Cynthia Saucedo, Director, STEM Career Prep

Cynthia Saucedo on the 2022 Lumity STEM Fair & our Corporate Volunteers

The 2022 Lumity Annual Benefit and STEM Fair is a wrap! Our student teams from Von Steuben, Amundsen, Thornwood, Thornridge, and CVCA high schools showcased their innovative STEM solutions—from making Chicago’s public transportation more accessible to addressing rising sea waters. Enjoy their elevator pitches here.

While the STEM Fair is an amazing evening, the student projects don’t happen overnight! Their design solutions were supported by our dedicated corporate volunteers from Ferrara Candy, Clarity Partners, PwC, CDW, KPMG, Discover, Brookfield Properties, and our very own Cynthia Saucedo. 

As our STEM Career Prep director, Cynthia recently joined the Lumity team last fall and brought a wealth of experience in teaching, business, and nonprofit management. Her expertise has been invaluable in helping shape Lumity’s STEM career learning experiences for students this year, including the Real World Projects students presented at the STEM Fair. 

“What we are doing at Lumity helps students get motivated towards creating a pathway to success,” says Cynthia. “The Real World Projects are about making sure students understand how they can utilize the design thinking model to create a positive impact on real issues in their communities. We provide them experiences in identifying and solving real problems like single-use plastics, microplastics, and recycling that could one day change the world!”

Of course, Cynthia’s favorite part of her role is being able to work directly with high school students—who she calls “hilarious.” The other is connecting our school partners to resources/networks that enhance their teaching experience, such as volunteers from our corporate partners.

“We recently hosted a one-day STEM design challenge that connected Blue Cross Blue Shield volunteers with students at CVCA,” Cindy explains. “The kids were so excited to be recognized for their work and ideas by BCBS volunteers, including BCBS’ generous awards of tablets and swag for the first and second place teams in the challenge. The kids were really recharged—and the volunteers got to see the impact they were making in person. It was so powerful.”

“I feel great about my work because I bring valuable assets and support to our schools and kids,” Cynthia concludes. “There is tremendous impact in having corporate mentors in-person with our students. They are a big piece of the puzzle helping our Lumity students build their pathway to success.”