April 10, 2025

Becoming boundless

“Learning should feel uncomfortable,” Professor Maibaum said, snapping me out of my thoughts and back into the reality of first-year Chem 142 lecture. “That means you’re pushing the limits of what you know.”

It was the day after our first midterm, and the mood in the lecture hall was heavy. My mind drifted to a middle school memory of sitting frozen at my desk, staring at a blank long division worksheet. I cracked jokes to mask my fear of failure, but my teacher saw through it. Instead of sending me to detention, he patiently worked through each problem with me, teaching me to stay in the discomfort and embrace what seemed impossible. I had been so afraid of failing that I hadn’t even given myself the chance to try.

That moment marked a turning point in my academic journey. It became the first of many stepping stones, each one guiding me through challenging problems and self-doubts, leading me to this lecture hall and the reminder to keep pushing the limits. I found those limits tested not just in the classroom, but in the very spaces I walked through on campus — like the Quad, where a sandwich board caught my eye, boldly asking, “Are you passionate about STEM and equity?”

I answered with a “yes,” wondering what role I could play in making a change, sparking my path to Riverways Education Partnerships at the Community Engagement and Leadership Education (CELE) Center. The Riverways outreach program connects UW undergraduates with K-12 students in rural and tribal communities through STEM education.

By spring quarter, I was on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, in Forks, population 3,400. In the center of a Forks Elementary School classroom, I stood teaching a hands-on rocket curriculum to fourth graders as a mentor of the Riverways’ STEM Alternative Spring Break (ASB) program.

STEM ASB prepares undergrads for mentoring and teaching STEM across Washington. In this quarter-long program, we take a seminar focused on inclusive and culturally aware teaching methods. During the UW’s spring break, we step into our roles, creating and delivering engaging lessons. The connections we build and the impact we make are far more rewarding than a week at the beach — STEM ASB is always worth it.

A student picked up a ruler and attempted to balance it on her fingertip. My team and I had just wrapped up our lesson on the center of mass, and the room was buzzing with energy and curiosity. She found its center and, finding balance, broke into a massive smile.

At lunch that day, I watched the students experiment with their spoons — far more difficult instruments to balance. It hit me that they were living each lesson, playing with it, making it their own.

Later, our program supervisor received an email from one of our students’ parents, writing that their child came home excited — really excited! The student spent the evening balancing objects around the house, explaining the concept of the center of mass to the family like a professor. The parent shared how thrilled their child was to go to school the next day.

I found myself looking forward to it just as much as the students. Over the course of the week, students asked me question after question. “Do you think I could go to UW? “How hard is it? Did you see Michael Penix Jr. play last weekend?”

Those questions were familiar. It was the same uncertainty I once had about belonging in spaces like these. But standing in front of a classroom full of students eager to learn, I realized how much had changed. We weren’t just teaching rockets; we were showing them that STEM wasn’t distant or out of reach. It was in their hands, in their curiosity, and in the way they kept experimenting long after class was over.

That belief that you belong — that you can — is just as important as the resources and the teaching. I know this because I was once that student searching for reassurance, and I understand the power of someone seeing your potential before you even see it. The role of an educator is unlike any other.

“Trying is what matters the most. If you put in the effort that’s all that matters.” My dad has said that more times than I can count. Growing up in a family of eight as the only daughter, I always had people lifting me up. I wouldn’t be here without the support of those in my life.

“Come back!” “We’ll miss you!”

I stared at the messages left by the students on the whiteboard, overwhelmed by the connections we had built. Education isn’t just about knowledge. It’s about discovery, self-belief and innovation. It’s about seeing possibilities where you once saw limits. Sometimes, all it takes is one class, one conversation, one moment to change everything.

This experience didn’t just shape the students, it shaped me. I came to Riverways unsure of where I was headed, but I left Forks knowing exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to continue creating these moments and expand access to STEM for students who might otherwise not see themselves in it. Now, as a Riverways team leader and Equity in STEM intern, I help others bring these experiences to classrooms, building on what first drew me to this work. It shifted my path toward education, toward opportunities that merge teaching, equity and STEM.

Our work is funded by a NASA grant, and I have experienced firsthand how resources, mentorship and opportunity make a difference. Belief and opportunity go hand in hand, and sometimes that’s all a student needs to realize that STEM is for them — to learn to embrace the impossible and always keep pushing the limits.

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Salma Rashwan, ‘26, is a University of Washington undergraduate majoring in psychology and education. She is the 2024 recipient of the Washington Campus Coalition for the Public Good President’s Student Civic Leadership Award and is a UW nominee for the Newman Civic Fellowship. Through her work with Riverways Education Partnerships, Salma has served as a STEM Alternative Spring Break leader and is currently an Equity in STEM intern, developing engaging curricula and expanding access to STEM education for students in rural communities. Passionate about equity in education, she strives to create meaningful learning experiences that connect STEM to students’ lives and aspirations. In the future, she hopes to continue working at the intersection of education and advocacy, ensuring all students, regardless of background, have opportunities to explore and succeed in STEM fields.

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About Riverways Education Partnerships

Riverways Education Partnerships recruits UW students to participate in a variety of programs that partner with rural and tribal K-12 schools across Washington state as a means of transforming learning and inspiring the growth of both groups of students, while addressing inequities in public education.

Philanthropy plays a critical role in supporting meaningful learning opportunities for UW undergrads and the hundreds of students they serve each year, providing crucial funding for Riverways interns and leaders like Rashwan to engage with hands-on STEM curriculum that leads toward educational parity.

As the grant-funding climate shifts, we are especially grateful for the private supporters who make our work possible. To learn more or make a gift, contact uaaadv@uw.edu.