When she’s not competing in wrestling, whipping up recipes in cooking club or volunteering at her local library branch, Isabella Arreola is busy excelling at the science, technology, engineering and math classes that have risen to become her favorite subjects as a middle school student.

And now, Isabella should make time for celebrating, because she’s GeekWire’s first Junior Geek of the Month, a new monthly honor presented by Northern Trust, which recognizes talented young innovators, creators and entrepreneurs in the Pacific Northwest.

An eighth grader at TAF@Saghalie in Federal Way, Wash., Isabella, 14, juggles multiple after-school activities with a passion for STEM. In between there’s typical teen stuff — being a big sister to three younger siblings, video games and thinking about the future.

“I really like STEM classes,” Isabella said. “This past year I took engineering as one of my elective classes and I really enjoyed it. I really love science, and I’m really good at math. I’m actually taking high school math currently versus the normal eighth grade math — I’m taking Algebra 1 — it counts as a high school credit.”

Legally blind in her right eye due to a scar caused by the rare genetic skin disease Incontinentia Pigmenti, Isabella’s limited vision made it difficult to play certain team sports, but she found a love for wrestling when she tried it for the first time last year. She picked up the sport quickly and is thinking of continuing in high school.

After three years in an after-school cooking club, Isabella said she has come to prefer baking — gravitating more toward the precise science that goes into it.

“Isabella is an awesome student. I am thrilled to hear that she is winning this award,” said Michelle Oliver, a Teacher Scientist Program manager at Technology Access Foundation, the nonprofit that aims to redefine STEM education in public schools.

Oliver said she had the privilege to work with Isabella and watched her code a website from scratch using HTML/CSS — work that earned her first place honors in a TAF/Amazon Expo.

“I can say that she is a very kind and supportive young lady as she helped many of the other students in the class with their code before she even completed her own,” Oliver said. “If I remember correctly she was up pretty late just to complete her project on time.”

Isabella Arreola, right, with her STEM Expo project partner Juan Diaz and TAF@Saghalie Principal Christina Spencer. (TAF Photo via Kylin Oliphant)

Isabella also earned recognition for her recent work in STEM Expo, a science and tech fair of sorts, in which she helped build a model of a special type of 3D printer that can be used for construction. Along with her partner on the project, Juan Diaz, she worked to transform a farmbot gardening machine and repurpose it as a printer.

They built a 3D-printing extruder using a cake frosting syringe, a threaded rod, a motor and cables, and a few 3D printed support parts. The machine moved through the x, y and z axis using a 3D-printer command system.

Isabella Arreola and Juan Diaz put their printer through the motions. (TAF@Saghalie screen grab)

The machine was inspired by a much larger contraption called Vulcan II, which has the ability to quickly “print” an entire house out of a special concrete material. See it in action below:

Isabella and Diaz, who worked on the printer for a month and a half, earned an engineering design award. Plans to present it in person at a special TAF luncheon were derailed by the coronavirus pandemic and closing of schools in mid March.

Isabella’s hope is to continue working on the printer to make a better model and perhaps even print concrete. She would love to see something like it work in the Puget Sound region, building tiny houses to address the homelessness crisis or to reduce the environmental impact of bigger residences.

“Isabella was one of the most consistently motivated students I have ever had the pleasure of working with,” said Christine Margaux, makerspace specialist at TAF@Saghalie. “Despite never having used a 3D modeling program before, Isabella was able to create a functioning frosting extruder in surprisingly few iterations. She worked with a couple of other students on the project and showed fantastic leadership skills keeping her team on task to complete their goal.”

The current health crisis and the shuttering of schools and businesses has Isabella going a little stir crazy at home, missing her friends and classmates. She’s looking forward to summer, where she hopes to return to volunteering at her local King County Library branch.

She also plans on taking a lot of online classes as she prepares to head to Decatur High School. And she’s going to volunteer for a running start program for TAF@Saghali because her sister Josselynn will be taking part as an incoming sixth grader.

All of her interest in science and tech could lead Isabella to pursue a profession that’s certainly being celebrated in the age of COVID-19.

“I’ve taken a lot of interest in the past couple of years of possibly going into the medical field once I graduate,” she said. “I’m hoping to pursue possibly being either a nurse or surgeon when I’m old enough.”

Nominate a Junior Geek

GeekWire will feature a new Junior Geek of the Month in profiles meant to capture how they are looking to make a positive impact on the world through their geeky pursuits. In addition, they’ll receive special recognition from our project partner, Northern Trust.

Do you know an exceptional Junior Geek between the ages of 12 to 20 who is going to change the world? Submit a nomination.

Nominees must be residents of the Pacific Northwest, and parental information must be included for those nominees under the age of 18. Jr. Geeks may nominate themselves but please be sure to include your parent or guardian’s contact information.

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