Volunteer of the Year: Jon Klein
We are thrilled to announce the recipient of the Volunteer of the Year Award: Jon Klein.
Jon started volunteering with Science is Elementary in 2012 after hearing our founder, Tzipor, give a talk. He loves working with kids and introducing them to science concepts, especially electricity.
“I like being in an environment where there is a lot of excitement. Kids get engaged and interested, and it’s fun to see that. Who knows where they’ll end up and how we impact them.”
Jon first got excited about science when his father brought home crystal radio kits. As a teenager, he would “find various audio things that weren’t working and fix them up.” He especially remembers tinkering with a reel-to-reel tape recorder that was “allegedly portable but in reality really heavy... it was built in 1954.”
Jon didn’t originally intend to be an engineer and was on a path to become a lawyer. When he was a freshman in college, his high school girlfriend went to Penn State, and he transferred to be with her. At Penn State was introduced to electrical engineering. The relationship didn’t last, but his love of engineering did. After college Jon worked in the semiconductor industry on both coasts, acquiring an MBA in the process.
In addition to volunteering with SiE, Jon is also active with the Kiwanis Club of Palo Alto. When the pandemic started, Jon and his fellow Kiwanis looked for volunteer opportunities that would allow them to continue their community engagement and would allow them to be safe. Jon suggested that they assemble SiE Books kits. He recruited a dozen volunteers over several months, and together, the Kiwanis assembled about 4,000 kits. They are continuing to work with us as we get ready to distribute even more books.
In his 8 years volunteering in the classroom, Jon has worked with hundreds of kids, inspiring them with his love of science and engineering and making the experiments relevant to them. With his trademark smile and enthusiasm, he is a favorite of kids.
Asked if he has any advice for people considering volunteering, he says, “You’ll get exposed to kids who are really interested in learning and ask good questions. The lessons are well put together, and the materials are simple. You should go for it.”
