Break the cycle of poverty through education

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EAH Low Income Housing

Game Design Camp

  • April 2022

The Details

Program Goal

SSF is dedicated to increasing access to STEM education for all. The goal of our Game Design Camp is to introduce students to game design and programming basics in a fun and hands on way.

Participant Break Down

14 students between 2nd – 6th grade from 5 different EAH Housing Locations in California

Our Peer Coaches

Brett Renaud was the instructor for our April 2022 Game Design Camp. Brett was introduced to coding in the 11th grade. He enjoys working with SSF because he likes helping others understand coding as well. On is free time he plays video games and solve many kinds of Rubik’s cubes!

Anaya Jain was the Assistant Instructor for our April 2022 Game Design Camp. Anaya started coding in 6th Grade and has learned Java, Python, HTML, C, JavaScript and CSS. Coding is one of her favorite activities to do because she loves looking at problems and finding different ways to solve them!

Camp Overview

DAY 1

Students had introductions and learned about video game structure

DAY 2

Students continued learning about game structure and went over how to set up the graphics of a video game

DAY 3

Students learned how to program, code, and how to set up game function

DAY 4

Students finished up the programming and fine tuning of their their game

DAY 5

Showcase/Demo Day! Students explained and presented their finished video game !

Students in Action

Game Design Students - Final Projects

Abraham
Alim*
Dilshaan*
Emily
Jade
Jaycee
Jayden
Jeremie
Jordyn
Lauriel
Ricky
Salamasina
Savali
Soliana

Outcomes

Students worked together to create a video game from start to finish

Students discussed and presented their game design project to SSF and EAH reps and competed for first place

More than $400 distributed to participants in rewards and incentives

Students leave camp with a finished game design and basic programming knowledge – a good introduction to programming!

certificate_31

Certificates and winners declared and full class graduation

Students reported a significant increase in their understanding of and their comfort with game design and development after the camp

Survey Results

  • 70% of participants reported their understanding of game design and programming increased significantly by participating in this camp
  • 100% of students reported that they would recommend this camp to their friends
  • Coach feedback was 100% positive with great suggestions for future programs
  • 100% of students reported to have enjoyed the camp elements

Feedback

"Anaya was very helpful and encouraged me with my game, the pace was good and she made it really easy to get caught up when I was behind."
Jade
Participant
"I had a wonderful experience with my instructors. They were helpful and answered all my questions, and they created breakout rooms to help me when my game wasn’t working."
Jordyn
Participant
"I found the camp very fun. I was so happy I was able to create a video game."
Jordyn
Participant
“I loved assisting with this camp! Seeing the accomplishment in their faces really made me happy to bring that kind of emotion to students. I believe this camp was great because students were able to learn about coding in a fun way and feel excited about doing it!”
Anaya
Assistant Peer Mentor
"Instructor Anaya and Brett were fun and helped me with coding. In this camp, I learned how to code and get out of my comfort zone."
Muhammad
Participant

Thank You Organizers!

Amanda Clapper, Brett Renaud, Anaya Jain, Mahima Natarajan, Melissa Hurtado, Latha Nara

Kristin Taylor, Jesus Becerra, Connie Chan, Edward Gama, Michelle Parker, Jessica Soria, Trisha Garcia, Casey Ortal, Kelsey Holway, Analie Diaz

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Board Member

Jayashree Sundaresan

Jayashree Sundaresan is a Senior Technology leader with 24+ years of experience. A servant leader at heart, she strongly believes in creating positive impact to transform people beyond who they think they are and what they think they can achieve. Jayashree is very passionate about empowering women, guiding children, giving back to society and focusing on wellness as a priority. She is also a die-hard sports enthusiast and a singer. She thoroughly enjoys coaching & mentoring people to share and learn. Jayashree holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and an MBA from Santa Clara University, USA.

“I am thrilled to join the Board of Directors at SSF and impact lives by helping with the education of underprivileged, deserving, bright, and passionate students. The vision and mission of SSF aims to pull families out of generational poverty through the skill building, mentoring, training and sponsorship of scholars. This energises me and resonates with my values and beliefs to lead change in communities through working with children, educating them and helping them gain confidence, perspective and a lifelong desire to be a force of positive impact.”

Board Member

Abhilash Verma

Abhilash joins us as a successful technology executive with vast experience working in and leading global teams with strong US-India collaboration. He is currently the Chief Product Officer at Citrix, a $3B+ revenue workspace technology company https://www.citrix.com/, which is known for virtualization, networking and security solutions. Abhilash has had a highly successful 20-year career with Citrix, starting in product engineering roles, moving up into Product Management roles for the NetScaler business, and now an Executive Officer for all products at Citrix and NetScaler.
 
