Congratulations, Javaris Powell ASME’s Award Winner

We’re thrilled to announce that Javaris Powell, SmartLab Facilitator at Friendship Blow Pierce Junior Academy in Washington D.C., was named a Discover “E” Award Winner by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

At our recent summer Facilitator conference, Powell shared the story-behind-the-story about receiving this prestigious award: the inspiration for pursuing this honor actually came from one of his SmartLab HQ students!

Powell was initially reluctant to submit his name for consideration. It was up to one of his middle school students to remind him that he always encourages them to take risks, aim high, and achieve more than they might have thought possible.

Apparently, his young student was both vocal and unrelenting about her expectation that he hold himself up to the same standard. As Powell noted, we strive daily to inspire our learners but, in a SmartLab HQ, our students often inspire us in the same way.