Wayzata Student Creates ‘Sparkway Learning’ to Share Knowledge
Pratishtha Praveen says she got bored in the spring of 2020 and decided to create a nonprofit for other students to share their knowledge. Her nonprofit is called Sparkway Learning. It allows volunteer students to share their knowledge on topics ranging from web development to public speaking in workshops that are free for anyone to attend.
“Sparkway Learning started because I was super interested in teaching and tutoring. We have the academic mentor program here at Wayzata, and I was part of that. I was a top tutor there and so I decided I wanted to take it a step further,” explains Praveen.
Pratishtha Praveen, student at Wayzata High School
The workshops are open to anyone. Praveen says they offer a different approach because the information is taught by peers.
“I feel like when you are getting taught by someone who is more in your age range, they are more familiar with words that you are accustomed to,” said Praveen. “Its easier to teach someone around your age range because you are familiar to their experiences and you know what works for you best and you are able to apply that knowledge back when you are teaching them.”
Fellow volunteer teacher Neev Mangal says he used his experience on the speech and debate team to teach a workshop on public speaking.
“It does make a lot of sense because these students are just where I was a few years ago,” said Mangal. “Maybe they enjoy working with their hands. Maybe they enjoy algorithmic thinking or maybe they really enjoy speeches. They just need some direction or a sort of guide on how to move forward.”
To learn more about Sparkway Learning, click here.
Wayzata High School
