As a first-year student, Elsie Paxton '27 joined a project led by Kristin A. Bidoshi, professor of Russian, to teach English to Ukrainian children affected by the ongoing war with Russia. Since then, the mechanical engineering major has taught (via Zoom) more than 60 children aged 6-16.
“Despite coming from families fractured by the war, our lessons are filled with silliness,” said Paxton, who recently completed her minor in English literature. “Laughter is a common language, connecting us even when words fail. As we've worked together, I've also noticed that STEM concepts, rather than language lessons alone, uniquely empower students to be curious and hopeful about the world around them. Through a shared curiosity for our world, we connect at a deeper level across differences. By integrating STEM into lessons, I help students explore sustainability and science while engaging positively with their communities.”
Elsie Paxton '27, is the latest Union student to win a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace award. Her project, “Sunflowers and Science: Environmental STEM Education for Ukrainian Children,” is among 142 selected from across 98 partner institutions.
The connections she made with her Ukrainian students inspired Paxton to create her own project which involves shipping 200 STEM kits overseas. The kits are packed with a small, solar-powered robot, notebooks, magnifying glasses and sunflower seeds, among the items.
Paxton is the latest Union student to win a Kathryn Wasserman Davis Projects for Peace award. Her project, “Sunflowers and Science: Environmental STEM Education for Ukrainian Children,” is among 142 selected from across 98 partner institutions.
Now in its 18th year, the Davis competition is an invitation to undergraduates to design grassroots projects that they will implement during the summer. The objective is to encourage and support students to create and try out their ideas for building peace. Each project is funded with a $10,000 grant.
So how will STEM kits have an impact on a country ravaged by a war now in its fifth year?
“These students have most of their basic needs met,” said Paxton. “Food, water, shelter and medical care. But their educational needs are not being met. Through teaching, I have come to understand that STEM education is a powerful tool and launchpad for those in under-resourced communities. This a way for students who have felt forgotten by the world to have a sense of agency and a sense of hope.”
To help with her project and to ensure the kits are distributed properly, Paxton connected with four humanitarian organizations in Ukraine and her high school in Durham, N.H. She also is working with Cardigan Mountain School, where Anton Tatus ’24 helped facilitate Operation Foxhole. Paxton hopes to piggyback off the project with Tatus’s connections in Ukraine to distribute the kits.
An investment banking analyst in New York City, Tatus grew up in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv and is a longtime supporter of Ukraine. He also launched the program at Union to teach English to Ukrainian children.
With help from her family and other volunteers, Paxton plans to assemble the kits in her basement in July. Once in the hands of students, she will guide them via Zoom on how to use the kits.
“Peace is fostered when children regain a sense of predictability, curiosity and agency in their daily lives,” Paxton said. “STEM education is a powerful tool in restoring agency and hope, and these learning kits and guided lessons will mitigate long-term harm from conflict by supporting resilience in communities.”
Since its founding in 2007, Projects for Peace has funded more than 2,200 projects, including 22 projects from Union. Projects are nominated by partner colleges and universities.
Projects for Peace was founded by Kathryn W. Davis, who celebrated her 100th birthday by supporting 100 Projects for Peace, designed “to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace, instead of preparing for war.”
To learn more about this year’s projects, visit the website.