Anna D’Alessio: Teaching the Science of Problem Solving
April 2021
Anna has been involved with CRS since she was a BASIS volunteer in graduate school at Cal 7 years ago and is currently working with the Science Ambassador and Storytime Science programs. She was selected as an Inspiration Honoree for the 200,000 Students Inspired Celebration in May 2021.
What inspired you to pursue your current position?
I was always curious about how things worked and I liked to break things and take them apart. I played with Legos and Kinex and my dad actually had a woodworking shop and my brother and I would make things with him. That naturally led into going to school for engineering, and I chose mechanical engineering because it felt right– being able to use my hands and make things. Then, I felt like I wasn’t done learning, and I decided to go to grad school for sustainable manufacturing, because I’m very passionate about how the things we make and use everyday impacts the environment and society.
When I was in grad school, [CRS] was a great opportunity to give back and go into elementary schools and talk to students about science and engineering who maybe didn’t have the same experiences as me or hadn’t met an engineer before.
Who inspired you along your career path?
I joined the Society of Women Engineers in undergrad. Being able to meet other women from my university and across the country made a big difference because seeing other people succeed helped me realize that I could too.
What continues to bring wonder into your work?
The more I learn, the more I realize I don’t know. I find wonder in getting to work with experts from different fields, with people from across the world, and seeing how the work that we’re doing impacts all types of people. Sustainability really drives me: how my work is impacting the environment, the economy and society and making sure I have a positive impact on that. Being able to see (how our work is helping people) instead of just hearing it has been really helpful for me.
How do you bring wonder and discovery into your work with CRS?
I like solving problems, I like finding new problems and new solutions. That’s what I’m hoping happens, that kids get to see that, maybe for the first time. There are tons and tons of questions to ask, and that’s what science is: coming with a hypothesis, doing experiments to test it and see if you’re right and it’s a lot of fun.
Describe a memorable, inspiring experience you’ve had volunteering.
When you start off the lessons there’s always at least one kid who wants to tell you stories and has a lot of knowledge of what you’re talking about; and there are other kids that are a little quieter that seem less engaged. Then, as you go through the lesson, they get really excited to show you their diagrams and observations. Those are those moments when you realize you showed them they could think like an engineer and be a scientist for a day.
Do you have a goal with your work/volunteering experiences?
All students are different just like all customers are different and sometimes you have to tailor things to those kids or customers to make sure that what you’re trying to do reaches its full potential and that everyone is able to benefit from it.