> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foundedbywomen.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Two Seniors Built a Free Research Program for Middle Schoolers - and 60 of Them Presented at Virginia Tech - URL: https://www.foundedbywomen.org/next-gen-founders/two-seniors-built-a-free-research-program-for-middle-schoolers-and-60-of-them-presented-at-virginia-tech/ - Published: 2026-10-13T02:06:04.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-13T02:06:04.000Z - Author: Editorial team - Tags: Next Gen Founders Most students spend their senior year thinking about college applications. Dev Srivastava and Deborah Torrico-Pardo, both seniors at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, spent their summer building something they wished had existed when they were younger: a free research mentorship for middle schoolers. Starting with mentoring kids at their old middle school, they noticed a shared curiosity about science and decided to give it somewhere to go. What began as a plan for two mentors and a handful of students grew to 99 middle schoolers from 21 schools, supported by 29 high school researchers who joined as mentors. After nine free workshops at local public libraries, 60 of those students presented their projects to more than 250 people at Virginia Tech’s Institute for Advanced Computing in Alexandria on August 22, and two projects went on to the IEEE MIT Undergraduate Research Technology Conference. In this Q&A, Deborah shares what inspired the program, how two students solved the challenge of scaling mentorship, funding and venues without a budget, and how they plan to grow [Next In Research](http://nextinresearch.org/?ref=foundedbywomen.org) across the East Coast for Summer 2027, with the long-term goal of a self-sustaining network where today’s students become tomorrow’s mentors. > Know a founder (or are one) doing incredible work? **Founded by Women Awards** are open for entries. If you're building something bold, leading with purpose, or driving change in your industry, we'd love for you to enter. 👉 [foundedbywomen.org/awards](https://www.foundedbywomen.org/awards/) --- ### Q: What inspired you and Dev to start Next In Research, and what did you want middle schoolers to get out of it? We started out initially with mentoring students at my old middle school, helping them plan their high school paths and helping them pass state-administered exams. This was our way of giving the younger kids the advice and telling them about opportunities that we wished we had. We got to know each kid individually, and while every kid fell on a unique path, we found that many of them had a broad interest in science, to which we introduced scientific research. The idea was that we were not only providing these kids with an opportunity to explore their scientific interests on a deeper level than what schools currently provide, but also a statement that youth is capable of contributing to the scientific community. In order to make this possible, we wanted to gather anyone with an interest in STEM, regardless of background, and give them the opportunity to do real science research at zero cost. We wanted the young researchers to come out of the program with a strong foundation of their chosen topic of interest, as well as a stronger love for science that we hope they will continue in the future. ### Q: What was the hardest part of building a free research mentorship from scratch as students, and what helped you through it? When we first made NextInResearch, we planned on mentoring the students one-on-one with just us two. However, as the number of students interested grew from ten to a hundred, we knew we would need help. Partnering with staff and faculty at our school in Fairfax County, we gathered 29 additional high school researchers who were eager about research and willing to teach them. While we did a lot of heavy lifting on our end such as leading workshops and creating assignments, without our mentors we wouldn’t have been able to execute the program at as large of a scale as we did. Another major obstacle was logistics, as having a place to teach the kids every week and for them to present their work had to be sorted out and paid for. Fortunately, we gained support from local libraries to host our workshops and Virginia Tech professor Dr. Jim to book our end of year symposium venue, which was at Virginia Tech’s campus in Alexandria. We are incredibly grateful to have had these meaningful partners who held a common dedication to supporting the students in our community. ### Q: What's next for Next In Research as you grow it for Summer 2027? This past summer served as a test run for our idea, and now we plan to grow it so that more students across the east coast can participate and have the same level of mentorship as the year before. On our end, we plan to gain further support from different organizations who can help fund our initiative in order to provide the materials that the students may need to eliminate any external barriers to entry. Additionally, in the long run, we want this to be a self-sustaining network where students will become mentors and will continue to give back to the scientific community through teaching another student what they learned. > Are you a woman leader with an inspiring story? Founded by Women elevates the voices of women making an impact. > Breaking barriers or paving the way for others? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch! 👉 [hi@foundedbywomen.org](mailto:hi@foundedbywomen.org)