First Person: Dr. Sherryline Brahim

Innovation

By Dr. Sherryline Brahim, STEM Department Chair

One of our school’s first-rate achievements over the past decade has been the adoption, celebration, and progression of various aspects of innovation, the fruit of which has allowed Crespi to not just survive, but thrive! To illustrate the influence of innovation in STEM at Crespi, I will use a fitting and relevant analogy of a tree with many fruitful branches. With innovation as the trunk, we spread our creativity.

Crespi introduced its educational STEMinar series in a presentation and

open discussion format in 2014. To this day, students are educated on diverse STEMbased career paths spanning engineering, medicine, space, architecture, agriculture, AI, entomology, and sustainability, to name a few.

Crespi was a pioneer among high schools in offering a hands-on nanotechnology workshop in the summer

of 2015. Students from Crespi and other schools experienced a four-day seminar with lectures followed by practical lab exercises and hands-on activities. Students studied all aspects of next-generation nanomaterials from synthesis, characterization, and utilization in ubiquitous fields of medicine, clothing, sports, space, defense, and mobility.

STEM Expo 2022 at Crespi went virtual for the first time on the heels

of the global pandemic. Our students compiled creative infographics and used QR codes to embed short videos of themselves explaining their projects. Under the theme of “Environmental Awareness,” they identified, researched, and proposed practical solutions to many of our environmental problems. Their innovative work is still displayed at a virtual art gallery using the web-based software Artsteps.

Crespi hosted its first-ever annual e-waste collection for our Crespi community and surrounding neighborhood in April 2022 in partnership with the LA Conservation

Corps. Our school received 80% of the proceeds from this event.

In June 2022, Crespi successfully worked with the City to plant beautiful Australian Willows and Crepe Myrtle trees in the empty wells on Santa Rita

St. Funds were raised at Crespi Giving Day for this project. Our students are taking their learning to the next level and becoming active advocates for change.

FIRST PERSON: DR. BRAHIM

This fall, Crespi will be hosting its

second annual Regatta. Junior high students from local middle schools compete to design and construct boats made of recyclable materials.

Finally, Crespi recently received a Society of Mount Carmel Grant to spearhead our composting initia-

tive on campus. Plans are underway to carry out a composting competition across grade levels; use the compost we create as soil and send each student home with a plant on Earth Day 2023. These highlights are just a snapshot of innovation in our STEM program at Crespi. Other departments are also constantly redesigning the learning experience to be far more relevant to our students by engaging them in a higher level of thinking. Innovation at Crespi is more than just technology; it’s how we use technology to empower our students to become lifelong learners and agents of change. The word ‘Innovation,’ therefore, brings a sense of newness, difference, and change, and with this change, an inevitable sense of wonder. And rightly so, for at the heart of the word is “nova” – which calls to mind the stars in their brilliant glory. In this light, it is no wonder that innovation is so profoundly integrated at Crespi, for etched within the fabric of our shield are stars – shining role models of faith, legacy, and new possibilities. Indeed, our Crespi is a nebula – the home of Celt-shaped stars, wonder, and all things new. Go Celts! .

Dr. Brahim received her Doctorate in Chemistry from the University of the West Indies.