Adriana Lima Encourages Students Into Science And Tech Classes — Says Forget About Being A Celeb

Adriana Lima is telling the next generation of achievers that they shouldn’t strive to be models or celebrities — what the world needs is science and tech workers

April 24, 2017 - 18:02

Adriana Lima is telling the next generation of achievers that they shouldn’t strive to be models or celebrities — what the world needs is science and tech workers. This past weekend thousands gathered worldwide to celebrate Earth Day by proclaiming that science matters, so clearly Lima and countless others are onto something.

Lima, along with some famous pals including actress and singer Zendaya, NASCAR driver Joey Logano, basketball star, LeBron James, and MLS star David Villa, partnered up with Verizon on a new campaign called #WeNeedMore. Check out the powerful commercial below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeYYb0U7cJ0

#WeNeedMore launched in early February and essentially gives funds and technology to underserviced students. The Verizon Innovative Learning initiative has been around for about five years and has built multiple STEM education programs from the ground up. One of these programs is Verizon’s partnership with Digital Promise, which provides students and teachers around the country with mobile devices and data plans for 24/7 internet access to change the way teachers teach and students learn.

The site states the following:

“Our programs teach technology and entrepreneurship skills to middle and high school students. We not only fund the programs, we also create and administer them in partnership with leading nonprofits. We diligently measure the impact of our work and refine our programs to ensure we’re making a difference. We’ve reached more than 300,000 students so far— and we’re just getting started.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDSlr6vFmro/

In 2015, President Obama recognized one Verizon Innovative Learning program, The App Challenge, for its ambitious and rewarding effort that has already resulted in several success stories.

One of those is Ritha Burgos, a high school senior from Queens, New York. Burgos is a student who has been impacted by another one of Verizon’s programs. She is hoping to study media and arts management in the fall (“which includes a lot of technology,”), said the STEM program provided by Verizon helped her show that dancers do not have access to tech classes.

“When I was offered a position as a lead dancer in this digital project, I knew it would allow me to learn about technology in ways I can use in my career,” she said. “Technology is a growing profession and we wanted everyone involved in the production and the audience to experience its creative potential. About 50 students — from our school’s technology class, multicultural club and dance program — worked together to create The Digital Dance.”

Check out the result of her work below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpLXHGGJ4nw

“[#WeNeedMore] is something that I directly I connect to because it deals with children, education and technology,” Zendaya told Seventeen Magazine. “It’s something that my mother — a teacher who served in an underprivileged school with very little funding or resources for technology — did on her own. I really wish there had been a program like this when she was teaching in that school, because there are so many kids in need.”