Abhilash has always been based in India, where Citrix has over 2000 employees, but has been a driving force for the global collaboration across their organization. He extensively travels to the USA for customer and Citrix corporate meetings (HQ in Ft Lauderdale FL and large office in Santa Clara CA) and globally for large customers. Abhilash has his MBA in IT System and Software from Symbiosis Center for Information Technology in Pune, India.
 
Abhilash and his wife live in Karnataka, India, near Bengaluru and south of Mumbai and Hyderabad. They have 2 boys, which dominate their time together. He also enjoys reading books and fitness while traveling for business. Abhilash was a former business partner during my time at Neustar Security/Vercara, which is how we know each other since 2020 and stayed connected with the new interests related to SSF.
 
His quote to be used for the website and social promotions is telling: “I grew up in a military family and culture where country and community were top of the priority order. My parents ran a school (post-retirement) where they never turned away any student for lack of money. I am excited to be part of SSF family where I can help continue the tradition of helping deserving students”.
Youth Leaders

Khavya Balamurugan

I joined SSF because I wanted to make a positive impact in the community around me and outside. During my first STEM camp here in SSF, I found it was an amazing experience working with children in all ages. And I was excited to keep helping children learn and grow.

Impact:

I’m interested in the Healthcare field. I also enjoy baking/cooking in my free time

 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals in SSF this year is to continue to work hard, interact with new people and participate more in camps 

Youth Leaders

Nivetha Subramanian

I joined SSF because I am extremely passionate about teaching others and sharing what I know.  I especially love to teach and share with others who may not have the same opportunities as me. SSF offers a great platform to share, teach and learn.

Impact:

  • Speech and Debate
  • Dance
  • Environmental science 
  • Writing

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Host an sustainability camp to share my passion for protecting the environment and how we can make an impact in the world
  • Host a girls stem camp
  • Help with marketing for different camps
  • Support other camps
Youth Leaders

Anish Manda

I joined SSF because I was really interested in teaching kids about STEM helping underprivileged students in third world countries.

Impact/Interests:

During the past few years, I have done numerous camps. During my first two years on SSF, I taught numerous web design camps, and I also helped run a couple entrepreneurship camps. This year, I helped with multiple hackathons. I helped with school research and calling, as well as helping participants on the hackathon discord server. I also helped host a tech immersion camp.

 
Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to continue making a positive impact in the lives of students all over the world through education. Being a part of SSF has not only helped me make an impact in the lives of students, but also made an impact in my life. I have had a lot of positive experience through SSF and it has helped me gain a lot of leadership experience, and also helped me become a better person overall.

Youth Leaders

Keerti Koya

I joined SSF in hopes of teaching others the things I enjoy and am passionate about, and for that to go on and potentially create an impact on my mentees’ lives. In addition, SSF’s goals to allow greater access to education align with my own ambitions.

Impact/Interests:

I previously volunteered at the SSF and eSTEM collaboration camp and helped run a Tech Immersion Program focused on entrepreneurship. I also volunteered at the SSF and Amgen collaboration camp and peer-mentored 30+ students to help them learn ideation, product design, finance, marketing, and web development concepts.

 
Goals for the 2022-23 year

During the 2023-2024 year, I helped throughout the initial organization of the App Development, Web Development, and Entrepreneurship camps. I helped run a Tech Immersion camp throughout its entire process from initial publicity research to mentoring the students.

Youth Leaders

Rajan Sambandam

I joined SSF to learn more about entrepreneurship. When I organized a camp last summer I had so much fun with all of the participants and I learned so much from all of the speakers, and I would like to continue to organize events for the Shooting Stars Foundation.

Impact/Interests:

I have run a one week entrepreneurship camp and the Tampa Amgen office. I would like to continue to organize events. Some of my interests are debate and piano. 

 
Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal is to explore leadership opportunities with SSF and host events that enable high schoolers to have meaningful connections with industry leaders.

Youth Leaders

Krishna Gangaraju

Why I joined the SSF: I have always wanted to teach in some capacity, and SSF provides a great place for me to do that! On top of that, the foundation helps people where it is desperately needed — I simply couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

Impact/Interests:

  • AI
  • Astrophysics
  • Economics
  • Music
  • Volunteering
  • DECA, MUN, NHS

 
Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Lead as many camps as I can
  • Make new friends through SSF
  • Get more kids interested in AI
Youth Leaders

Gowtham Kantamneni

I joined SSF because I want to give back to my community. 

Impact/Intrests:

  • Tennis
  • Math
  • Robotics
  • Writing
  • Science
  • History

 
Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals for this year are to host a python camp. I also want to host an Biology camp. 

Youth Leaders

Krish Chaudhary

Having a community of like-minded individuals who are striving to break the cycle of generational poverty through STEM education was something that drew me to SSF. By joining Shooting Stars, I would have the opportunity to contribute to this important work and support the next generation of leaders and innovators.

