Letters to a Pre-Scientist is on a mission to broaden students’ awareness of STEM through snail mail

Fanuel Muindi interviews Lucy Madden, founding CEO of Letters to a Pre-Scientist (LPS), an organization connecting middle school students in low-income schools with STEM professionals through handwritten letters.

Madden reflects on the program’s origins, its mission to humanize scientists, and its evolution into a nonprofit reaching 17 states. Key themes include fostering STEM interest among underrepresented students, challenges in scaling, and the reciprocal benefits for scientists. Madden shares, “The humanizing piece is special; kids are surprised to learn their STEM professional has a dog or plays video games.”

She also discusses lessons from participating in the inaugural Science Sandbox Fellowship, and emphasizes LPS’s unique role in driving resources into science classrooms.

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YouTube Chapters

0:00 CivicSciTV Intro

0:16 QOTD Intro

0:36 Previously on QOTD

1:02 Program Overview

2:18 LPS Beginnings

4:15 LPS Evolution

6:01 Letter Exchange Process

7:30 Recruiting Scientists

10:21 Capacity Challenges

12:11 Evaluating Impact

15:18 Student Outcomes

19:36 Data Challenges

21:27 Humanizing STEM

25:20 Scientist Training

29:56 Broader Impacts

32:09 Volunteer Retention

34:06 Science Sandbox Fellowship

38:51 Advice for Founders

Fanuel Muindi

Fanuel Muindi is a former neuroscientist turned civic science ethnographer. He is a professor of the practice in the Department of Communication Studies within the College of Arts, Media, and Design at Northeastern University, where he leads the Civic Science Media Lab. Dr. Muindi received his Bachelor’s degree in Biology and PhD in Organismal Biology from Morehouse College and Stanford University, respectively. He completed his postdoctoral training at MIT.