[00:00:00] Walter: The Hearts of Gold Podcast is brought to you by the Grow and Share Network, produced by off the Walter Media.
[00:00:11] Sheryl: Welcome to Hearts of Gold. Today I have Jaansi with us. Hi.
[00:00:16] Jaansi: Hi.
[00:00:17] Sheryl: Can you tell us about your Girl Scout Gold Award project?
[00:00:20] Jaansi: Hello to everyone. My name is Jaansi. I’m a 15 year old Girl Scout. I’m a senior and as of recently a proud Gold Award winner.
[00:00:28] I’m so excited to be speaking with you all today. So my project is called Project Neurifi, making AI education accessible to all. And so for my project, I wanted to provide a platform for computer science and artificial intelligence education to be available for anyone and everyone. So I fundraised with a workshop that I ran over, over Zoom to teach basic computer science to kids, and this was mostly locally based.
[00:00:56] And then with the money that I raised from this workshop, I used it to build a website including a free video curriculum, including things like the history of artificial intelligence, how it works, why it’s important, ethical concerns, real life applications, all of these really exciting things. And along with each of the videos, we have lists of curated resources that are also free and accessible for students to continue their learning if they wish, if they’re curious and want to dive into something a bit deeper.
[00:01:26] And the whole idea of the project is to make a more comprehensive teaching curriculum that is free and accessible to basically anyone that has access to the internet.
[00:01:35] Sheryl: You started your project way before chat, G p t was a thing I did. How did you choose your project, and especially since it’s AI focused, it seems so timely right now, however, you’ve been working on this for a while.
[00:01:51] Jaansi: Yeah, yeah. I started this. Basically about a year ago, my project, and honestly like with the boom of chat G p T and really like a huge influx of interest in artificial intelligence, especially for young kids. It was perfectly timed with the launch of my project. But I personally started learning about artificial intelligence a couple of years ago in middle school.
[00:02:13] And I attended classes to learn about it and worked on a few projects of my own. My personal fascination is how artificial intelligence can be applied in medicine. So things like using chatbots to help increase how, increase the efficiency of how doctors diagnose their patients using computer vision for processing different images and again, helping with that diagnostic pipeline.
[00:02:37] These are all things that I was really interested about. And I wanted to continue learning on my own. But what I realized is that a lot of the really wonderful, rigorous and structured courses are behind a pretty expensive paywall. And of course it does make sense that it takes a lot of resources and a lot of people to be able to teach computer science at a high level, and the resources that are free and more widely accessible tend to be a little bit more scattered and not as structured.
[00:03:04] And I realized that continuing higher learning and artificial intelligence is really expensive and not everyone has that privilege. And another thing is that I am the co-head of the local Girls who co chapter at my school, girls Who Code as a wonderful organization that aims to bring more representation in computer science for women and non-binary people.
[00:03:23] And so, As I was thinking about what I wanted to do for my gold award, I was really aware of this sort of lack of accessibility in higher computer science education, and also the general lack of representation of marginalized communities, and along with the cost that makes it even less accessible to people who may be socioeconomically disadvantaged.
[00:03:43] So I guess these were all factors that pushed me towards conceiving what my gold award looks like today.
[00:03:49] Sheryl: Who was on your team, and how did they help you?
[00:03:52] Jaansi: So I had a team of some incredible volunteers that were interested in working on this project and had similar goals. I, so a lot of people who are in high school interested in learning about computer science and artificial intelligence like me, and this project was done mostly virtually.
[00:04:09] So yeah, we had a lot of virtual communication. And all of these people are accredited on my website, if any of you’re interested in checking that out. It was a wonderful team and I had a lot of support in things like designing the website, graphic design for social media posts, putting up the videos, all of these different things that I definitely could not have done on my own, would’ve taken way much more time.
[00:04:32] And also I would like to thank my advisor who watched over these videos and just gave general advice about what the curriculum should look like. And definitely I wouldn’t be able to do it without the support of all of these incredible people. So definitely not a one person show.
[00:04:47] Sheryl: You mentioned a couple of pieces that other Gold Award Girl Scouts use in order to create the sustainability aspect and outreach of their projects.
[00:04:57] You mentioned video and you mentioned a website. What resources did you need in order to create those and how do you feel that they each impacted your project differently?
