A 2025 Scholar Is Bringing Science to Maine’s Youngest Learners, One Experiment at a Time

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Neja Jayasundara, a 2025 Mitchell Scholar from Presque Isle High School and student at the University of Maine, founded MindBloom Learning to bring interactive science experiences to young students in rural communities.

Growing up in Presque Isle, Neja Jayasundara understood something that statistics would later confirm: students in rural Maine do not always get the same opportunities as their peers in larger communities. For many children in Aroostook County and beyond, hands-on science, the kind that sparks curiosity and builds confidence, is simply not part of the picture. Jayasundara decided to change that.

A 2025 Mitchell Scholar from Presque Isle High School and student at the University of Maine, Jayasundara founded MindBloom Learning, an interactive science program designed for children ages 5 to 8. She started it on her own, funding early sessions out of pocket and leaning on her father, a chemistry professor, for equipment and materials. It was a meaningful start, but sustaining and growing the program presented real challenges.

That is where the Mitchell Institute Fellowship came in.

“Before receiving the Mitchell Institute fellowship, I actually started MindBloom Learning using my own money,” Jayasundara said. “While I was able to run initial sessions independently, it was challenging to sustain and grow the program on my own.”

The Fellowship, a financial award of up to $1,500 available to Mitchell Scholars and Alumni over and above their scholarship, made it possible for Jayasundara to expand her reach, improve the quality of her sessions, and begin thinking long-term about MindBloom’s sustainability and impact. It is exactly the kind of investment the Fellowship program was designed to make: removing financial barriers so that Scholars can pursue work that matters, work that in Jayasundara’s case is already changing lives.

A typical MindBloom Learning session gets students moving through experiments, activities, and questions that make science feel approachable, engaging, and fun.

A typical MindBloom session is anything but a lecture. Jayasundara introduces a concept and then gets students moving through experiments, hands-on activities, and the kind of open-ended questions that make science feel like an adventure rather than a subject. The energy in the room, she says, speaks for itself.

“One of the most memorable parts was seeing how excited and curious the students were,” Jayasundara said. “Their willingness to ask questions and fully engage reminded me why creating accessible learning spaces is so important.”

What Jayasundara hopes students carry home is not just a completed experiment. It is a feeling. “I hope they walk away feeling more confident in their ability to learn and explore science,” she said. “I want them to feel like a little scientist for the day.”

For donors who believe in the Mitchell Institute’s mission, Jayasundara’s story is a vivid illustration of what becomes possible when a Scholar is given not just a scholarship, but the support to keep going. MindBloom Learning did not exist before Neja Jayasundara decided it should. And it would not be growing without the community of people who invested in her.

The vision for MindBloom is still expanding. Jayasundara hopes to build a team, reach more students across Maine, and one day formalize MindBloom as a nonprofit. Another five-day session is already planned for this summer.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of the Mitchell Institute,” she said. “The fellowship gave me the resources to think bigger and to keep going.”

Mitchell Institute Fellowship Awards offer financial support of up to $1,500 to qualified Scholars and Alumni pursuing internships, service learning, and other personal and professional development opportunities. To support Fellows like Neja, make a gift to the Mitchell Institute today.