“We were like, ‘What? You exist?’… My classmates and I were like, ‘We can do this.’… It was a game changer.”

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Duodu went on to get a PhD in chemistry. She’s now CEO of Visions of Science Network for Learning, a charitable organization that runs free educational programs in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) for youth in low-income communities. It works with Toronto Community Housing (TCH) and Peel Housing Corporation in 24 locations across Toronto, Mississauga and Brampton, serving more than 500 youth from Grades 3 to 12.

The goal is to break down barriers — negative perceptions of STEM and limited funding for and access to opportunities — and engage kids with hands-on learning experiences. A reason for this is 70 per cent of future jobs will require STEM-based literacy and skills, according to Let’s Talk Science, a national STEM-based organization.

“I’ve always had a passion for youth from (social) housing,” says Duodu, 30, who last year moved out of her mom’s apartment in TCH. “I saw the opportunity gaps, but also saw their potential.”

The organization runs STEM clubs for kids in Grades 3 to 8 on Saturdays from October to May in community spaces such as a building’s recreation room or community centre. Children participate in experimental workshops and learn, for instance, how to make paint, build robots and create hydraulic mazes. And they visit places such as the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario Science Centre.

When Duodu stepped into a volunteer leadership role at the organization in 2012 — she became CEO in 2016 — STEM clubs were in six communities and are now in 24. They were so successful that a STEM Community Leaders program was created for kids in Grades 8 to 12. In the summer, they visit places such as labs, universities and hospitals. And during the school year, they help run the STEM clubs for younger children, which develops leadership skills.

With Duodu at the helm, the organization became a charity and has been steadily growing, with six full-time staff, 24 part-time workers and 95 volunteers, mostly university STEM students. The organization receives federal funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada and from the Ontario Trillium Foundation, which is a provincial agency.

Dawn Britton is the associate director of outreach at U of T Engineering, which has partnered with Visions for almost two decades. Since Duodu came on board, the relationship has deepened. With each passing year, Britton says she sees more kids who aren’t afraid to put up their hands, are thinking of taking Grade 11 physics and who want to go to university.

“She’s creating a culture within Visions where it is cool to be smart,” says Britton. “That’s powerful.”

And, she says, Duodu has been very good about engaging the support network of youth — parents, grandparents, siblings, influencers — and inviting them to events, which is key to their success.

Nawaal Ali Sharif, 16, a Grade 11 student at Humberside Collegiate, says Visions programming “will change your life.” Four years ago, she started going to the STEM club in her Swansea Mews complex in the city’s west end. Back then, Sharif had little interest in science, which was synonymous with lectures and textbooks. That’s not the case now. “I actually truly love STEM,” she says, noting there were other changes too.

“I was shy. I didn’t like speaking and my confidence level was not at its peak … But since joining the program, my confidence has gone up.”

She hopes to study STEM in university and become a teacher. And, she thinks she’d be pretty good too, given her newly acquired leadership skills.

“Visions gave me an understanding of how to handle kids, make them have fun and help them understand and learn concepts they would not ordinarily understand at their age.”

She hasn’t ruled out becoming a scientist — she knows it’s possible.

“When I met Eugenia, I was like ‘Whoa.’ There are people who look like me who can be scientists. She completely changed my (perception) of what a scientist looked like.”

Duodu was raised as an only child in Etobicoke, in a TCH building on Capri Rd., in the Eatonville neighbourhood. She credits her mother with instilling in her a deep sense of community, that was reinforced at their local church — Church on the Queensway — where they are both still active.

Duodu remembers her mother making breakfast for a kid who lived down the hall, and giving it to him in a bag at the elevator so he wouldn’t go to school hungry. Her mother modelled kindness and Duodu was a fast learner.

As a toddler in daycare, according to stories her mom tells, Duodu would wipe the runny noses of children and alert caregivers to poopy diapers. And when she grew up, she’d help her peers by leading tutoring and reading groups.

Duodu’s mother, an accounting clerk, was always ready to help with homework, especially math. And she’d sign her daughter up for library programs, piano lessons and art camps. “We didn’t have the money to do certain things but my mom made sure to go after opportunities and see what subsidies were available,” recalls Duodu.

“I was very empowered to learn and go forward with my learning, but I didn’t see that empowerment translate to my classmates, who I knew had the ability … From a young age, I remember feeling like, ‘Why is it that I like this and some people don’t?’ or ‘Why am I doing well and some people aren’t?’”

Growing up, she was interested in science, but it was a “weird closeted passion.” Then, in Grade 10, at Martingrove Collegiate Institute, she took a biotechnology course. A class project involved having to do a series of tests to determine an unknown bacteria strain. Duodu was hooked. She researched tirelessly and figured it out.