Impact/Intrests:

In 2021, as part of the TX team, we led a 2-week virtual Entrepreneurship Camp that generated $1450 (Mar 2021), and a 4-week Nebula Entrepreneurship eXperience (NEX) Camp that raised $5000 (Jun 2021). On the side, I play viola in the Reedy HS Varsity Orchestra, and enjoy playing tabla for Dallas Tari Tabla School of Music.  


Goals for the 2022-23 year

Some goals I have in mind include expanding the in-person hackathons and entrepreneurship camps around the Dallas, TX area with more mentors and company representatives. 

Youth Leaders

Anwitha Muddireddy

I joined SSF because I wanted to expose myself to new opportunities. SSF is a great a way for me to make a positive impact on our community. 

Impact:

This is my first year being apart of the SFF program. So I haven’t made any impacts yet. Some of my interests included volleyball and painting.


Goals for the 2022-23 year

This year I would also like to help host SSF events like hackathons and camps. I also want to meet other experienced people in the program. 

Youth Leaders

Sriya Burra

I joined SSF to make an impact on students interested in science and other subjects and encourage them to deepen their knowledge, while improving my tutoring skills. SSF’s mission to support underrepresented groups in education greatly resonated with me, and I wanted to help their cause

Impact:

  • Original Oratory
  • Tiny Scientist
  • Speech and Debate
  • Creative Writing


Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal for this year is to volunteer in a greater range of camps, support other officers, fundraise for more camps, and help underprivileged students.

Youth Leaders

Shreya Pujari

I joined SSF because of my own personal love for CS and just learning as a whole. SSF’s goal of providing access of education was one I could resonate with and one I hope to contribute to by teaching other students who may not have access to the same resources.

Impact:

I mainly focus on CS personally, however my interests encompasses everything from mathematics, biology and chemistry to my more personal creative side of writing and art! 


Goals for the 2022-23 year

Support and volunteer in as many programs as I’m able this year and hopefully reach out more to underprivileged students.

Youth Leaders

Anush Ilavarasan

I joined SSF because I wanted the opportunity to run summer camps for children in my community. Being a mentor for a few summer camps during the two years of COVID has really helped with my public speaking skills, as well as giving me a sense of self-accomplishment.

Impact:

  • Swimming
  • Volunteering
  • Eating new foods
  • Learning to code
  • Hiking with friends/family
  • Watching shows


Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to run a summer camp again, possibly relating to art/design or coding. Doing this will help generate money for more underprivileged college students in several countries. Significantly helping at least 1 student is my goal.

Youth Leaders

Nirvan Daram

I joined SSF because I’m passionate about STEM and teaching/spreading my knowledge about it. I also wanted to get better at working with others and learn new skills.

Impact:

  • Robotics
  • Coding
  • Tennis
  • Working with Technology
  • Spreading my Knowledge

    Goals for the 2022-23 year
  • Host a coding related camp (Web Design, Python, Java)
  • Learn more about how to effectively and teach others.
Youth Leaders

Eashan Daram

I joined SSF because I wanted to make a impact and join SSF mission to raise money for education. By joining this mission, I also get opportunities to teach others about STEM, which is something I enjoy doing

Impact:

  • Some of my interests are coding, robotics, and tennis. Some of my impacts include help running the Web Design and entrepreneurship camps

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal for this year is to host some web design camps as well as some other coding related camp. I would also like to host a hackathon as well

Youth Leaders

Shragvi Sunil

I joined SSF after attending an entrepreneurship camp. I really enjoyed the camp and it made me want to make a similar impact. Additionally, I really love the overall mission that SSF supports and enjoy making a positive impact on the community.

Impact:

So far I have helped lead an entrepreneurship camp, have done 1:1 tutoring, and have taught the spring tiny scientists and DECA camps. My interests are in computer science and business.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals for the 2022-23 year are to continue to help lead camps and make a larger impact. 

Youth Leaders

Deeksha Hanumanula

I loved that the foundation’s main goal was to promote education and provide opportunities for deserving scholars around the world. It gave me an opportunity to make a positive impact on the world, while also exploring my passion in STEM and inspiring other kids to learn and grow in the field.

Impact:

I have taught Speech and Debate and Tiny Scientists, and helped develop curriculum for these camps. I tutored during Winter camps and helped run Summer Camps over the years. I am greatly interested in science, debate, speech, and dance.  

Goals for the 2022-23 year

For the 2023-2023 year, I hope to continue teaching during the summer and winter camps. I also hope to introduce new curriculum for exciting new camps that students can look forward to!

Youth Leaders

Megha Horantur

I joined SSF to work towards a cause to bring equality and inclusiveness among kids while helping kids in underprivileged communities.

Having everything perfectly laid out for me, it was important for me to understand the broader picture of the situation out in the world. I got this opportunity while running a Product Management camp in Oakland, CA. It was a very fulfilling experience and I’d like to do more like that.