[00:05:10] Jaansi: For the sustainability the biggest thing, of course, was getting my project out to as many people as possible and having it on the internet.
[00:05:16] So again, one of the biggest things that I did first in the project was the fundraising step, because it does cost a decent amount of money to. Develop your website to purchase the domain name and to keep it running even after you created the website and published it, which is why that fundraising step was so, so important.
[00:05:36] And we had a huge amount of support for the workshop that I ran. So I’m incredibly grateful that it worked out as the way that it did. And then for the website we used A basically like drag and drop interface to put all the things together and the videos I had published on YouTube. And so we embedded those into the website and also created the lists of links for all of the sources that we wanted to go with the videos.
[00:06:00] And then I also used the graphic design platform called Canva, which I collaborated with some of our volunteers to put our posts together and put them out online. Announcing important things like our workshop when our website. Was officially up when all of our videos were complete and we were definitely able to increase outreach in that way.
[00:06:19] So all of these pieces together to really increase outreach of the project and sustainability.
[00:06:24] Sheryl: And your Instagram post and your website graphically, like they’re just beautiful to look at. They’re so pretty. So pretty. What kind of feedback have you received about your project?
[00:06:39] Jaansi: I’m always going back to the fundraising step.
[00:06:41] I think because that was just so important for me, not just for like actually starting the project, but realizing how big of an impact this could have. So when I created the flyer for the workshop, sent it out to people campaigning about it on social media, I honestly was a little bit worried because.
[00:07:00] Again, you know, the whole point of the project is to make education more free and accessible, but you know, the funds to start that project has to come from somewhere. And even though my workshop was relatively inexpensive, I was just thinking like, oh, will I have enough outreach? Will I have enough people that are interested?
[00:07:17] And honestly, like I really exceeded my goal in the amount of funds that we wanted to raise. So I’ll be able to maintain my website and keep it up for much longer than I anticipated. The amount of people that just reached out in a step made me realize, not just that I would have the monetary support to get this project started and keep it running, but also just how many people would benefit from this project.
[00:07:40] And many people also wanted to stay in touch about the potential of like future workshop opportunities and. Learning about these educational resources and once this project was up, we sent it out to everyone who came to the first workshop and made it possible. And this also definitely made me think about expanding it in the future.
[00:07:57] And also at my local Girls who co chapter, we have shared these resources and used it to supplement our teaching. And it’s definitely been a great step forward and our. Mentees. Really love watching the videos. So yeah, it’s been really, really exciting and I definitely didn’t imagine that I would have this much support for this project.
[00:08:17] Sheryl: What was your biggest challenge during your project, and how did you overcome it?
[00:08:21] Jaansi: I was running my project mainly virtually. I know that there’s a lot of wonderful girl Scouts projects for the Gold Award that are done in person that have like, you know, big events where you’re seeing people face to face.
[00:08:34] And this project was just as equally big, but because it was done over Zoom and, you know, we were seeing each other on flat screen and texting back and forth, I think. It was really important for me to establish that human connection with my volunteers, which was kind of a challenge at first. But after some evaluation about ways to improve this communication, we were able to figure out a proper communication platform with discord so that we could all keep in touch.
[00:09:02] And really hold each other accountable through the whole process. And I also use an incredible website called Notion, which I tell just about anyone who asks me about how I stay organized, how I make my to-do lists. Notion is super duper helpful for me. And so I was able to create a sort of landing page for us using Notion and.
[00:09:21] Using that, we kind of created this little webpage where we’d have all of these different tasks list out for different team roles, like website designer, content researcher, video producer, outreach manager, all of these different things. So not only do you have kind of an organized place, For you to take care of your tasks and to keep track with how you’re doing, but also others can check in on your work.
[00:09:45] And because it was such a collaborative process and once one person finishes, like researching for a video and another starts the graphic design, you know, it’s really, really collaborative in that aspect. And I think that was so, so important in kind of keeping our volunteers. In touch and together, and I think we were able to get the project done even faster than the initial deadline that I had in mind.
[00:10:08] So that was definitely a super important part of the process that I would emphasize for anyone doing their project virtually or even in person.
