An Overview of My Experience During the AFS Global STEM Program
With over 1,000 highly qualified applicants who applied for the AFS Global STEM Accelerator full scholarship program, I was elected as one of the 180 winners! Even more thrilling, I was among the very few black girls participating in the program.
Today, I will share my experience throughout the 12 weeks of the program, but before diving in, please, I request that you share this review with your friends, family or network.
Let’s dive in!!
A brief about the accelerators program
AFS and the Center for Social Impact Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania partnered to create an engaging online program that invites girls to explore cultural differences, practice social innovation, learn about sustainability, and take action in their community!
In a nutshell, the AFS program aimed to build active global citizens to become social innovators/entrepreneurs to contribute to the development of the world and, hence, solve real-world problems.
Read more about AFS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFS_Intercultural_Programs
My Application Process
To begin with, I got to know about AFS when my friend, Abigail Johnson, introduced it to me and encouraged me to apply [Thank you again, Abee].
I looked it up and saw that it was a great deal, although I had less time to apply. The application process was rigorous! I had to upload my school transcripts, recommendation letters, essays, and lots more. It was giving a competitive and school application energy.
I felt discouraged at a time during the application process, but I just kept going and told myself that “getting into this program will allow me to invest my time wisely, meet new people, develop myself, and make an impact.” Like a dream, I got a congratulation mail. I was so happy!
Program commencement: 4th May, 2024
Cultural diversity | Sustainability | Innovation | Self-awareness
Speaking of diversity, the onboarding session was full of amazement and enthusiasm. I saw girls from different parts of the world, like Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, South Korea, Africa and lots more.
The girls were smart and fun and the facilitators were very supportive and energetic.
The 12-week Worksheets and Live Sessions
The AFS learning system comprises of instructors teaching in form of videos, texts, and exercises. After every week of completing the modules in the Bridge learning platform, we come together as a whole to wrap up and revise what we have learned so far in the live session.
The live session are always fun and full of insights. We have breakout sessions, game sessions, and the opportunity to share what we have learned. The live always ends with us giving feedback on the session.
Summary of What I Learned in 12-weeks
Week 1—The first week was about welcome and introduction. Although we learned about sustainability, the importance of becoming active global citizens, STEM and much more.
Briefly on sustainability, the 3 pillars of sustainability are social, economic, and environmental sustainability. A successful innovation must comprise of these 3 pillars; if not, then it is not sustainable.
- Stay tuned for my next article about sustainability!
Week 2 — We broadened our knowledge on social innovation and culture.
During the course of study, I was surprised about my peers artifacts, mostly from Indonesia (artifacts are objects that represent a culture or group). They knew so much about the little details of their culture that it challenged me to learn more about mine.
Week 3 — In week three, we had an interesting study about stereotypes and generalization. Distinguishing between some stereotypes and generalizations was quit tricky, but I loved the exercise.
We also looked at energy consumption, it’s sources of production, comparisons of production modes between countries, and lots more.
I am afraid this article is becoming too lengthy.
I will be publishing Part 2. Part 2 will mainly demonstrate how I built my capstone project that made me become a certified social entrepreneur.
Emphasis on the 12-week worksheet
In order to fully share what I learned throughout the program, I hope to start a social innovation series. To stay up to date on the series, follow me on LinkedIn as Princess Mbamalu. Stay tuned!
That is 4 minutes of reading. Thank you, and see you on my next publication!!