Impact:

  • Painting / Created a not-for-profit website to sell my artwork for St. Jude’s cause.
  • Tennis / Playing for the school varsity team 
  • Engineering principles / I like to study business and engineering with the goal to become an entrepreneur
  • Attended the Stanford Women in Business camp in 2022
  • Helped lead a business and entrepreneurship camp in Oakland as part of SSF

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal for 2022-23 is to help lead as many camps as I can as a member of the SSF community. Also, I would like to grow my knowledge in coding, business, and marketing to further my art website.

Youth Leaders

Atul Thirumalai

I joined SSF because I knew it was an opportunity to help the world. In my eyes everyone deserves a fair chance, and I want to be apart of the organization that helps to improve the world. I hope to be able to continue helping kids in third world countries and just be apart of this amazing change

Impact:

  • Interested in the medical field
  • Playing Chess
  • Tennis, Basketball
  • Mridangam
  • Science
  • Help run the Summer Camps, and organize it

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Continue the Summer Camps
  • Bring in more coaches and more camps
  • Raise more money
  • Be able to continue sponsoring more kids
  • Give my assistance wherever it is needed
Youth Leaders

Hrisha Khare

I joined SSF because I wanted to make an impact in our society and help people in need. I have always been passionate about meeting new people so we can all help each other learn and grow. SSF gives us the chance to do this while also giving us the opportunity to share our skills for the betterment of those around us.

Impact:

  • Dance 
  • Debate 
  • Law 
  • Business
  • Reading

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal for this year is to interact fellow SSF members, create a camp in an area of my interests to help share my passions, and host an entrepreneurship camp. 

Youth Leaders

Rohan Balla

I joined SSF because I was fascinated by its efforts and impact. I felt that I resonated with its mission and I am proud that I got to be part of this organization. One of my passions is community service and I am thankful to SSF for providing me with this opportunity to work with amazing individuals and impact many students lives. 

Impact:

  • Community Service/volunteering
  • Psychology
  • Sports
  • Health enthusiast
  • Nature

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to work on and lead more camps, specifically the Congressional App Challenge(CAC). I want to work with many other officers, get to make new friends, and can’t wait to impact many underprivileged girls lives for the better. 

Youth Leaders

Mansha Gupta

I joined SSF because I have always been passionate about helping others. From helping my mom cook in the kitchen to tutoring young children, helping others reach their aspirations has always been a source of joy. When I first came across SSF through my older brother Ansh, I fell in love with the nonprofit’s mission. Being a part of SSF this last year has provided me with opportunities I would never have encountered otherwise. I’ve made friends with many like-minded individuals and learnt countless new skills that have helped me grow personally.
Impact:

In 2023, I have helped SSF in various fields, including the AMGEN Bioinformatics Camp, Girl Tech Immersion Program, photoshopping, and more! As a participant in few of their camps this summer, SSF has helped me grow as a young member of the STEM community. In my free time, I enjoy reading (anything dystopian), listening to music, running, and cooking for my family and friends.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Participate in more SSF camps
  • Use effective marketing strategies to spread the word about SSF
  • Grasp a deeper understanding into the world of technology & entrepreneurship
    • Learn how to code, create, and showcase
  • Work towards hosting my own camp
  • Make new friends!
Youth Leaders

Akshita Kumar

I joined the Shooting Stars Foundation because of the experience I had at the Summer STEM Entrepreneurship Program at AMGEN. It equipped me with skills in pitching and eventually create my own product, a musical AI, utilizing the knowledge gained. It became evident that my future lay in the world of entrepreneurship, and SSF offered the perfect platform to not only pursue my dreams but also inspire others to follow their passions.

Impact:

I ran the 2023 Summer STEM Entrepreneurship Program at AMGEN, where I managed curriculum development, communications, web design, and data collection. I’m also the Asian school representative and have pitched to Kevin Harrington before. I love to sing, dance, play instruments, and be with my friends.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Lead STEM-focused camps and workshops
  • Inspire underrepresented students to pursue STEM
  • Provide mentorship in entrepreneurship and pitching
  • Build connections and make friends!
Youth Leaders

Aditya Nagapudi

I found out about SSF through the all-girls hackathon that I participated in several years ago. I resonated with the organization’s passion for bringing education to all students and wanted to contribute in any way I could. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to continue to create camps and lead hackathons where I can make an impact. I enjoy serving with friends and peer mentors, and I have made so many wonderful connections with the SSF community.
Impact:

I previously volunteered at the SSF Finance Camp and helped more than 30 students create a data science project with their personal finance skills. I also have done marketing for the Dallas Hackathon, where I will be volunteering to help students with learning and competing with their coding knowledge. In my free time, I love writing poetry and learning new languages.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to continue to serve as a peer mentor and lead many more camps in the fields of entrepreneurship, technology, and biomedicine. I want to spread the organization’s reach all across the world and continue to bring education to those in need.