[00:10:16] Sheryl: As you mentioned, the way that you organized and communicated with your team, it touched on something for me that I haven’t thought ever thought about before, and that is within the final report for the Gold Award, you have to provide your schedule of different activities that you did and how much time you spent on ’em and what you did, and oftentimes, I will see Girl Scouts mention how many hours their teammates put in to support their project.
[00:10:46] Also very valuable and interesting data. But the connection I just made with what you described is that when you use a communication method like notion, you have that documented so differently and more specifically to be able to support that final report. Did you use data from Notion for your final report?
[00:11:09] Jaansi: Yes, absolutely. And even just with keeping track of all of the dates of what important things were going on and all that communication, it was so helpful. And this is kind of like dipping into advice that I would like to give Girl Scouts in the future. I. But documenting everything is so, so important. I just kind of had like a little journal where I would be writing down important steps, even just like small strokes of inspiration that I have throughout the whole project and taking photos, which is all like really encouraged for your final application and also just beyond that application.
[00:11:41] It’s so great to look back at your memories because I. Personally put in like over 120 hours in this project with all things considered, and that was the majority of what I was working on last summer. And so when I finally got my results back that I was accepted and that I had officially gotten my golden board, it was so fulfilling for me to look back and see all of this work that had been done.
[00:12:06] And I think it’s just so important for really cherishing the journey overall.
[00:12:10] Sheryl: Talking about memories, do you have a special memory from your project?
[00:12:15] Jaansi: Oh yeah, I think when I was running the workshop with the little kids, even though that wasn’t like artificial intelligence per se, just like basic computer science education, that was so exciting.
[00:12:25] I think I definitely work with a lot of younger people through girls who code, but like really talking with like little, little kids in elementary school. That was just such an exciting moment. It was very, very wholesome and I think when we first, when we put up our first post and I had shared it on like my personal Instagram and all my friends were cheering me on and supporting and we were getting likes and getting the influx of followers.
[00:12:48] That was definitely a great memory too.
[00:12:50] Sheryl: In addition to creating a website and this amazing gold award project, you are also a podcaster. Can you tell us about your podcast?
[00:13:00] Jaansi: So my podcast is called Learn on Podcast, the Sign Show by Kids for Kids. I began it in August of 2020, nearly three years ago, which is crazy to think about when I was 12 at the height of the pandemic with my then six year old little brother.
[00:13:15] And this was, you know, as the pandemic had begun and I was, you know, navigating the changes in middle school, but over Zoom that was just like, A really defining moment in my life, and I think for a lot of my peers as well. And so I wanted to do something where I could really kind of learn ways to support my mental health and share that with other people too.
[00:13:36] And so podcast was like the best way for me to do it, and it’s still going strong. We love making episodes about neuroscience, psychology, and mental health. And it was also kind of looped in with my Girl Scout’s Silver Award project, where I was focusing on mental health, both in a global perspective and in local communities.
[00:13:55] So yeah, it’s been along with me for a really big part of my journey, and it’s a project that’s really near and dear to my heart, just like this one.
[00:14:03] Sheryl: What has having a podcast done for you that you didn’t expect with the podcast?
[00:14:09] Jaansi: I was going in, just kind of thinking that, you know, it would be my brother and I recording in my bedroom, you know, just like having a conversation, putting it out to the public.
[00:14:19] But I think I didn’t realize how much of an impact I would have even after posting the episode. So I. In the time that we’ve been working on this, we’ve amassed thousands of listeners across the world. I think it’s been over 75 countries in six continents that we’ve been able to reach, which is just something that I would’ve never dreamed of, and it’s just like hard for me to conceptualize how many young people that are like me that are tuning in from like the bus ride home or from their bedroom or when they’re walking the halls at school.
[00:14:51] I think just like thinking about how big of an impact. It has had on me even beyond what I had initially thought it was going to be, has been super impactful. And also after we really got comfortable with recording on our own, we started inviting so many different guests. Professionals in all of these incredible fields.
[00:15:13] And so I would also walk away from this interview learning more about these things that I’m interested in. And it also taught me, I think, to think on my feet and to really be able to hold and engage in conversation with someone. So these are all lessons that I really hadn’t anticipated, but it’s something that I really care with me every day now.
[00:15:30] Sheryl: What are you thinking about for your future?
