Left to right, STEAMbassadors Luis Avila, Adán Juarez and Miguel Juarez pose for a selfie in Goldsboro, North Carolina. Photo by Luis Avila for Project Exploration.
“I didn’t think I would like coding as much as I did. I literally just went because it was like a nice opportunity,” said STEAMbassador and Year-Round Youth Employment Program (YREP) participant Luis Avila. “I wanted to teach the kids something new.”
On October 20th, Avila, joined by STEAMbassadors Adán Juarez and Miguel Juarez attended the National Coalition of Certification (NC3) Train-the-Trainer Swift course at Wayne Community College in Goldsboro, North Carolina supported by Project Exploration.
STEAMbassador Adán Juarez, another YREP participant, walks in front of Goldsboro City Hall. Photo by Luis Avila for Project Exploration.
After completing the four-day intensive, a week of virtual classes and passing a certification test, Avila plans to use the training to help develop a Swift coding program for students in Project Exploration’s after school program.
“I’m excited to teach them. I don’t know if it’s going to be in spring or summer but I would say the curriculum is going to be fun for the kids.”
Programming in Swift. Photo by Luis Avila for Project Exploration.
Avila was born and raised in Mexico and moved to the US when he was 11. Last summer, he formally joined Project Exploration as a STEAMbassador, after volunteering on and off for two years. He taught the Brothers4Science, sixth to eighth grade boys, architecture program, and used his experience to adapt the curriculum to students’ interests and capabilities
“My experience with architecture helped me determine, ‘Okay, even I know this is hard for them,’” said Avila, who holds an associates degree in architecture from Wright College. “At the beginning I could see that they were not super interested in it, and at the end I could see that almost all of them were super happy. And they were super engaged.”
STEAMbassador Luis Avila times his students in the Brothers4Science, sixth to eighth grade boys, program in June 2025. Photo Photo by Benjamin Cummings for Project Exploration.
Avila noticed that students did not know how to use a ruler, and he reported this information to the curriculum team, which led to the introduction of the “Tool Explorers” segment in curriculum this fall.
By the end of the program, students had made sophisticated models from cardboard and wood. They learned how to make a floor plan, different types of windows, columns, and rooms said Avila. Photo by Benjamin Cummings for Project Exploration.
Avila likened programming in Swift to architecture because the structure is important in programs and buildings.
“I’m planning to practice a lot more and see if I can create my own app,” said Avila. “I think it would be cool for the parents to have that option to literally just have an app where they can see when we go on field trips; or send a message if the kids need help with homework; that’s also my way of giving back to Project Exploration for sending me to this.”