B-Relyt: Education Plus Impact

(Photo courtesy of "B", and used with permission.)

Nonprofit B-Relyt is all about empowering students in the Black community.

But what founder Kimlin Johnson and her husband and family are teaching, goes far beyond expertise in science, technology, engineering, art and math.

As a Saturday program, B-Relyt provides an opportunity for students, fifth grade and up, to get a firm educational foundation.   They get to practice math, ask questions and see what the subject has to do with their everyday lives.   They also get to build "cool stuff" in the science portion of the program.

Kimlin and her husband Stan, both engineers, are in charge of the math and science.  Meanwhile, daughter Tyler and son Isaiah are helping with the arts component.  In the future, the curriculum will include Black history, communications, art and possibly music.

And the goal: to make an impact, not just in the students' future careers, but by teaching them self-confidence and life skills.    In addition to her background as an engineer, Kimlin is the author of Authenticity, Accountability, and Ambitions: Speaking the Truth Through a Black Woman's Eyes.  Her book provides both code and a vision for a better world, and information on Black history which was never taught in schools, in the past.

Kimlin talked about her background as a civil engineer, how she and her family came to create their nonprofit and what students experience in the program.
On this edition of Over Coffee®, you will hear:

How Kimlin first became inspired to make engineering her career;

The story of  B-Relyt;

How B-Relyt is inspiring students in a local school with Saturday STEAM classes;

What students experience in a B-Relyt Saturday class;

Where art fits in the engineering equation;

The "real-life" applications of math and science which Kimlin and Stan are teaching;

How B-Relyt relates Black history to inspiring students today;

The ways B-Relyt reaches students with different learning styles;

What Kimlin's arts-oriented daughter learned from a STEM experience that enhanced her artistic talents;

The challenges Kimlin, Stan and B-Relyt are looking to surmount, in the Black community;

Kimlin's vision for expanding the program to serve more students, within the next few years;

How the average listener can help;

One of the best learning experiences Kimlin herself has had, as an educator, while teaching her students.

A preview of her book, Authenticity, Accountability, and Ambition;

Kimlin's advice to teachers on improving education;

And, a memory of the educator who inspired her the most!