Niesha Butler on S.T.E.A.M. Champs: ‘I’m trying to build champions to go out there and take over the world’

I am very confident that all the kids that come to my program, if they choose to have a career in STEM, they will go pro,” says Butler, founder and CEO of the first Afro-Latina S.T.E.A.M. education center in the U.S.

Former WNBA player Niesha Butler is making STEM education accessible to children in inner city communities.

Butler is the founder and chief executive officer of 

A post shared by STEAM Champs (@steamchamps)

The children were engaged the whole time, caught on quickly, and if they had an issue, Butler and her intern, Fharrell Browne, were there to assist — but in a way that allowed the kids to figure out the solution to their problem, instead of giving them direct answers.

When it was time to present, Butler made sure they started with an affirmation, confidently stating: “I am the engineer of this carousel,” before explaining what inspired their creation.

I’m trying to build champions to go out there and to take over the world,” says Butler. “We not only are teaching them fundamental coding skills and robotics and programming languages, but every kid that S.T.E.A.M. Champs touch, I want them to walk with the vibe that I walked off [with] when I walked on the court. I want them to walk with that confidence.”

Check out the full interview above to learn more about Butler and S.T.E.A.M. Champs.

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