Youth Leaders

Aditya Nagapudi

Impact:

volunteering to help disabled kids play sports

Tutoring a variety of kids in mathematics

Doing an unpaid internship for a startup to help the environment

Interest:

 Basketball, Business, and helping the environment 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

Help many kids in need by offering them free classes to learn whatever they want. Starting my own business before the end of the year. 

Youth Leaders

Krishna Senthilkumar

I am passionate about providing opportunities for education, innovation and scholarship to those who are unable to access the resources necessary for these pursuits.  SSF provided me a pathway to reach these students and accomplish my long standing goal.

Impact:

Amgen Bioinformatics camp

Marketing for various camps

Allen Hackathon

Interest:

Expanding the range of STEM academic camps offered.

GEt more students interested in the STEM field.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

Help increase and improve the reach of Amgen bioinformatics camp and improve camp materials and resources.

Expand hackathons and explore different types of programming competitions.

Help with the tech immersion camp and work towards getting more students into stem field.

 

Youth Leaders

Nick Sriram

I am passionate about making the world a better place. I really enjoy helping people out, especially little kids and I am so happy that SSF has given me this opportunity to show this on a grand scale. 

Impacts:

  • We created letters combining many different aspects for people and created a small, but noticeable impact on people
  • Leaving impact like this always makes me happy
  • Some other things that make me happy are basketball and video games

 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Moving forward and completing more fun tasks
  • Help out in some camps or facilitate and create banners and information
  • Overall just help the foundation in any way needed
Youth Leaders

Smrithi Sriram

I am passionate about making a positive impact on others’ lives, and I strongly believe that everyone should strive for the best and pursue their dreams. Education plays a significant role, and every individual should have the opportunity to access it. Being involved with SSF allows me to contribute to this cause.

Impacts:

I helped students with limited financial resources pursuing their higher education aspirations at good colleges, which would have otherwise been an barrier for them. By helping them overcome these obstacles, I am motivated by the chance to clear the way for these students to achieve their goals. 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals for this year are to become a part of the creative contenting, and to cultivate leadership qualities.

Youth Leaders

Neha Parthasarathi


As an individual who is passionate about the importance of education for one, I strongly believe in helping my community through SSF. Education is a form of empowerment. I truly support the mission of giving opportunities to individuals of all demographics, essentially uplifting all. 

Impacts:

  • Interviewed potential donors and scholars 
  • Conducting academic camps (including Speech & Debate and Bollywood)

Interests: 

  • Helping more scholars & youth in my community through academic camps

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Facilitating more camps (possibly in person) in my local community 
    • Business, Life Skills, Debate
  • Possibly hosting a speech & debate tournament under SSF
Youth Leaders

Srinjana Chatterjee

SSF has played a huge part for my interest in STEM. It helped me understand how to start and have the initiative to develop any creations. I hope to give back to this community and have the same impact on others.

Impacts: 

  • Have led and mentored students my age with entrepreneurship 
  • Am an active member in STEM education 
  • Have helped many kids start their passions

Interests: 

  • Helping more people pursue STEM

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Creating and implementing many more camps in SSF
  • Helping others start research and development for entrepreneurship 
  • Hosting possible camps near my home 
Youth Leaders

Jachin Thilak

I joined SSF because I believe in the importance of giving back to my community and helping others. Through SSF, I can use my skills in STEM to make a difference and develop my leadership abilities while doing something meaningful. Being part of a community of people who share this vision and are passionate about breaking the cycle of poverty through education is truly inspiring to me.

Impact

  • I peer mentored Tech Immersion session 3 and Finance Camp

Interests

  • Reading
  • Programming

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goal is to increase the enrollment and impact of SSF camps by implementing effective marketing strategies, delivering high-quality mentorship, and cultivating a culture of learning and growth.

Youth Leaders

Neha Sharan

I joined SSF because I was very fascinated by their camps.I loved what SSF did for the community.SSF benefits everyone and i’m very excited to be part of this group that gives back to the community.

Impact

  • SSF Chess Summer camp
  • Tech Immersion Camp
  • Allen Hackathon

Interests

  • Choir
  • Chess
  • Speech and Debate
  • Cross country/Track/Basketball

 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals this year is to continue my chess camps and help many underprivileged communities learn and improve in chess!

 

Another goal I have for this year is to expand my interests to other fields and conduct new camps.

Youth Leaders

Vishal Varma

I joined SSF because I think that helping others and giving back to the community is a human virtue. I think SSF gives me this opportunity and will allow me to develop leadership skills while working for a noble cause

Impact

  • Helped run chess camp
  • Ran sustainability camp
  • Ran Tech Immersion 1
  • Ran EAH Game Design (High Schoolers)

Interests 

  • Aerospace Engineering

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals are to increase the amount of people who come to the SSF camps and serve as a great mentor/leader for the camps and spark interest in others.