“We had the best teacher. He was a complete light, and was totally hands-on,” recalls Duodu. “He opened up my world to the practical side of science. It was like science lifting off your textbook and operating in real life.”

She had not planned on continuing science but when Grade 11 started she asked to switch into physics, chemistry and biology. The guidance counsellor discouraged it, saying, “Why would you do that? It’s going to be so hard for you.”

Duodu was confused. The previous year she had aced science, but maybe the counsellor was right and she couldn’t hack it. But Duodu decided to follow her mom’s advice and insisted on getting into those science classes.

“As I excelled in university I would think back to that moment and think, ‘Oh my goodness, what if I had listened to (the guidance counsellor)? Did she say this to other people who didn’t know much about their abilities or themselves?”

During that “game-changer” of a summer mentorship program at the university, Duodu shadowed scientists in labs and followed doctors on rotation, witnessing live births, reading X-rays and studying MRIs.

“It was awesome,” recalls Duodu, who returned to high school with a new focus. “I knew I wanted to go to university and I was no longer afraid of going to school for a long time.”

While doing an undergraduate degree at U of T — she earned an Honours Bachelor of Science (chemistry and biology) — Duodu worked part-time as a youth worker for Toronto Community Housing.

“I (saw) what life was like across housing, across the city. That started shaping my perspective drastically, seeing how some challenges were the same, and some were completely different, depending on where you lived. Certain ends of the city were better resourced than others and that inevitably affected what happened in school.”

At the time, TCH was in the midst of the Tower Renewal project, retrofitting older buildings to make them more energy efficient. Residents complained about things such as low water pressure, and Duodu explained the science behind it and how money being saved could go back into community programs.

“I began to realize that it’s so important for communities to be scientifically literate, especially when science is happening to you anyways.”

After her undergrad, she pursued a PhD in chemistry. (The Master’s program is rolled into the PhD.) Spending countless hours in the lab researching cancer diagnostic tools taught her to look at problems and challenges in a different way and to be open to new possibilities. She drew upon those lessons when she began volunteering with Visions in 2011.

“There were systemic barriers to participation in STEM for youth in low-income communities and I began to think of ways to provide even more opportunities, despite these barriers.”

It was also during her PhD that she established a relationship with her father — a chemist — with whom she’s now very close.

“It put together a lot of pieces as to why I liked science,” she says. “It’s funny, I grew up not knowing any scientists and it turns out (I am the daughter of one.)”

After finishing her PhD in 2015, Duodu could have pursued academia or industry, but was “deeply passionate” about Visions and dedicated herself full-time to the organization.

There’s little research in Canada on children in low-income communities and academic achievement in STEM. But according to a 2014 Toronto District School Board report, the 2011-2012 EQAO results — tests administered by the Education Quality and Accountability Office — show that 65 per cent of students in Grade 3, and 57 per cent of Grade 6 students, from low-income families (earning less than $30,000), achieved the provincial standard for math. By comparison, 89 per cent of students in Grade 3, and 85 per cent in Grade 6, from high-income families (earning more than $100,000), met that standard.

Given the lack of research, Visions is tracking the progress of kids in their STEM clubs.

“We’re trying to get the data … Why are youth from low-income communities so under-represented in STEM? What are the determinants that go into that?

“It doesn’t mean that children from low-income communities have less aptitude for science or less interest. Everyone grows up, to a certain point, liking it … But then it stops.”

Maurice Bitran, CEO & Chief Science Officer of the Ontario Science Centre, which partners with Visions, says “every kid who drops out of school or doesn’t get the opportunity to pursue what they have talent for, is a loss for society as a whole.”

“Anything we can do to inspire kids from these backgrounds and give them opportunities will change their lives, but also will be a positive impact for society.”

As for Visions’ future, there are plans to expand into communities in Scarborough and Rexdale and grow the programming aimed at high school kids. Beyond that, Duodu hasn’t yet decided whether to focus on deepening the impact in the GTA or moving into other parts of Ontario or Canada.

“We have had the opportunity to watch so many of the youth that we work with grow in many ways,” says Duodu. “From what I can already see now I am excited about the future of our communities, this city and the country. They are extraordinary and I can’t wait to see all that they do.”

Eugenia Duodu will be speaking at TEDxToronto at the Evergreen Brickworks on Friday, Oct. 26, at 2:35 p.m. Tomorrow’s day-long event can be viewed on a live stream www.tedxtoronto.com beginning at 10 a.m.

The Star is profiling 12 Canadians who are making our lives better. Next week we talk to fiscal transparency watchdog Kevin Page.