I want to take a moment, back up, and introduce myself. My name is Arielle and I am the founder of Journey to STEAM. I planned and taught our first program in December of 2023, with a newborn and toddler at home. I started this, selfishly, as a solution to two of my own problems. First, after spending the past decade as a school principal, I needed to pivot my career to allow me to be more present for my children. Second, my husband and I have big dreams for our children, hoping that they will become astronauts who can one day tell us what it’s really like on Mars. I searched for STEAM programs in our area and couldn’t find any. “So”, I thought, “I’ll do it myself!”. Along the way, we have connected with many schools and families, and it means so much that our programs provide opportunities for collaboration, rigor, creativity, and most importantly: JOY. As my family has grown (we now have 3 children, our youngest is 5 months), so has our organization and our impact.

As a principal, I loved hearing the laughter of children, and I am so deeply grateful that I still get to hear this music every time I witness our programs. As a principal, I also enjoyed supporting teachers, developing training, setting goals, coaching and modeling best practices so that their students received the best education possible. I took that with me and it lives in our organization now. We hire less than 10% of applicants that apply to be an instructor for us. We only want the best on our team. Our instructors come to us with years, sometimes decades, of experience teaching children with excellence. Most have higher degrees in Education, a STEM field, or both. They all possess a hunger to get our kiddos to that aha! moment. We train, coach, and collaborate with every instructor on a regular basis, a true rarity in the kids enrichment space. 

What truly fills my heart is when I see children coding, building, engineering, collaborating, testing, refining, and presenting their masterful creations. They move with curiosity, excitement, and determination. I am in awe of their brilliance. I observe participants navigate the unavoidable tension that comes with collaboration: sharing, negotiating, voting, giving and receiving feedback, accountability, empathy, self-regulation. Our instructors work diligently to bolster these essential soft-skills. When designing the learning experience, I no longer plan through the lens of an educator. I now have the perspective of a parent who wants the absolute best for my children and will do the best I can to provide a holistic education for them, something I have in common with every single family and organization that invests in our programs.    

Overall, I am proud to be a part of Journey to STEAM. I am honored that families trust us with their most precious little beings of light, love, hope, and possibility. I started this work with the same high expectations I had as a teacher and school administrator. I continue this work with the devotion and love of a mother. If you’ve read this far, thank you for witnessing our origin story and supporting our programs. We look forward to continuing to expand our impact in our community: one program, one super cool project, one joyous laugh at a time.

With Grace and Gratitude,

Dr. Arielle Hammond, EdD