Youth Leaders

Ayush Malpani

I joined SSF because I want to be a part of giving back to my community and SSF is a perfect opportunity for me to do that. Through these camps I would like to contribute to the community through teaching and help everyone I can.

Impact

I Ran the EAH Game Design Camp and Helped run the sustainability camp.

I am interested in CS and I would like to delve deeper into the world of programming. I also love to read and play badminton.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

Some goals I have for this year are to help create new camps that go more in depth into programming languages.

Youth Leaders

Samaya Vaikkam

I joined the SSF to help provide access to education for all students while also having the ability to gain leadership experience of my own.

Impact

I am passionate about public speaking/debate and various forms of art which involve communication with and in front of an audience. In the future, I hope to have a career in business. This year (2022-2023 I spent hours collecting school research from past shooting stars students, which helps us measure our impact on our community. I also helped create numerous PowerPoints and flyers to help introduce our programs to new students and bring in more sponsors/ donors.

 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

In terms of my goals for the 2022-2023 year with respect to the SSF, I hope to share my knowledge and take advantage of my skill set while volunteering at as many camps as I can. 

Youth Leaders

Anaya Jain

Hi, my name is Anaya Jain and I am so excited to be part of Shooting Stars Foundation. I wanted to join this esteemed organization because I have a high interest in Stem and coding and I would love to put my skills to use and help others learn to love Stem as much as I do.

Impact

  • Stem
  • Hackathons
  • Coding
  • Web Design Camps
  • Collaborative Projects

Goals for the 2022-23 year

To influence youth in a positive way through educating them on the basics of STEM spurring their creativity and minds. Additionally, hoping to conduct a few camps targeting minority and low income groups that don’t have access to stem education. 

Youth Leaders

Mira Yengera

As someone who is passionate about educating, I fell in love with the mission of SSF. Uplifting communities and ending poverty cycles through education is a tangible impacts that I wanted to contribute to. I feel grateful to have access to a good education, and I am inspired to spread that privilege to those less fortunate. 

Impact

I co-coached creative writing students, and for this year I am excited to possibly introduce additional camps centered around biology, psychology, or environment. I enjoy mentoring students on computational biology research skills and crafting research abstracts. 

I love to help alleviate food insecurity in my community through serving as Outreach Ambassador at my local nonprofit. I also love to sing!

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I am grateful to have helped plan, develop the curriculum for, market, and serve as a peer mentor for the Amgen 2023 Bioinformatics Camp. I served as a behind-the scenes leader, reaching out to schools and the community to market our program, and communicating with parents and students during the camp.I also served as leader for the SSF Bioinformatics camp, coordinating meetings and camp curriculum. 

Youth Leaders

Lakhisha Balaji

I joined SSF this year after participating in multiple hackathons sponsored in this organization. I wanted to pursue my interests in STEM in a greater way by helping out other students who have similar interests yet are in a community with limited opportunities. 

Impact

  • I enjoy coding and am in my school’s robotics team
  • I like playing basketball and watching sports
  • American Red Cross volunteer
  • Volunteered in multiple STEM camps and a STEM museum

Goals for the 2022-23 year

During the 2022-2023, I helped out with coordinating the Allen Hackathon. I also was helping to run one of the Tech Immersion Camps for a short period of time. I helped a lot with marketing hackathons and advertising the different camps/

Youth Leaders

Amulya Kumar

My first experience before I became an officer was as a tutor for one of the Spring Camps for art and Tiny Scientists. Seeing how working with students to teach them about things they are passionate about especially those in low income areas to help them reach their dreams was a mission that stuck with me. 

Impact

In the past, I have tutored and led various virtual educational camps including arts and crafts, speech, tiny scientists, and more. This summer, I led camps such as the all girls tech immersion camp, scholar letters, and research. I am interested in going into computer science and my hobbies include reading, tennis, and dance

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals for the 2023- 2024 year are to continue to help organize these educational camps including hackathons, tech-related camps, and the other national programs that are occurring to help encourage more students in STEM. 

Youth Leaders

Roopashri Hariram


I chose to join SSF after attending one of their camps in Tampa. It was super engaging and encouraged me to learn beyond what I had known. Similarly, I also hope to make an impact in kids’ life and further improve their education in the STEM related field, just like SSF did for me.

Impact

I’ve been involved in running the 2023 Summer STEM Entrepreneurship Camp at Tampa Bay. My main focus was assisting students in refining their app development skills and helping them finalize their concepts and presentations. Additionally, I have contributed to the SSF website through web design. 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I look forward to help running this program through the many camps offered by volunteering. I’m also hoping to further expand knowbility of this camp so that it reaches more people that need access to these kinds of educational activities.

