Student Spotlight

Passion STEMing from Science

New Albany High School student expands peer opportunities

Durshil Doshi saw a problem and executed a solution, which is exactly what he hopes to do one day in a career in STEM.

Doshi, a senior at New Albany High School, realized that students – his peers and friends included – interested in STEM have a difficult time deciding what branch of science they’d like to pursue as a career.

“Kids don’t always get exposed to all potential careers in STEM,” Doshi says. “Some people have no idea what they want to do and just pick to study something in college because it’s what their friends are doing.”

So Doshi created the STEM Innovators Club, an NAHS organization that guides STEM students through career explorations within the sciences. He invites professionals to speak to the club about what they do and give students the opportunity to ask questions. Thus far, the club has featured a dentist, chemical engineer and pediatric doctor. Doshi hopes to invite an optometrist and a robotics expert this year.

One of Doshi’s main goals with the club is to give back to the STEM community. In May 2020, he led a group to write thank you letters to health care heroes around Columbus.

“Since a young age, I’ve always been helping the community,” he says. “My parents made sure I knew the importance of that.”

This desire to extend a helping hand is why Doshi thought to create the STEM Innovators Club YouTube channel, set to become public this year. While it’s great that New Albany High School students have the opportunity to speak to STEM professionals and experience science firsthand, Doshi wants students from all over Ohio – and the world – to have access to these materials. The YouTube channel is a way to record and share the talks, experiments and other STEM-related projects the STEM Innovators Club is working on.

“I have a way to reach different kinds of people in different areas who might not have access to these resources,” Doshi says. “They deserve to have that kind of exposure, too.”

All Part of the Equation

Not only is Doshi immersed in STEM and hopeful to pursue a career in health care, he also works diligently to support and encourage younger peers to get excited about science.

A past participant and now middle school coach in the New Albany Science Olympiad, Doshi leads a team of young scientists through fun and challenging STEM-based competitions. Every February, central Ohio middle school teams of up to 15 students compete in unique events that test their analytical skills.

Doshi recalls one of his favorite competitions where competitors were given a random word or subject and had to code a video game based around the premise. Another involved a topographic map and long list of problems to solve with it.

As a coach, Doshi supports his team every step of the way.

“I remember my coach helping me when I competed,” he says, “so I wanted to give back to something that gave me so much.”

Doshi’s passion for STEM isn’t constricted to school boundaries though. When he’s not acing exams, he’s at COSI as a member of the floor team.

“I do a lot of science experiment presentations and help out anywhere I can,” Doshi says. “It’s really cool because I get to walk around all day immersed in unique scientific things – it’s a great experience for students who are interested in STEM. I’d recommend getting involved.”

He believes STEM should be introduced to kids at an early age in order to spark ingenuity and creativity.

“Find fun ways to engage your younger students, whether that’s a homemade science experiment like creating a lava lamp or even talking to someone in the profession,” Doshi says. “Doing little things with science at a young age really makes a difference.”

Try this out with kids age 4-10

Supplies needed

Vegetable oil Water Food coloring Original Alka-Seltzer tablets

Instructions

To begin, color about ½ cup of water with food coloring. You don’t want it to overflow. For this reason, and for quick cleanup, do this on a tray. Take the Alka-Seltzer tablets and break them into 2 or 3 pieces. Place them in a small cup or container. Fill a glass about ¾ full with vegetable oil. Pour in the colored water until the liquid in the cup is about 1-2 inches from the top. Let the children take turns adding a piece of an Alka-Seltzer table to the cup. Do not let them put the tablet in their mouth at any time.

Explanation

The water and oil don’t mix, and the oil doesn’t change color because the food coloring is water soluble. The Alka-Seltzer reacts with the water to make bubbles of carbon dioxide. The bubbles attach themselves to the blobs of colored water and bring them to the top of the glass. When the bubbles pop, the blobs of colored water fall back to the bottom of the glass.

Mallory Arnold is a contributing writer. Feedback welcome at feedback@ cityscenemediagroup.com.

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