[00:15:33] Jaansi: Well, right now, you know, just getting through high school, I think the things that I’m most passionate about are education, especially in STEM fields and representing marginalized communities in that as well. I really love digital health and mental health advocacy, and in the future, my dream is to become doctor, to attend medical school, to have a thriving medical practice.
[00:15:55] But you know, that’s a really long time down the road, so, yeah.
[00:16:00] Sheryl: What other Girl Scout memories do you have to share?
[00:16:02] Jaansi: One that I tell a lot of people is my first ever Girl Scout memory, and I think it was like kind of one of those events to recruit new incoming Girl Scouts and to just like raise awareness for the local troops.
[00:16:18] I think it was a big event that was hosted in the cafeteria of what was then going to be my future middle school and. A long time ago, you know, before I had my podcast, before I really got engaged in like education and public speaking, I was a really shy, anxious kid in elementary school. I remember walking into this huge room with like a hundred people and all of these people were like crowded around these tables.
[00:16:45] I think it was a bunch of different troops and just the fluorescent lights glaring on me and I was, I was like, I was five or six and all of these older girl scouts, I was so intimidated by them. And you know, that like experience was just really, whoa. You know, it was kind of disconcerting in the moment, but then my parents kind of pushed me to go to the first meeting of our local troop that was being started and they were like, oh, just try it.
[00:17:09] Go for one meeting. Right. You know, you never know what’s going to happen and oh my gosh, I’m so glad that I went. I’m so glad that I listened to them because. Otherwise I wouldn’t be here today and I feel like I would be a completely different person. But yeah, and just all of the memories that I’ve had with my troop, all of the different workshops and exercises that we’ve done, they’ve been my friends and they’ve been there to support me for such a long time.
[00:17:31] It’s been now nearly a decade of me being involved with Girl Scouts, which is like so crazy to think about because I’m only 15. So yeah, there’s so many things, but I think that was one really, really defining moment.
[00:17:43] Sheryl: What else would you like to share with the audience?
[00:17:46] Jaansi: For all of my fellow Girl Scouts who are maybe actively working on your gold award or you are hoping of doing it in the future,
[00:17:55] I think there are so many things. There’s so many exciting projects that are out there, and so when you are doing your gold award, I think the first thing to think about is what really excites you, and I promise like whatever topic that you choose, Once you get past the brainstorming process, you start writing your proposal, thinking about ways to make an impact, that sustainability factor too.
[00:18:18] There are always ways that you can have a significant outreach and to impact people, but I think the biggest thing is to really pick something that you are passionate about, that you know you want to pursue in the future. Whether it be long-term or short-term, and I think this is some, this is a theme that’s been in my Silver Award and my goals award.
[00:18:37] These projects are so special to me, not just because of the impact that they’ve had, but because they’ve really been defining in how I view these topics and these fields that are really important to me. So yeah, and I’ve been dreaming of doing my gold award since I began my Girl Scout’s journey as a daisy.
[00:18:54] And it’s crazy to think about how far that I’ve come, and I know that. All of my girl scouts watching you Will too. So best of luck to all of you.
[00:19:03] Sheryl: How do you make your s’mores?
[00:19:05] Jaansi: I go to a boarding school and so my dorm kind of has a tradition of, you know, occasionally making s’mores outside when it’s good weather and it’s like night and we’re just outside, crowd around a bonfire, roasting, s’mores.
[00:19:16] So yeah, it’s something that’s like a really important memory to me and doing it with girl scouts as well. I think my personal favorite is like the classic Graham cracker and then using kit cats and vegan marshmallows.
[00:19:27] Sheryl: Ooh. Interesting. Well, thanks for joining us.
[00:19:31] Jaansi: Yeah, thank you so much for having me. It’s been great talking with you all.
[00:19:35] Sheryl: Make sure to click follow or subscribe so you always know when new episodes are released. Power your passion and conquer your challenges.
[00:19:45] Walter: Thank you for listening. If you’d like to be on the show to share your story of how you earned your gold award, reach out and send an email to growandshare@outlook.com.
[00:19:56] Be sure to catch up on our previous shows on any of your favorite podcasting platforms, as well as view the full video versions at youtube.com/SherylMrobinson.
[00:20:08] Thanks again for listening and we’ll see you next time.