Many teenager have options when it comes to extracurricular activities; you can join a sports team or an after-school club, but there's typically a cost to participate - an expense some families simply cannot afford. Our KNX Hero of the Week is working to fix that in her Irvine community.
17-year-old Anisha Bhatnagar, a senior from Woodbridge High School, is doing her part to make competing in the Science Olympiad accessible for all her classmates who wish to compete.
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Bhatnagar tells KNX Heroes producer Heather Jordan to compete in the Olympiad, "You often will have to buy different kits or different materials...
and we also need to spend money to go to invitationals, which are like practice competitions. But if we don't have the funds to do so, that puts us at a disadvantage against teams that do."
The team at Woodbridge has seen a decline in fundraising, which has made advancing the team's performance difficult. So, as the team's co-caption, Bhatnagar decided to do something about it.
Bhatnagar designed a curriculum for kids aged four to 13 and hosted a summer camp, and thanks to the camp, she was able to support students and their families having trouble making ends meet.
"It was such a transformative experience for me to run and set up the camp," Bhatnagar said, and she hopes to pass the 'baton' to the upcoming students as she prepares to attend university, where she plans to learn more about systemic issues at the root of inequity.
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