GILBERT, AZ — Most teenagers spend their free time working on homework or hanging out with friends.
Fifteen-year-old Ronith Balusani spends his building.
The Gilbert teen has been fascinated by engineering since childhood. He started coding in grade school and built his first circuit board when he was just nine years old.
Today, he's working on projects of his own, including a device designed to help prevent hot car deaths.
But recently, Ronith shifted his focus from building technology to building opportunity.
Last month, he hosted a free engineering workshop called STEM Begins Here at the Maricopa Institute of Technology in Phoenix.
Over two Saturdays, 18 students from three Title I schools learned how to wire breadboards, connect sensors and motors, and bring projects to life through coding.
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The workshop wasn't just about learning technology.
It was about helping students discover what they're capable of creating.
As the students grew more comfortable, they began developing ideas of their own. One suggested using programmable light strips as emergency hiking trail markers that could flash SOS signals in Morse code. Another left inspired to pursue a future career with NASA.
Ronith's parents say he funded the workshop himself and is now looking for support to help expand the program and reach even more students.
For Ronith, the goal is simple: give kids the opportunity to explore engineering and decide whether it's something they love.
ABC15's Cameron Polom introduces us to the teen inventor who's helping build the next generation of problem solvers. Watch the full story in the video player above.
