by Mary Wilson
As seniors in Grandview approach their final quarter of high
school before graduation, things like prom, college admissions, dorm rooms and
summer jobs are likely at the forefront of these young adults’ minds. However,
for Grandview senior Chayanne Sandoval-Williams, her thoughts are on what sort
of legacy she can leave behind.
“Taking what I have learned here and expanding on it more;
that’s the point of all of this,” said Sandoval-Williams. “The goal of our team
is to inspire people through STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). You
can’t do anything in the shadows; it’s too dark there. We have to go out and
find some light and show off what we’re doing.”
Having just returned from a trip to Charlotte, North
Carolina, where she received the National Center for Women and Information
Technology (NCWIT) award for Aspirations in Computing (AiC), Sandoval-Williams has
had doors open for her in the world of computers and technology in the last few
years. But, she didn’t always dream of working in the tech field.
“I always wanted to be a restaurant owner, but I needed some
classes to fill my freshman schedule,” said Sandoval-Williams. “I noticed that
there was a computer science class. At this point, I hadn’t even considered
engineering because I wanted to be a business owner.”
She caught on, and somewhere along the way, technology
became the forefront of her high school education. Sandoval-Williams said that
here in the Midwest, girls going after the NCWIT award may not have the same
access to opportunities as those from the coasts. She added, though, that
whatever opportunities are given to girls like her, she sees them multiply the
resources in order to accomplish great things. As the girls in technology
programs continue to thrive, Sandoval-Williams said that they will begin
leaving their marks and in the future, Midwesterners will see the same
opportunities as those elsewhere in the country.
“There’s a huge disparity between what a girl in Silicon
Valley may have versus a girl who may live in Indiana,” said Sandoval-Williams.
“We are taking what we have and growing it because we want to decrease the
lacks that we see compared to everywhere else.”
“I first applied for the Aspirations in Computing awards my
sophomore year, but I didn’t have a lot under my belt at that point,” she said.
“I was really just getting into the flow of things. I won regionally, and have
continued applying year after year. This year, winning the national award, I
have met females who have done astonishing things like starting organizations,
and have gone across the world starting initiatives.”
Growing up in the age of dot com, Sandoval-Williams has had
access to technology her entire life. During her eighth-grade year, she had a
teacher who loaned her a book on HTML after she read a JAVA script book she
checked out from the school library. During a break from school, she took the
book and worked on learning HTML, building her first website.
“I was just bored and looking for something to do,” she
said. “The website had a picture of my favorite band and flowers, and it was
gaudy and awful. But, it was the first thing that I had created and I just fell
in love with it.”
At that point, she said she still wasn’t sure that she would
make a career out of this, as she was just playing around with what she had
learned. Taking her first computer science class her freshman year, she was one
of three females in the room.
“My teacher, Mr. Vance, saw something in me that I guess I
had not seen in myself and he invited me to come to a robotics meeting,” she
said. “So, I stuck around for a little bit, and one meeting became another, and
over time I ended up falling in love with all of this.”
She said that what gave her an edge was that she took her
interest in technology beyond the classroom. Due to the lack of programmers on
the robotics team after a few months in, Sandoval-Williams learned how to program
in just a few weeks and is, as a senior, now leading the show.
“It started with robotics, and it’ll end with robotics,” she
said. “When I leave, the team will still be here and they’re still going to be
strong. The goal is that I leave something behind for them. There is a world
out there a lot bigger than Grandview, and I realized I could start here, but
there is so much opportunity out there waiting.”
She has implemented a robotics mentorship program with
students in Grandview elementary schools. With the understanding that
technology moves fast (adding that the first robotics team in Grandview wasn’t
even implemented yet when she was starting kindergarten), Sandoval-Williams
sees the need to inspire and motivate the next generation of STEM learners.
Although, according to Superintendent Dr. Kenny Rodrequez,
Sandoval-Williams is motivating more than just those in elementary school. Teachers,
principals, counselors and district administration have all been impressed with
the soft-spoken yet powerhouse of a teen that she is.
“Chayanne is the epitome of what we want to see from our
students and how much they can accomplish,” said Rodrequez. “She was part of
the all-girls engineering class and discovered a new passion. However, it is
what she has done with that passion that is so amazing. Her continual drive to
learn and to be better is infectious.”
Sandoval-Williams envisions Grandview being a hub for
robotics and Project Lead the Way in the future. She is excited to see the
district embrace STEM by beginning Project Lead the Way programming in pre-k
classes.
“We’ll have this new generation of kids who will be saying,
‘I want to be an actor, or singer, or astronaut. I want to be an engineer,” she
said. “That is super-duper exciting. We’re putting the stones in place for all
of those students to reach those goals. There has always been an amazing
emphasis on both STEM an the arts, and I think it’s important to continue to
grow both, because they have to work together.”
“She makes everyone around her a better person and
continually gives back to her school and to the school district,” said Rodrequez.
“While I will be very sad to see her go, I told her I cannot wait to watch her
walk across the stage, give her a diploma, and then just sit back and watch all
the amazing things she will accomplish with her life after that moment. She is
an excellent example, and one of many, of why I love this job.”
She was also selected as a recipient of KC Scholars
scholarship, which would provide up to $10,000 per year up to five years of
education at a Missouri post-secondary institution. Sandoval-Williams has her
sights on something bigger for herself, though, and may be attending college
out-of-state.
“I might not use it, but it is really cool to know that I
have that available to me,” said Sandoval-Williams. “I came into my senior year
with a large hunk of money waiting, and it helped push me to make a few key decisions.”
She is looking at universities on both the east and west
coasts, but doesn’t intend to make a final announcement until the official
College Decision Day on May 1.
“I am so lucky,” said Sandoval-Williams. “There has been
this abundance of support for me, my sister and my family that has made all of
the schooling experience so different in comparison to anywhere else.”
Ultimately, after she goes off to college, and has several
years of a computer science career under her belt, Sandoval-Williams said that
her dream would be to come back to Grandview and teach. She said thanks to
teachers she has had over the years, who have inspired her and pushed her to
try new and different things, she would like to help inspire another group of
students.
“I’d like to be able to give back my time,” she said. “In
all of the reflecting that I’ve done this year, I’ve found that one of the most
valuable professions that will outlast the turns of time, all of the tech that
will take over the world, all of the art that will fade in and out of
popularity, the most important profession in all of existence will be teaching.
The teachers will always have a direct influence on whatever happens in the
future.”
Ideally, she sees herself in a remodeled version of her
current teacher’s classroom teaching computer science. Her goals will remain
lofty, and she said that she’d like to fulfill some of her passions like owning
a restaurant and becoming a computer programmer first. Either way, she says,
Grandview is and always will be her home.
