Meet Advaith Subramanian, Sophie Minick, and Hailey Balekian

We had the good fortune of connecting with Advaith Subramanian, Sophie Minick, and Hailey Balekian and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Advaith, Sophie, and Hailey can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
After numerous discussions, meeting with elementary school technology directors, and consulting our robotics teacher, our team spear-headed a STEAM initiative called “Cracking the Wonder Code.” With this initiative, we have raised over $3000 to buy iPads, robots, and craft supplies for robotics camps we have conducted over the past couple of years. Through these camps, we have been able to mentor disadvantaged youth on the importance of STEAM education and provide a baseline for their skills in coding and engineering. For us, CTWC is an agent of change that has challenged young minds, and more importantly, it is just the beginning of our desire to make a positive impact beyond our community.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
CTWC specializes in STEAM workshops in which we work with students to impart robotics, coding, and other STEAM concepts. What we all are proudest of is the fact that there are several examples that we can cite — from working with students at a Veda Pathshala (conservatories for Indian scriptures and heritage) in India to leveraging technology to code robots with our young friends at Boles Home. We are proud because we have been able to access and impact youth across different strata of society and propel their quest for STEAM forward. And from our experience in this process, we have caught onto the idea that a team will always experience bumps in the road, and it is all about how we turn those adversities into opportunities by working together. The main struggle we often face is our team members’ different approaches to a predicament and thus different directions that we could take to come up with a solution. In the ideating phases of our initiative, we all had different ideas on how to go about this mantle to maximize our own potential, and improve our outreach. Similarly, a major issue we faced as a team was to navigate through an unimaginable obstacle: the COVID-19 pandemic. We had to brainstorm creative ideas to execute our vision, such as rendering our service to a close-knit community at Boles Children’s Home and run online coding camps with The Boys and Girls Club in Seattle, which was a new experience for our team!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
We would take them to some of our all-time favorite restaurants in DTX, such as Penne Pomodoro and East Hamptons (definitely recommend the Pesto Gnocchi from Penne!), and Avila’s Mexican Restaurant, which is located on Maple Ave. We would also take them to see Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, where you can interact with various animals and see some super cool wildlife! On a hot day, the two best places to get drinks from are Craft Boba and Jamba Juice, both on Greenville, after a nice run or walk by Lakeside Park or White Rock Lake. Additionally, an exciting place to spend the day would be at the cosmopolitan Uptown and show them different buildings and stores in the area. Another option, on a nice day, would be to go to the Dallas Arboretum where they have seasonal displays, and offer a great way to experience nature while still being in the city.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
We would like to give a shoutout to our AP Biology teacher, Mrs. Jennifer Giannou-Moore. She has supported us so much in our endevours and has given us advice, resources, and ideas every step of the way!

Website: crackingthewondercode.org

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ctwctx/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ctwctx

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvbMJmy68_kxkqxlMsq6BsQ