LYRA

STEM Corp.

where ideas take root

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Our Mission

lyra (læra)
v. (Icelandic roots)
1. to learn
2. to teach

The mission of Lyra is simple: to better prepare students in underserved communities for the increasingly high demands of a modern STEM+ education and career.

More specifically, we are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that aims to bridge the gap between current implementations of STEM education in secondary schools and the interactive learning needed to initiate a career in STEM+ fields.

Lyra hopes to extend STEM+ education beyond the limits of a classroom or a textbook. We achieve this goal by developing and implementing “STEM Kits”, which are specially curated hybrid educational module series that supplement current middle and high school STEM curricula by broadening students’ exposure to STEM+ careers.

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Our Services

STEM+ KITS

Lyra’s STEM+ Kits turn classrooms into launchpads by bringing real-world learning straight to the classroom. Each hybrid kit includes hands-on materials and exclusive Lyra resources, delivered directly to schools and paired with live virtual sessions led by trained Lyra mentors. Together, they bring STEM+ topics to life through interactive lessons, real-world connections, and relatable role models.

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Our Instagram

🌿 Meet Dr. Gareth Russell, a Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary at the New Jersey Institute Of Technology, a Principle Investigator at the Urban Ecology Lab and Lyra’s second STEM+ Guest Spotlight! The Lyra team enjoyed sitting down with Dr. Russell to hear about his professional role and why the idea of STEM+ was so crucial for his career development.

Happy 4th of July from the Lyra team! We wish you all a safe and happy holiday with your family and friends 🇺🇸🥳

Last but not least, we are VERY excited to introduce you to our Executive Team 📌✨

🌿 Meet the brains behind brilliance : Kamiya Patel, Jeena Kataria, and Varun Pai

We are excited to introduce you to our Workshop Team 📄✨

🌿 Meet the dream team behind our Curriculum Operations: Maanasi Kondai, Sriya Jidugu, Sabastian Fernandes, and Asna Altaf

It’s time to shine our spotlight to this dynamic duo who make up our Outreach Team 📌✨

🌿Meet the masterminds behind our marketing and logistics efforts: Anushka Dixit and Ojasvita Reddy

We are super excited to introduce our internal team; starting off with the Web Dev team 🖥️✨

🌿Meet the dream team behind our digital strategy: Harsh Panwar and Neelaza Dahal

Happy Easter from the Lyra Team! We wish you all a safe and happy holiday with family and friends! 🐰🐣🌿

Ramadan Mubarak to all those celebrating! May this special month bring peace and happiness to everyone 🌙🌎

🪴Environmental science is a broad field that works to collect, interpret, and analyze data about our environments to keep our communities safe. As the impacts of climate change become more apparent, we recognize the intersection STEM+ x Environmental Science as an important topic to learn about.

🌴If you are interested in learning more about this topic, feel free to visit our website for the full blog post at www.lyrastem.org/blog or click the link in our bio!

🍃 Criminal justice isn’t just for police officers or lawyers. It is for forensic scientists, chemical engineers, and computer analysts who all work together to solve crimes and keep citizens safe. STEM+ x Criminal Justice is a crucial topic that Lyra incorporates within our mission to educate middle and high schoolers.
🌱 Interested in reading more? Check out our full blog post at http://www.lyrastem.org/blog/ or click the link in our bio!

Welcome to our second STEM+ Spotlight blog post! This week, we talk about how the Humanities field intersects with the STEM+ fields in various ways!
Visit http://www.lyrastem.org/blog/ or click the link in our bio to read all of our blog posts for our STEM+ Spotlight series!

🌿 Meet Kayla Mitchell, a Manufacturing Planning Specialist at Regeneron Pharmaceuticals and Lyra’s first STEM+ Guest Spotlight! The Lyra team enjoyed sitting down with Kayla to hear about her professional role and why the idea of STEM+ was so crucial for her career development.
🍃 Did you know Lyra started a blog?
Visit http://www.lyrastem.org/blog for the full interview blog post or click the link in our bio!

🌱We are looking for additional undergraduate volunteers interested in STEM+ education and student startups to be Lyra workshop coordinators!

🌿Service hours are provided -- please email your resume or DM if interested.

