This week on Homeschool Highschool Podcast: Passion Leads to Purpose for Teens with Maynard Okereke.

Passion Leads to Purpose for Teens with Maynard Okereke

We are SO excited about this episode! One of our favorite things to do is talk to people who are doing interesting, fun, and inspiring things. Vicki has been enjoying the Hip Hop Science Show, so she contacted the Hip Hop Scientist, Maynard Okereke, and asked if he would talk to our podcast friends.

Vicki first discovered Maynard Okereke on Instagram. When she listened to his story, she said to herself, “This is the heart that we homeschool parents have for our teens!” Then, she discovered his YouTube channel MayNERD’s Wild World of Science, full of fascinating and fun science videos. She knew she had to invite him to talk to everyone on the podcast!

Maynard Okereke’s story

Maynard is not just a science lover, but an actual engineer who turned his love for music, acting, and science into a mission to make learning exciting for kids everywhere! Whether it’s crazy nature explorations through the jungle, or experiencing zero gravity on the vomit comet, he brings unique, curious energy to all his scientific adventures.

Maynard has appeared on:

Netflix’s Ada Twist, Scientist
The Science Channel
Curiosity Stream

Maynard has been recognized in a number of venues including:

His STEM outreach work has been published in Scientific American
Odyssey Award for Excellence in Social Media
The National Society for Black Engineers’ Entrepreneur of the Year Award
Ebony’s Power 100 List

Maynard’s story

Maynard is a first-generation American. His mother’s side of the family is from Cameroon. His dad’s side is from Nigeria. So, I was born here in the States, but he spent his early childhood overseas in West Africa. When he returned to the States, he lived and then went to college in the Northwest. So, he has lots of perspectives on people and cultures.

As he was growing up, Maynard was interested in Wildlife Biology. He wanted to study it in college, but his academic advisors told him that he should go into Engineering instead. His advisors had the idea that people who looked like him did not choose careers in the natural sciences. Maynard thought about it. He loved nature shows on television, but rarely saw any people of color on these programs.

So, he chose Engineering as a field of study. Fortunately, he loves science, and he did well. At college, he made some amazing connections and got involved with the National Society of Black Engineers, where he met a lot of peers who looked like him.

Over time, Maynard branched out into science communication, where he can explore and share his love for all the sciences. Not only that, he has the opportunity to represent young people of all colors so that they can follow their passions and study any science. That’s why he loves the opportunities to undertake these incredible explorations.

Hip Hop Science shows that anyone can be a scientist if they stay curious!

Maynard started Hip Hop Science to show others, especially those who don’t always see themselves in science, that anyone can be a scientist if they stay curious.

While his official title these days is “Science Communicator.” He educates young people on various science topics, and anything under the umbrella of STEM.

Maynard’s technical background is in civil environmental engineering with a degree from the University of Washington. However, he always had a love for entertainment, music, and acting. So, he stepped away from engineering after working in the industry for a few years to pursue some dreams that he had in science entertainment.

His passions for both helped him bridge the gap between science and entertainment!

With his digital platforms, Maynard is bringing a fun, youthful energy, excitement, and curiosity to the world of STEM! In his work, he:

showcases all the amazing opportunities that students have before them when pursuing a STEM career
talks about how to pursue STEM careers
ignites that natural fascination and love for science that we all intrinsically have as kids growing up
shows young people how to connect science to real life things, day-to-day things

Pop culture elements

That’s where the hip hop science and pop culture elements come to play. These elements help all kinds of young people to connect with material by making it relatable. Young people like being connected to learning digitally, especially if they are having fun. That’s what Hip Hop Science is all about!

Helping teens find their passion

In tandem with his work of sparking curiosity and excitement, Maynard also tries to share on his platforms the inspiration for young people to follow their passion, follow their purpose, and be rooted in the things that they love doing.

Sometimes adults push expectations upon teens. And sometimes those expectations aren’t things that they necessarily want. However, Maynard likes to showcase that they can find cool science-related, STEM-related connections to almost everything they want to do, whether they love dance, fashion, history, art, literature, or STEM.

Two Top Tips for exploring interests that lead to passion

The Hip Hop Scientist has two fun ideas for helping young people explore their interests that may become their passion.

Watch MayNERD’s Wild World of Science

Maynard inspires young people through all kinds of STEM-related videos. These are just the right length of time for them to say, “I’m just gonna watch a video real quick!”

Become a citizen scientist

You don’t even have to go to the Amazon to do citizen science. There are things that teens can do in their backyard if they have a phone. For instance, they can use the iNaturalist app. This app helps teens find insects or whatever things might be in their backyard. They can take a photo and load it onto the app. In this way, teens are able to actually help scientists collect data. That goes a long way in helping understand where species are and how they are changing in different areas.

Passion leads to purpose

Maynard tells young people that the passion they have is in there on purpose, and they can make it their purpose. Parents need to give their young people permission to invest in that passion. Then the young people need to know that if they are not passive about their passion, it can come about, and the coolest things can happen!

Maynard’s passion for science has led to the purpose of being a science communicator. These days, you can find him on social media like YouTube and Instagram. He is also a popular keynote speaker and often travels to schools to bring Hip Hop Science to inspire young people to discover their passion and purpose.

Connect with Maynard Okereke

You will find Maynard Okereke in many places. Here are a few:

Keep your eyes out for lesson plans and resources coming soon from the Hip Hop Scientist, Maynard Okereke.

Join Vicki and Maynard for his inspiring story so that you can inspire your teens to find their passions and purposes. Thanks to Seth Tillman for editing.