Local Heroes
Local Teen is a Charitable Entrepreneur By Jackie Schatell
Supratik (Deep) Ghosh, of Millburn
S
upratik (Deep) Ghosh, of Millburn, is an enterprising young man. At 17, he is starting his second company in four years. In addition, he has donated most of his profits to charity. Four years ago, Deep built his first computer and needed a keyboard. He wanted a special mechanical one that was expensive, but instead of buying it, he sat down and built one for himself. He realized there was a niche market for this type of keyboard and started a company that earned $250K last year. He plans to donate all the proceeds to charity. This year, while he was traveling in Europe, he saw fashion accessories and timepieces that intrigued him. Again, instead of purchasing the expensive ones he saw, he decided to build his own. He says he was intrigued by its workmanship and the intricacies of its inner workings. He then launched a company this summer to sell his custom designed fashion accessories. Deep says he believes that “when you pursue something you are passionate about, you will have success.”
Supratik (Deep) Ghosh hands a check to the Vice President of PS 16 School, Kenneth Roman This entrepreneur is also passionate about being charitable. While in India visiting his grandparents, he met a local philanthropist who was setting up mini schools in small areas. Deep said this opened his eyes to realizing how lucky he was to have the opportunities he has. This led to him to donate $10,000 from the money he earned from his business to World Central Kitchen, Khan Academy and to schools in the US through DonorsChoose. He says he felt great making the donations but that he had expected to receive updates and progress, but he didn’t. It got him to start his own charity called stemGoals, which is funded by his keyboard business. Here, he can make a direct impact with his donations. When he got home, Deep began reaching out to schools to see where he could make a difference. He says that because of his age, he doesn’t think some of them took him seriously. However, one school in particular, Paterson School 16, an elementary school, did take him up on his quest. He spoke to the administration and learned that because of the pandemic, the children had fallen behind in math and sciences.
Deep made a $20,000 donation to the school and helped design a hands-on, project-based STEM program for the students. One such project was building a garden where 30 students learned about area, volume and the like. He says the kids really thrived. “The garden boosted their engagement and they actively wanted to participate,” says Deep. The program ran through the 20212022 school year. The program was so successful in bringing up the kids’ grades that “the principal told me that it is being added to the school’s permanent budget,” says Deep. “It was gratifying to see the donated money used for such a great cause. It meant a lot to me to see the impact my donation made and to know that it will outlast my modest donation.” Next, he is donating to a program that will get projectors into the schools in Uganda to stream subjects and topics that are otherwise out of reach due to lack of qualified teachers. He is also looking for matching donors. To learn more or make a donation, go to stemgoals.org.
If you know someone that goes above and beyond, send an email to jackie.subessex@gmail.com 8
Vicinity Magazine
Winter 2022