“My family moved onto Fair Avenue on the Near East Side in 1937, so it’s always been home. I was a naturally curious child. I remember going over to my uncle’s house and spending the night. There was this big red button on the wall that said ‘don’t push,’ and by the end of the night, I pushed it just to see what would happen. Of course, it didn’t shut down the house. It just turned on the hot tub. 

My mom and aunts love to tell me stories about how I would go to the library and check out this black-and-white documentary on trains and locomotives, and then that led to going to the park and looking at the trains that passed by. I started figuring out the math. I knew that if you see two engines, it would have 200-plus cars. 

At night I’d go to bed and look up at the glow-in-the-dark stars mounted on my ceiling. I always felt surrounded by the wonders of this amazing world. 

Before completing my Ph.D. at The Ohio State University, I knew I wanted to give back to my community, and one thing I noticed was that there’s a misconception about a child’s development when it comes to education. We often think the schoolhouse is the only place that’s supposed to be educating your child. But your household, your community-based spaces like rec centers and churches – all three spaces really shape a child’s overall growth. So, we developed See Brilliance to be that community-minded space.  

There is a need for safe spaces for children to be curious, but also for parents to be curious and vulnerable too. Parents will say things like, ‘My kid’s talking to me about astrophysics, and I don’t know what to do about this.’

We encourage parents to learn with their children. To figure things out together. 

I think many people would be surprised to learn that there are STEM deficit zones throughout the city. These are areas where there are no STEM-dedicated schools or community-based spaces. So, our mission is to bring STEM to those areas and fill that gap by providing accessibility and awareness. Some of these kids have never been to COSI or the zoo. We show families that there’s so much here, and it just takes intentionality and a willingness to explore.

Now we have evolved into weekend, in and after-school programming and summer programs where parents can safely leave their kids to learn about STEM throughout the city. Our youngest child is two years old, and you can see her on Saturday making hand sanitizer and hand soap, pouring the chemicals and things like that. You’d be surprised at what a two-year-old can do.

One child, very early on in my educational outreach, became kind of a star for us. He would express how much he hated math. He’d say it was hard and stupid. But I got down and looked him in the eyes, and I asked him, ‘Do you know where math comes from?’ And I told him about the very early origins of math coming from ancient Egypt. This boy said, ‘Well, I’m Black.’ And I explained that Black people are African. I said, ‘So, how can you hate something that is a part of who you are?’

Later on, he went to Morehouse College in Atlanta and double-majored in math and physics. So, that’s what we do. We intentionally teach kids about their respective cultural backgrounds and how they can use their heritage to build upon their skills.” 

– Dr. Nathan Lee Roy Harris is the CEO and Founder of See Brilliance, an organization dedicated to providing youth and families with educational opportunities rooted in Black and Latinx cultures that equip them to discover their innate brilliance.