Youth Leaders

Roshan Balla

I was introduced to SSF first when I was a participant in the Congressional App Challenge. There, I was able to learn the process of developing a mobile application and submit this to a national competition. For this project I worked on, I got district recognition, which motivated me to enhance my skills in computer science. Moreover, I am very invested in the nonprofit world and am working with 4 organizations to address various issues, mainly education equity. As such, I decided to empower many more to have educational experiences like me through joining SSF. 

Impact

  • My main interests lie in doing community service, playing chess or board games, and spending time with family and friends.
  • Events associated with SSF: CAC closeout, chess camp, Canva Donor Cards, School Research, Tech Immersion, Annual Report, Digisigner, and Finance Planning Academy.  

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to continue the impact I’ve made through the camps/events I’ve partook in and help SSF take forward its mission further in the upcoming years. I hope to impact many more and empower them to explore the field of STEM and hopefully pursue a career in the field. 

 

Youth Leaders

Manas Rajkumar

I first became involved in SSF in the summer of 2022 due to Mahima Natarajan, who was involved in SSF for a long time. As someone who has led a very privileged life, I often think about those who do not share the same luxuries as me, and I feel very passionate about helping these people in any way I can. I love SSF’s mission and I am committed to contributing to it as much as possible.

Impact

  • Mentored/Led the Tech Immersion Camp twice. Also participated in the planning of the camp.
  • Conducted research/contacted schools for the 2023 Allen Tx Hackathon
  • Worked on the project concerning the overhaul of the SSF website
  • Worked on the SSF Annual Report
  • Future of Automation

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Continue involvement with Tech Immersion
  • Mentor/Lead an environmental-related camp
  • Continue to work towards an overhaul of SSF’s website and amplify youth officer marketing
  • Conduct further research for future hackathons
  • Work on several other projects

 

Youth Leaders

Aksanaa Sakthi

From a young age, I had the opportunity to see how SSF interacted with so many different communities through the various youth camps and scholar interviews I participated in. From then on, I knew that I wanted to join the effort in helping to provide underprivileged communities with the same learning opportunities I had. SSF truly realizes that an education is incredibly important, which is something that I highly resonate with, so joining the foundation has given me an outlet where I can share my knowledge to others who can benefit from it.

Impact

In the past couple of years with SSF, I have helped conduct scholar interviews, create donor cards, and mentor in the international tech immersion/business camp. This year, I have helped with the CAC training camp, future of automation, all girls tech immersion camp, and been part of the team that created the SSF x Amgen bioinformatics camp.

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My goals for the 2023-24 year include helping with the hackathons, tech immersion, and bioinformatics camps. I hope that this year we can also create more interdisciplinary camps. Overall, I hope to bring in more students to SSF and lead them to pursue a STEM related career.

 

Youth Leaders

Sanjana Gudipati

I joined SSF in my freshman year of high school after attending an NEX Entrepreneurship Incubator and wanting an opportunity to help out just like the officers who hosted my session. I wanted to be able to use my privilege to help make an impact on those who have fewer opportunities to succeed in their education.

Impact

  • Co-Hosted a 4- week NEX Entrepreneurship Incubator.
  • Have helped with various planning and integration efforts for SSF. 
  • I love playing soccer, debating in public forum, and learning more about health science fields.
  • Enjoy tutoring students on the spectrum, volunteering at hospitals, and being a Girl Scout!

Goals for the 2022-23 year

I hope to hopefully help run another entrepreneurship incubator, help organize an upcoming hackathon, and help SSF with overall organization-wide efforts and collaboration. I hope to help impact more underprivileged students. 

 

Youth Leaders

Kashvi Jain

I primarily joined Shooting Stars because I really supported and applauded their mission statement. I love SSFs’ vision to break the cycle of poverty by providing college students with a comprehensive education and I wanted to play a role in making this vision come true. 

Impact

My 3 year involvement with Shooting Stars has given me an opportunity to educate many students in the field of speech and debate, sustainability, and creative writing. By teaching students, I know that I am able to educate and give that many students the merit to education. 

Goals for the 2022-23 year

My main goal for 2023 is to get more connected and make a bigger difference in Shooting Stars to help sponsor many more kids and break the cycle of poverty. I want to share more of my knowledge through more camps that spread globally.  

 

Youth Leaders

Vishal Swamy

I joined SSF to bring wonderful career based camps to my community and support underprivileged children in third world countries. Both of these goals are very important to me, and through SSF I was able to accomplish them

Impact

  • Established the First SSF Sustainability Camp
  • Hosted a SSF All-Girls Tech Immersion Program 
  • Founded the SSF Chess Academy
  • Supported Tech Immersion Planning

Goals for the 2022-23 year

  • Host an Environmental based Camp
  • Host a Camp for the Minority community that helps them with their career 
  • Host 2-3 Chess Workshops
  • Support wherever I can at nationwide camps.
Youth Leaders

Sanjana Sudheer

It has been a transformational journey for me, where I personally grew from a student of SSF to a coach, thanks to SSF leaders and mentors. It has been a wonderful experience to see how SSF plays a key role with underprivileged and minority kids to pursue their dreams over the years.