#startups #STEMeducation #volunteerhiring

All three of the Executive members on the Lyra team – along with every member of our internal team – are engaged in core STEM studies including Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science, and Optical Science. Despite our STEM academic focus, we are still just as passionate at advancing our careers as entrepreneurs. Even though the mission of Lyra does not just involve science, technology, engineering, and math, we need all of these skills to build our presentations, respond to student feedback, and bridge the gap of STEM+ education in the community.

The best part about STEM+ x Entrepreneurship is its diversity and application to any field. Interested in STEM+ entrepreneurship or curious to learn more about the topic? Our DMs are always open for questions, comments, suggestions, and anything on your mind!

Let’s look at what people are saying about Lyra!

🌿Did you know Lyra re-launched its website?

🌱Visit the revamped www.lyrastem.org for more about the startup, STEM+ education resources, the team, how to contact us, and more!

Introducing Lyra Stem’s Web Developer:

Who are you?
“Hello! My name is Harsh Panwar and I am the web developer for Lyra. I am a Computer Science and Applied Mathematics double major. After graduation, I hope to enter the software engineering industry or another field that allows me to combine my two disciples.”

Why did you join Lyra?
“I joined Lyra to be part of something bigger than myself. I am a huge advocate for career education, an aspect the typical high school curriculum severely lacks. Fortunately, Lyra serves an instrumental role in helping students bridge that gap between their education and their future occupation. By serving as the web developer, I hope to enhance the user experience which hopefully encourages more people to utilize this amazing organization.”

What is one piece of advice for students?
“Seize every opportunity and resource you have. No matter how unprepared or fearful you feel, the very experience of chasing that opportunity will provide you with far more value than the contrary. At the end of the day, even the worst failures will turn into the best lessons.”

Next up, we’d like to introduce our Co-Outreach Coordinator:

Who are you?
Hi! I’m Anushka Dixit and I am one of the Co-Outreach Coordinators of Lyra. I am a Biology (B.S.) major and am on a pre-med track. I plan to attend medical school following graduating college.

Why did you join Lyra?
I joined Lyra because I value Lyra’s push for introducing high school students to unconventional STEM careers that they would not otherwise be aware of. For students interested in a STEM career but are unsure about which avenue they wish to take, they need to get exposure to occupations beyond becoming a doctor or engineer. Students require knowing about such opportunities when it comes time to make these major life choices, and I appreciate that Lyra is doing its part in contributing to that.

What is one piece of advice you have for students?
Once you become aware of the wide range of opportunities that are accessible to you, especially when it involves your academic career, I understand how overwhelming it can be. However, do not let your nerves dissuade you from pursuing the path that you wish to take, and keep a good work ethic to maintain the goals that you want to achieve.

Hi everyone! We’d like to introduce you all to the additions to Lyra’s Internal Team. First up is one of our Co-Outreach Coordinators:

Who are you?
“Hi! My name is Ojasvita Reddy, and I am one of the Outreach Coordinators for Lyra. I am a Biomedical Engineering major and hope to pursue a career in medicine upon graduating from NJIT.”

Why did you join Lyra?
“The STEM field is such a large field with so many avenues to pursue, navigating through it all by yourself can be challenging and overwhelming. Having experienced this firsthand, when I found out about Lyra, I felt a personal connection to its mission and could not be more excited to become a part of this group to help and motivate students who will be the future of our society make informed choices about a career in STEM by going beyond the convention.”

What is one piece of advice you have for students?
“When you make up your mind to do something, always see it through to an end. There will always be obstacles in the way or people that will try to dissuade you, but as long as you are determined and persevere down that path—then your hard work will eventually pay off!”

Last but not least, introducing our co-founders and Presidents of Lyra Stem!

Who are you?
“Hi! Our names are Jeena and Kamiya, and we are the co-founders and Presidents of Lyra.
Jeena is a Biomedical Engineering major with an Applied Math minor. After graduation, she will be pursuing a career in medicine. Kamiya is also a Biomedical Engineering major with a Business minor. After graduation, she will be pursuing a career in biopharma management.”

