CITRIS | PUBLIC OUTREACH SPECIALIST | Art director - Videographer | 2020-2023
STEM outreach program for underrepresented students
TEAM
Academy Director, Program Manager, Videographer, Brand Designer
Context
The 8-edition Summer Drone Academy, until 2022, supported 400+ underrepresented 9th to 12th graders in Yolo County, utilizing Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UASs) to explore aviation and engineering principles. When I joined we needed:
- Funding – Capture and expose the program's impact
- Applicants – A strategy to reach the intended audience
- Catalog – Efficiently capture and display advancements and organize previous editions library
CONTRIBUTIONS
- Developed brand redesign for the program
- Creation of Intros, Outros, Transitions, Editing, and Post creating impact report videos
- Helped to organize and orient the program
- Developed video impact report for the program with original videography, photography, and interviews
DRONE ACADEMY 2022 IMPACT REPORT VIDEO
Navigating the research and education landscape
I had previous experience designing for non-profit organizations, which helped to jumpstart this project with a relevant “desk research” compendium. The biggest challenge for CITRIS was to raise funding for the program, so we brainstormed novel ways to showcase our impact report as well as reaching out to previous participants to gauge what drove their interest in the program.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
From Discovery
Students showed diverse interests, with a notable resonance in the piloting and competition aspects.
Seldom in-person presentations, most stakeholder reviewed program asynchronously.
There was no on-line repository – for the content generated during the live events.
Earned media opportunity with the tech for social good angle of the program.
Application management was done in a project by project basis.
Follow-up stories with attendees, volunteers, researchers, or staff were inexistent.
5-day DRONE ACADEMY curriculum
STEM based drone education for underrepresented high school students with inspiration from nature and real-life applications, fostering diversity and creating impactful opportunities.
VIDEO BY ADRIEL OLMOS
Raptors in flight, airfoils and wing dynamics
The STEM and Aviation Academies featured live falcons, hawks, and owls from Birds of Prey, demonstrating their anatomy as the basis for aircraft designs and showcasing how their wings create lift for versatile flying.
Flying the Bionic Bird, Ornithopters and Biomimetics
After completing the Raptors In Flight modules, students in pairs assembled Ornithopters—mini-drones mimicking doves. They built the tail, wings, and control surfaces, practicing flight both indoors and outdoors.
VIDEO BY ADRIEL OLMOS
Drone build workshop, engineering flying machines
In building modules, student teams of two assembled control boards, engines, power supplies, radio equipment, and cameras. They learned how these components collaborate to create drones with varied missions and flight capabilities.
Rocket Launch aka Drones in Space
In 2022, the Academy introduced "Drones in Space" as UC Davis hosted NASA-funded research, including UCD Engineering graduates contributing to the NASA Ingenuity Mars Drone Program. The teams achieved success, with high payload survival rates, gaining valuable insights into real-world engineering and aerospace careers.
VIDEO BY ADRIEL OLMOS
Drones in Flight Team Challenge Showcase
At the end of the Academy, student teams engaged in flight and teamwork challenges, applying their acquired drone flying skills. The challenges, inspired by real-world drone missions like search and rescue, payload delivery, and utility inspection, also included a written component for earning their FAA Drone TRUST certificate.
A WORD FROM PROGRAM DIRECTOR – Nate Metzler
“In telling the story of formation, funding, and community impact, Jean played a crucial role in the Drone Academy Team, contributing with Creative Services, Directorship, and Production assets at various levels.”
Recognition and grants from top UAS research institutions
Across 8 editions, the program secured funding from ASSURE, a leader in UAS training. It featured expert presentations from NASA and the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration), which not only highlighted our work on their Twitter and YouTube channels but also sponsored active participation by personnel from their Washington DC office in our Drone Academy events.
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
IMAGE BY ADRIEL OLMOS
500+
Tutoring hours from undergrad, grad students, PIs
1100+
Davis - Sacramento Area high-school students impacted
27 %
Raise participation from underrepresented students
VIDEOS FROM PREVIOUS EDITIONS
Drone propelled purpose
This program was available at fewer than five universities nationwide, and we take pride in its positive impact on numerous students in the Davis-Sacramento Valley who might not have otherwise had this opportunity.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Designing for Storytelling
When I started working with CITRIS as a part-time post-editing designer I never thought our relationship would grow to so many personally relevant projects.
In this enduring 4-year relationship, I developed technical skills such as drone flying, video shooting, post-editing, and interview setting. Additionally, I cultivated soft skills to foster team cohesion and enhance collaboration with participants.
This is only one of the projects I've helped to manage in my time with CITRIS, others include TFSG (Tech for Social Good); Sack Hacks, Seed Funding, and Women Machinery Club, among other single project video stories.
Planning a video shoot is such an idiosyncratic experience demanding the ability to flow from planning the composition of a single frame without losing sight of the main story being told.
All rights reserved Jean Menezes – 2023
