Alumni Impact: Shraman Kumar Bohra
Alumni Impact is a social media campaign that recognizes the excellent work being done by FIUTS alumni all around the world. This week, meet Shraman!
Shraman Kumar Bohra, 2019 SUSI alumni and Biochemistry, Microbiology and Biotechnology student at SBBR Mahajana First Grade College, India.
I am Shraman Kumar Bohra from India. I participated in the Study of the United States Institute on ‘Youth, Education and Closing the Skills Gap’ in the Summer of 2019.
SUSI definitely was a once in a lifetime opportunity for me. During the program, I discovered a lot about myself. I learned to sing in different languages. I “rediscovered” my love of reading, in particular scientific magazines and journals. I felt encouraged to evolve as a person, I felt more charismatic, optimistic and confident. The program helped frame a new perspective of what I want to do and how I want to proceed in my life. I realized how much I want to work in the field of education and that the world needs more people to uplift and empower one another.
Shraman (left) planting during an Earthcorps service project.
Shraman (left) prepping food at a FareStart service project.
Among the numerous trainings and events in SUSI, I really avlued professional networking and refined methods to design and execute impactful workshops. These were important skills that I used as I planned my community action project titled: ‘From STEM to STE(A)M.’
I believe that education is more than literacy alone. The ability to read and write are important, but it is critical that we further develop skills and learning tools that will help us thrive in the 21st century. STE(A)M which stands for integrating Arts in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math is a model of education that aims to enhance creativity while promoting problem solving and critical thinking abilities. My project involved an activity based workshop for 26 students at a public school in my city on 1st February, 2020. I integrated arts activities in physics, biology, and chemistry lessons. For instance, we visualized the Japanese technique of Miura folds that are employed to compactly fold satellites inside rockets by exploring origami paper craft.
Shraman (middle) enjoying a meal with FIUTS Program Assistant Joe Green (left) and fellow SUSI participants.
Students in my region are smart but sometimes lack critical skills. Consequently, they may be underprepared for jobs upon graduation. They gain profound knowledge in a single subject but often don’t realize the benefit of soft skills that will favor them professionally and personally and will help them become an asset to society. By using a STE(A)M approach to learning, students refine their abilities, observe more thoughtfully and react more creatively. The STE(A)M approach motivates students to understand the purpose of doing or learning something.
Organizing this project has been a big breakthrough for me. I learned a lot about event planning, budgeting and financing, bringing in the right set of volunteers, engaging audiences and cracking budget friendly deals while purchasing items. Personally, I genuinely realized that I want to work in the field of education and in turn a lot for my community. I want to spread this entire concept of STE(A)M as much as possible.
My future goal with respect to this project is to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) - UN agenda 2030 by primarily focusing on SDG i.e, “Quality Education by Acting as a Global Citizen.”
Shraman (middle) at the Final Dinner with FIUTS Manager of Education Programs, Ellen Frierson (left) and FIUTS Education Programs Coordinator Kailyn Swarthout (right).
The Study of the U.S. Institutes promote a better understanding of the people, institutions, and culture of the United States among international students, teachers, and scholars. Study of the U.S. Institutes (SUSIs) are short-term academic programs for groups of undergraduate leaders, educators, and scholars from around the world. Hosted by academic institutions throughout the United States, these 5- to 6-week Institutes include an intensive academic residency and an integrated educational study tour. Extracurricular cultural and community activities help to broaden the participants’ understanding of U.S. society. See more here.
Guest posts on the FIUTS blog represent the experiences and views of individual writers. They do not necessarily reflect the views of FIUTS or any organizations or institutions affiliated with our programs.
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Interested in being featured in Alumni Impact? Contact Annie Lewis at annie@fiuts.org.