Sophomore advocates to expose more children to STEM
Scott Reckers | Staff Writer
Mason High School sophomore Eashan Vytla loves computer sciences and this passion is fueling a drive to help others who may not have access to the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field.
Vytla believes STEM will play a pivotal role in human’s daily life now and in the future. He knows that students in underprivileged and underserved areas find it difficult to get involved in STEM due to the high cost and lack of resources. As STEM continues to be a vital facet of everyday life, especially robotics Vytla fears that many young people are going to get left behind.
At the Oyler School, an institution in the Cincinnati Public Schools district that serves a population of students who often find themselves in challenging socioeconomic conditions, Vytla recognized that the students there lacked exposure to STEM and some essential resources. He decided he was going to do something to help. He held virtual camps that anyone could attend and from the revenue he generated from the camps, he donated the proceeds to the Oyler School.
“I’ve hosted three camps in total so far,” Vytla said. “Over the summer I hosted two summer camps, which were fundraisers, and then one more on Thanksgiving break but that one was free. The turn-around was pretty good, there were obviously more people at the free one, over 50 people from all over the world came.”
Vytla’s passion for STEM got him in the position to organize and host these camps. Due to COVID restrictions, Vytla’s team was not able to meet as often as necessary in the summer.
Vytla’s innovation and problem-solving skills allowed him to figure out a way around the team not being able to meet in person to work on a robot they had been testing. When they couldn’t meet in person he created a simulation that allowed them to test their robot virtually.
“It started because I made a robotics simulation software that made robotics a little more accessible,” Vytla said. “The software I made is called MyBot Simulator. The software is essentially a simulation of how the robot would theoretically work in the real world. It gets rid of a lot of trial and error because you can simulate your robot first, look for any problems, and solve the problems without having to find them on the real one first.”
“It started because I made a robotics simulation software that made robotics a little more accessible,” Vytla said. “The software I made is called MyBot Simulator. The software is essentially a simulation of how the robot would theoretically work in the real world. It gets rid of a lot of trial and error because you can simulate your robot first, look for any problems, and solve the problems without having to find them on the real one first.”
Once MyBot started getting attention and downloads off the website, Vytla saw an opportunity. Utilizing the same creative ingenuity with the development of the MyBot Simulator, Vytla hosted two summer camps for robotics. Usually camps like these are very expensive but Vyla only charged $10 because he didn’t want the camp to be cost prohibitive and instead of pocketing the money he decided to donate the money to the students at Oyler.
“I built that connection with the school and in the future I want to do something with them where I could actually teach the students of Oyler,” Vytla said. “But right now I just got them 65 headsets because with online learning ramping up it was hard for the students to get in a nice environment for learning.”
Vytla believes it was money well spent. “I would much rather create an impact on the community than save the money for myself,” Vytla said.
Vytla is truly passionate about the STEM field and tinkering with robotics. He wants more kids to get the opportunity to share in this experience and he’s dedicated to taking action and doing something about it rather than just talking about it.
“My ultimate goal is to spread STEM, especially to underprivileged students,” Vytla said. “It’s not only about building robots but also spreading STEM because not everyone has the same opportunities I do,” Vytla said. “ Giving back to the community in general and building the next generation of programmers is extremely important.”
Photo contributed by the Oyler School