When something broke in the Gadia house — a TV, a phone, the family computer — Prince Jayhon was the one they called. Even as a kid growing up in Sacramento, he was the fixer. His mom leaned on him for tech help. His brother watched as he downloaded software and changed settings most adults didn’t dare touch. Prince didn’t always know what he was doing, but he kept trying.

If you’ve ever sat through a class wondering when you’d actually use what you’re learning, you’re not alone. At SMASH Academy, we hear it all the time: “This is the first time STEM feels real.”

Imagine waking up in a college dorm room, grabbing breakfast with your new friends, then heading to a hands-on computer science class taught by a college-level instructor. You spend your afternoon designing a prototype for a real-world problem, your evening in a career workshop, and your night laughing in the dorms with other students just as passionate and curious as you are.