Daniela Staton was introduced to volleyball in the spring of my 5th grade, and like most beginners, she struggled to serve the ball over the net. In 6th grade she made the “C” team, which was the lowest level, but immediately fell in love with the sport and played any chance she could. That included open gyms at the nearby community center and practicing for hours against the outside walls of her house and any open beach courts.
Around the same time, Daniela became involved in Science Olympiad at school, and realized her passion for science. A few years ago, Daniela founded STEM Squad, a volunteer group that teaches STEM through STEM-related projects with elementary and middle school kids at underprivileged community centers in her area. Projects have included building roller coasters, turkey robots (Thanksgiving-inspired), and straw bridges, as well as conducting photosynthesis labs, making lemon circuits, and designing chromatography flowers, to name just a few.
“This summer, STEM Squad dedicated our time at Milagro Center, a nonprofit organization that ensures the social and academic success of underserved children and youth through Cultural Arts, Living Values, Academic Support, and Mentoring, to create a math-based, ocean-themed board game, designed with the help of the kids! It is an intricate game with different sets of math questions so that it can be played by kids in Kindergarten all the way up to 5th grade. We are finishing up the game now and hope to sell copies of the board game, generating profits to give back to Milagro to help fund their student activities!” said Staton.
Furthermore, Daniela and her friend started SECME (Science Engineering Communications Mathematics Enrichment) at their school so interested students could get involved and compete. SECME’s mission is to engage and prepare more low-resourced students for careers in STEM. Today she serves as the vice president of her school’s SECME Club and her role involves organizing club meetings, designing and creating engineered products for the competition (balsa wood bridge, mousetrap car, etc.), advertising to attract more student participation at her school, and managing the club’s funds.
Daniela has become a fierce competitor, competing as the libero for Boomers Volleyball Academy 16 Elite last season. She feels that volleyball has honed her ability to think beyond personal glory and focus on the greater good of the team. “The discipline and commitment required for…
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