Audubon Society of Rhode Island
Audubon believes that EVERY child should have the opportunity to explore nature and develop connections with the natural world, including those a world-away from the Ocean State. Audubon’s outreach recently extended across the globe as the organization connected with students at the Beverly School in North Kinangop, Kenya, one of four STEM-based* schools in that country. Audubon connected to the Beverly School through Massachusetts resident Kathy Mills, an enthusiastic birder and volunteer in Audubon’s bird banding programs. She is a currently a Beverly School Board Member who recently taught a program at the school and hoped to bring the science of bird banding to the students in a virtual presentation. “When I introduced birding to the students, it was so well received that the school’s new principal, Sande Olocho, a birder himself, decided to start a birding club at the school,” explained Mills. “Presenting a live banding demonstration for these young student birders provided a learning opportunity that they otherwise would not have had.” In addition to Leshin Szewczok and Mills, Audubon Council of Advisors Member Steven Reinert, Beverly School Founder Abdi Lidonde and Beverly School Board Sue Swanberg were present at the program and enthusiastically engaged with students through the big screen in the auditorium at the Center.
KENSAP
The Kenya Scholar-Athlete Project helps gifted, needy Kenyan students gain admission to the most selective universities in the United States and Canada. Each year, after an elaborate selection process, the program chooses a dozen high-achieving high school graduates, and in two extended residential training sessions it prepares them for the American SAT exams and introduces them to the American university system with its complex application procedure. Since its founding in 2004, KenSAP has helped place 179 students at highly competitive North American universities, all with full, need-based financial aid. We have partnered with KENSAP for the extended residential training sessions for those joining USA universities in the Fall of 2018. The preparation for SAT entrance exams is currently being held at Beverly School of Kenya.
These students have been accepted to Yale, Harvard, Umass Amherst, Princeton, Cornell and other top US Universities.
The George Institute of Technology
Georgia Tech has partnered with Beverly School to enhance its programmes in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. This partnership will open a window for Georgia Tech undergraduates to extend and practice their skills in novel environments and in this way nurture innovations that will improve the quality of the environment and livelihoods.
