At 23, Monica Yadav was employed as a biotechnology engineer at a big multinational corporation. But the hefty salary and a stable life couldn’t stop her from treading a path less travelled – to follow her passion of teaching. In 2013, she quit her cushy job to start Respire Experiential, a learning program designed to make science accessible and exciting for children. Today, her startup provides services to schools, parents and several giant companies.
During her graduation, Monica started coaching primary school children for pocket money. That was the turning point in her life. For the first time, she realized the importance of hands-on experience. Watch the video below to find out how the woman entrepreneur is bringing a reform in science classrooms.
In the video, the erudite woman explains how Respire has benefitted kids. “Students have given a positive feedback. Learning by doing has a 75% learning rate, compared to 45% via visuals or videos. We have kids who have decorated their home during Diwali using scientific principles. We have students who have fixed a broken window lock using hydraulic principles after our workshops.”
Monica helps her team with research, conceptualises the workshops and creates affordable experiment kits. “The kits are made of items such as plastic bottles, straw, paper and thread. They’re available at subsidised rates for underprivileged students in municipal and village schools.” The startup has collaborated with Teach for India, Make A Difference and also run a programme with Intel Education. Her unprecedented efforts got her an invitation to the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in 2015, where she was the youngest participant. She rubbed shoulders there with the likes of Arianna Huffington, Azim Premji and France’s President Francois Hollande.
Four years down the line, Monica’s drive to reach out to every student in India is her constant source of motivation to keep doing what she’s doing. Her life mantra is simple: keep innovating. Don’t give up on anything you are working on or are passionate about.