Bridges to Science: Homeschooled Teens in STEM

Rosa Aristy, her son, Jeremiah Green, Chad Valez, and Samuel Worley

Bridges to Science (B2S) in Katy, Texas, a suburb of Houston, was launched to provide year-round STEM programs in math, coding, and robotics to communities of underserved students in all educational arrangements, including homeschooling.

When Rosa Aristy, a data scientist from Puerto Rico who homeschools her children, heard that students in her homeschool co-op were seeking courses in programming and robotics, she noticed the glaring access gap that certain communities face when pursuing STEM courses. Most homeschool parents did not feel competent enough with the topics to lead the course work, and not all students had the tools needed to pursue them. It quickly became evident that the community needed accessible STEM programs, and she sprung into action.

Aristy, who has a Master of Science from the University of South Carolina, founded Bridges to Science to provide year-round programming in math, coding, and robotics to communities of underserved students, including homeschoolers and Spanish-speaking families. “We started serving homeschooling families from only six different zip codes in west Houston,” Rosa explained. “Now, we’re serving families from over 90 zip codes throughout the whole city.”

B2S is a peer-led community where students support each other in the learning process and work together to achieve their goals. The collaborative, project-based courses are all available at reduced or no cost. Read on to find out how the non-profit has served the varied interests of three homeschool students.

Samuel Worley, 17, loves programming and creating all sorts of things related to music. He has played the piano for 12 years, built two guitars, and is currently digitally composing new songs and creating 3D animations for them (which he then uploads to a YouTube channel he created). One of his dreams is to build a synthesizer. Samuel says that Rosa fosters a culture where everyone is uplifting all the time. “If there is any concept you don’t understand, there’s always someone who will explain it, and they’ll explain it lovingly.” He’s excited to begin college adventure next fall, hoping to attend the University of Houston. After that, he plans to earn his doctorate in computer engineering and AI. He wishes to ultimately use his knowledge for the betterment of his community.

Chad Velez, 16, is passionate about American history and hopes to become a lawyer some day. A fan of Founding Father Patrick Henry, Chad said, “I probably wouldn’t have discovered my passion for history and politics if it wasn’t for homeschooling.” He wants to attend Patrick Henry College, where he plans to double major in economics and business analytics, and American politics and policy. Then he plans to attend law school at Texas State, Liberty University, or Baylor. He’s particularly thankful for B2S because it’s helped him develop skills he’ll need to become a lawyer. “Law involves a lot of logic and rhetoric, and I learned a lot of this through STEM, by solving problems,” he said.

Jeremiah Green loves fishing and wildlife. He is a member of the Order of the Arrow (an honors program with the Boy Scouts of America) and is only one rank away from earning the rank of Eagle Scout. Thanks to homeschooling, “I’ve been able to do more of the work I like to do, like geography and languages,” he said. “I also have more flexibility to go fishing and camping.” As a youth ambassador for B2S, Jeremiah has learned to apply his teaching skills in different aspects of his life, from teaching his three younger siblings at home to instructing the younger boys at Boy Scouts. This experience has also pushed him to be more creative. “I’ve learned fun ways to do math and geometry, and teach in creative ways,” he said. With his passion for wildlife, Jeremiah is interested in studying marine biology at Texas A&M University.

“The role of Bridges to Science,” said Aristy, “is really to inspire students, to give them access to STEAM programs they wouldn’t otherwise have access to, and to make it fun. I think we can spark a fire.”

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