The Echelon Catapult program, run by a mix of students from Saint Francis High School and Jesuit High School Sacramento, aims to expand interest in Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) subjects for students in fifth to eighth grade. Initially founded in 2020, the program has grown to become one of the most prominent at Jesuit.

Ali Zaidi ’25, one of Echelon Catapult’s Chief ExecutiveOfficers (CEOs), brings high school students from SFHS and Jesuit together to help middle school students in need. 

“The Echelon Tutoring Initiative ran throughout the past school year,” Ali said. “We paired together Jesuit and St. Francis high school students with middle school students from across the Greater Sacramento Area to provide academic support and mentorship to struggling students.”

Phanthong “Gino” Phumnapath ’25, a member of the Echelon Catapult team, respects the impact the organization has on the life of middle school students.

“It’s important because we primarily focus on helping kids in need, kids that don’t have the opportunity to get this kind of education at their school,” Gino said. “And we believe that by helping them we give them a better future and more chances to do what they want in life.” 

Kinnera “Kin” Tirumala, an SFHS student and one of the CEOs of Echelon Catapult, has seen how successful the program  has been at retaining middle school students through the duration of the program.

“Most of the people we teach continue our classes,” Kin said. “I’ve seen some students from our PAL classes who didn’t initially want to be there come back for more in the following weeks.”

One of the high school students, Koen Miyashiro ’25, enjoys seeing students staying engaged and pursuing interest in STEM subjects.

“We teach a lot of students a lot of good things; we have had students come back from multiple years, during the summer to retake our classes,” Koen said. “The kids say that they have had a good experience taking it in prior years.”

Ali enjoys sharing his interest in STEM subjects through the diverse range of classes that Echelon Catapult offers.

“Our members come together and teach week-long classes throughout June and July in subjects ranging from robotics engineering to psychology and neuroscience’,” Ali said. “It is my favorite part of Echelon Catapult because I get to share my passion for STEM with younger students.”

Echelon Catapult also teaches high school students valuable leadership skills. 

“[Being a leader of Echelon Catapult] teaches you how to schedule and plan events, make curriculum for classes, and engage with the kids so that the material will stick with them,” Kin said. “Being a teacher is challenging, and they’re some of the most crucial people to our society. Leadership makes you respect instructors even more, especially those who teach younger grades.” 

Altogether, Echelon Catapult impacts the lives of its students, offering them the opportunity to discover and pursue new interests that they can carry with them throughout their academic journeys.