Why did you start Lyra?
“We started Lyra as an extracurricular, but it quickly grew to be more than that. We started off conducting high school outreach for a research professor when we saw clear disparities in STEM+ education, especially in underserved communities. We want to ensure that everyone gets access to the correct STEM education sooner rather than later, and we hope that our workshops and mentorships do just that.”

What is one piece of advice you have for students?
“Have a growth mindset. Just because you feel challenged or uncomfortable doesn’t mean you should give up! Everything is a learning opportunity.”

Introducing Lyra Stem’s current Vice President:

Who are you?
“Hello! My name is Varun Pai, and I am the Vice President of Lyra. I am a Biology major with a concentration in Neurobiology with minors in History and Chemistry. I’m pre-med and hope to attend medical school after graduation from NJIT.”

Why did you join Lyra?
“I joined Lyra to pursue my passion for STEM education, particularly for high school students. Having worked as a tutor in the past, I found that many schools had trouble meeting the STEM needs of students, and when I was approached by Jeena and Kamiya for Lyra, I realized that I had the perfect opportunity to help meet that need. I loved working as a mentor with other clubs on campus, but with Lyra I found a way to have a sustained, individualized impact beyond specific subjects or extracurriculars.”

What’s one piece of advice you have for students?
“Although many careers can seem challenging to get into - whether because of test scores or requirements for prior experience - don’t let those dissuade you from pursuing them. Success doesn’t always come from a linear path, and if you work hard enough or know enough, you can find that success even in the face of adversity.”

Next up, we’d like to introduce you to our workshop coordinator:

Who are you?
“Hi! My name is Maanasi Kondai, and I am the current Presentation Coordinator for Lyra Stem. I am a Biology Major on a Pre-Med track and hope to attend Medical School once I graduate from NJIT.”

Why did you join Lyra?
“I joined Lyra because I strongly resonated with Lyra’s mission statement and was impressed with how they chose to address the issue of educating younger generations about unconventional STEM pathways. I believe that many kids in high school think they’re limited to very few career options, but with the help of Lyra Stem, through our Workshops and Mentors, I feel we can change this perspective and allow them to see that there is more to STEM than just becoming a doctor or engineer.”

What is one piece of advice you have for students?
“One piece of advice that I think would benefit younger students is acknowledging that you don’t have to determine your career path as soon as you enter college. I think society expects us to have it all figured out by college. However, we can still use this process to find our true interests through the various classes and extracurriculars we partake in. Use the courses you take in college to guide your interests and understand that it is okay not to be consistent with one specific career path as everything is not as straightforward as it may seem.”

Hi, everyone! We would like to introduce you all to the current Lyra team. Introducing our mentorship coordinator:

Who are you?
“Hello! My name is Sabastian Carlos Fernandes. I am an Applied Physics Major and a Computer Science Minor. Post-grad, I hope to pursue work in a Physics research laboratory while pursuing a career in Engineering.”

Why did you join Lyra?
“I joined Lyra in order to be able to connect High School students with resources in personal and career development that I found essential to me in college. I was fortunate enough to attend Bergen County Technical Institute, where my teachers and peers helped me to identify my life goals and the paths which I would need to take to realize them. I know firsthand all of the stress and confusion that comes with the transition out of high school, and want to play my part in helping motivated students have an easier go at it.”

What is one piece of advice you have for students?
“Wherever you are in life, it is never too late to make a change for the better. You don’t ever have to feel trapped or lost in a life path that may seem “predestined”. Don’t be afraid to reach out to your trusted peers and leaders for even the simplest of questions, and don’t be ashamed of naivete, as finding your path through personal and career growth is a journey meant to be explored in full.”

Yesterday, the Lyra team exhibited at the @propelify Innovation Festival, and we loved every second of it!

🚨It’s not too late to get involved! We can only do what we do with the support of people like you. Check out our previous post for current volunteering opportunities within Lyra. WE WILL BE TAKING VOLUNTEERS UNTIL 10/15, 11:59 PM, so make sure to reach out to us before then!

🚨CALLING ALL STUDENT VOLUNTEERS🚨
Lyra is hiring! We are looking for motivated undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in an accredited university. Email or DM us ASAP to be considered!

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CONTACT LYRA

Certified 501(c)(3) Organization

lyrastem@gmail.com

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