Rhode Island educator Roberto Gonzalez helps students explore subjects they are passionate about. For many of his students, that passion coincides with one of his — science.
In 2013, Gonzalez was working as the technology center director at a local youth organization when he decided he wanted to do something to address the gender gap in the STEM fields: science, technology, engineering and math.
“There was a large gap between girls who were leaving programs with science degrees, but the jobs, the incoming jobs, were going to boys,” Gonzalez told Rhode Island PBS Weekly. “Over 50% of the girls were getting the degrees and less than 30% of the girls were getting the jobs.”
Developing science, technology-based programs
Using his degree in sound engineering, Gonzalez created a nonprofit called STEAM Box. He works with several Rhode Island schools developing science and technology-based programming.
“STEAM is a little redundant with STEM. You can’t have STEM — science, technology, engineering, and math — without the arts,” he said. “Who does the design work? How do any of these things get designed?
“So it’s already there, but it’s just severely underappreciated as we know when the arts are the first few things to get cut out of schools. So we wanted to have some intent about the arts and about the appreciation of the arts.”
Gonzalez works with students to create projects based on their interests. Together, they have constructed arcade cabinets, built geometric domes and even made a go-kart using artificial intelligence.
They have also designed special effects videos. He said students learn best when they’re engaged and taking ownership of their work. And proving the sky’s the limit, they have even launched a weather balloon to the edge of the atmosphere to capture a photo of Earth.
“Once that thing reached space, took its photos, spun around a little bit and came back down to Earth and parachuted back down to Earth our students had to use the math that they learned … and figure out the rotation of the Earth is so that it wouldn’t come straight down and the wind’s going to pull it this way,” Gonzalez said. “And we had to go into Connecticut. Our students put an X on the map … and they made me drive them to this spot where I’m not expecting to find anything. But we did. We searched for a while, but we actually found their device.”
When Gonzalez created STEAM Box, he said one of his primary goals was helping students master content but that changed during the pandemic.
“I didn’t feel like we were serving the whole student. Yes, we were gearing them towards academic success. Yes, data shows that they’re more likely to attend school on a day that STEAM Box is in the school. But we were not helping that student want to see tomorrow,” he said. “And it seems like an extreme thought — a student wanting to see tomorrow.
“But it dawned on me that that was a very real thought that a lot of our students had, right? Whether or not they were interested in coming to school, getting out of bed, motivated to do anything.”
Discussing Mental Health
It inspired Gonzalez to launch a podcast called “Joyful Rebellion,” a platform where students can talk about mental health issues.
“We focus on joy a lot because that’s our end goal, that’s our result,” Gonzalez said. “That’s where we want to get to. And I certainly look at it as a bit of a revolution, and it takes a rebellion and rebellions are built on hope.”
Gonzalez wants to destigmatize mental health and help students explore what they are passionate about. He sees himself in many of the students in the program.
“Somebody from the community, like myself, since I’m running a lot of these programs in Providence, to have somebody from Providence, from that Broad Street area, to lead a program like this,” he said. “It’s just I’ve walked a mile in their shoes and I think it really helps students be able to relate. Representation matters and that’s something that comes up often in our programs.”
Gonzalez said he is inspired by the students in STEAM Box and wants them to pick up the mantle and help right the failures of his own generation.
“I feel like my generation hasn’t quite hit the nail on the head with solutions and significant progress away from doom,” he said. “I have to work with this generation hoping that this generation might be able to provide some of those answers or at least look forward to it with more solutions available.”
Gonzalez was named the Rhode Island PBS Digital Innovator in 2016, an award given to educators whose ideas open new worlds for their students.
