Sewa International USA has launched the ASPIRE STEM Enrichment Program in Lowell, Massachusetts, aiming to provide hands-on STEM learning opportunities for middle and high school students.
Sewa International USA, in collaboration with Project Learn and Lowell Public Schools, has officially launched the ASPIRE STEM Enrichment Program across various middle and high school sites in Lowell, Massachusetts. This initiative has transitioned from a three-month planning phase into a fully operational program, currently serving 67 students as of March 2026, with participation numbers steadily increasing.
The program began with 25 middle school students and 11 high school students. Within a matter of weeks, enrollment surged to 38 middle school students and 29 high school students. ASPIRE aims to bridge gaps in public education by offering consistent, hands-on STEM learning experiences for students in Lowell, many of whom are first-generation learners and multilingual.
ASPIRE operates twice a week, focusing on a curriculum developed in partnership with Project Learn that incorporates engineering challenges and scientific experiments. Students engage in activities such as designing marshmallow towers to grasp load distribution concepts and observing demonstrations related to the carbon cycle.
“ASPIRE has been really unpredictable,” shared Phillip Keo, a student at Lowell High School. “When I joined, I expected it to be all schoolwork. But we get to have fun while learning.”
Educators have observed significant improvements in student engagement due to the program’s hands-on approach. “It is a great mix of hands-on learning and critical thinking,” noted Kate Keefe, Community Schools Manager at Lowell High School. “We’ve seen the program grow week by week because students are telling their friends to join.”
Mareena Sullivan, a STEM Academy teacher, emphasized that the program enables students to build upon their classroom learning and apply it in real-world contexts.
To reduce barriers to education, the ASPIRE program includes transportation support and incentive-based participation, ensuring consistent attendance among underserved youth. Chris Hickey, Community School Manager at STEM Academy, highlighted that families appreciate the support systems integrated into the program.
This initiative is backed by an anonymous donor committed to promoting educational equity. The Sewa Boston Chapter, led by Chapter Coordinator Kumar Subramanian, has prioritized the launch of this program for the local South Asian community and the broader city.
“ASPIRE is more than an afterschool STEM program—it is a launchpad for middle and high school students to explore, build, and discover their potential to shape the future,” Subramanian stated.
Local community partners also play a vital role in the program’s ecosystem. Dr. Suresh Jain, a member of the Sewa Board of Directors, mentioned that the Dharma Center of America, which has been providing food services in Lowell for a decade, has expanded its commitment to include educational incentives for participating students.
The operational framework of the program was designed by Radhika Sathe, a Harvard-trained researcher who serves as the Program Architect and Systems Lead. Sathe established compliance frameworks, audit-ready documentation, and tracking systems for evaluation, ensuring the program’s effectiveness.
“I was drawn to this work because it sits at the intersection of structure and impact,” Sathe explained. “The goal was to build a model that is accountable, scalable, and responsive to student needs.”
Sewa International’s ASPIRE framework has already benefited over 3,400 students across various centers in the United States. This collaborative model merges Sewa’s focus on mentorship and development with Project Learn’s extensive experience within Lowell Public Schools.
A public event is scheduled for June 2026, aimed at bringing together students, families, and community leaders to celebrate the program’s impact. The long-term objective for the organizers is to develop a replicable model that can be implemented in other school districts.
According to Source Name, this initiative represents a significant step towards enhancing educational opportunities for students in Lowell.