirts and stickers to promote them. Mars enjoyed seeing other groups develop inventions and excelled in Invention Lab, which garnered her an invite to join the Agency.

Mars works at the Agency and enjoys working with people she knows and trusts. Some of her favorite Agency projects involve creating custom designs using the vinyl cutter and the heat press. Mars has learned to use the laser engraver to make name tags and other projects for the Agency. She said she loves the smell of the burnt wood after it comes out of the engraver!

Mars feels these experiences have impacted her future educational and career goals. Learning about different career opportunities and gaining hands-on experience has been eye-opening. Mars intends to attend a four-year university but is excited to explore more career options in a safe-to-fail environment at Connected Lane County before deciding!