Accomplishment
In the past couple of years, I have been an integral part of various camps to teach multiple subjects including Reading, Writing, Science, Speech & Debate. I tutor students in Math and Piano. I also train the coaches for Summer camps. For 2022-2023 I organized many different STEM panels as well as the Tech Immersion camp over the Summer.

Impact
I am looking forward to orchestrating and organizing more SSF events and partnering with other officers. I hope to continue to make a meaningful impact in everyday lives of students, officers, and I hope to continue to strengthen  the foundation of the SSF community. 

 

Board Member

Damaris Harris

Damaris joins us as a passionate supporter for underserved communities and the career opportunities created in our technology field. She is currently a Global Partner Sales Executive at Microsoft, where she has been for the past six years, supporting Workforce Development Partners in talent generation initiatives – not only in traditional tech roles but also enabling learning and placement opportunities within underserved communities. Prior to Microsoft she was in various sales executive and business development roles at Verizon Enterprise Solutions, American Express and ATT. Damaris has her BS from Pace University in Management Information Systems.

Board Member

Jayashree Sundaresan

Jayashree Sundaresan is a Senior Technology leader with 24+ years of experience. A servant leader at heart, she strongly believes in creating positive impact to transform people beyond who they think they are and what they think they can achieve. Jayashree is very passionate about empowering women, guiding children, giving back to society and focusing on wellness as a priority. She is also a die-hard sports enthusiast and a singer. She thoroughly enjoys coaching & mentoring people to share and learn. Jayashree holds a Bachelors degree in Electronics and Communication Engineering and an MBA from Santa Clara University, USA.

“I am thrilled to join the Board of Directors at SSF and impact lives by helping with the education of underprivileged, deserving, bright, and passionate students. The vision and mission of SSF aims to pull families out of generational poverty through the skill building, mentoring, training and sponsorship of scholars. This energises me and resonates with my values and beliefs to lead change in communities through working with children, educating them and helping them gain confidence, perspective and a lifelong desire to be a force of positive impact.”

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Advisor & Board Observer

Uma Meyyappan

SVP, Head of Digital Innovation, LPL Financial

“Uma is an Innovation Technology Executive with over 20 years of experience in the Financial services industry where she accelerates business value with the use of emerging technology.

Uma’s extensive research in financial technologies such as digital payments, biometrics, augmented reality, and Internet of Things (IoT) has resulted in over 35 issued US patents to her name.

Uma is a Founding LP in Neythri Futures Fund and Founding circle member in Neythri, an organization that promotes south asian women. Being a strong believer of child literacy and education Uma is delighted to assist Shooting Stars Foundation eradicate generational poverty through STEM education.”

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Board Member

Kevin Lee

Program Manager at NVIDIA

“Kevin has over 10 years experience in leadership roles in the Finance and Technology sectors. Prior to joining NVIDIA, Kevin taught at University of California, Berkeley and helped the school transition from in-person learning to online learning.

Kevin is passionate about learning, teaching, and fostering innovation from future generations. Having witnessed first-hand the positive impact education can have on his students’ career prospects, Kevin is excited to contribute to Shooting Stars Foundation and its mission to break the cycle of poverty through STEM education. “

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Advisor & Board Observer

Brian McCann

President, Security Solutions at Neustar, Inc.

“High-energy business leader with passion for driving growth in organizations and cyber security technologies – and education foundations!

SSF’s founder and mission are rooted in empowering others to take control to improve their future. STEM education is a proven and scalable path to break generational poverty.”

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Board Member

Dawna Taylor

Regional Director with the Global Services Department for Cognia,

“Dawna L. Taylor is the Regional Director with the Global Services Department for Cognia, the largest School Improvement organization globally. Before joining Cognia, Ms. Taylor served as the Assistant Vice President of K-12 programs for the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. She also led, designed, and oversaw an out-of-school STEM program for middle and high school students in Baltimore, MD, and Vicksburg, MS. She has been an elementary teacher, reading specialist, assistant principal, and principal in traditional public schools and charter schools.

Ms. Taylor served as Director of Blended Learning Programs for one of the nation’s largest public cyber schools. Her professional expertise is in developing, managing, and consulting for charter schools and STEM Outreach programs across the country. Ms. Taylor has a Bachelor’s Degree from Florida A&M University in Elementary Education and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership, Supervision, and Administration from Jones International University. She is the proud mother of two adult children, Raleigh and Morgan.”