This Indiana Student Turned A High School Project Into Opportunity
This Indiana Student Turned A High School Project Into Opportunity
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Raina Maiga is a freshman at Cornell University. She’s also a co-founder of Compleyes.aia startup that leverages AI to help businesses with environmental compliance, and executive director of Confront the Climate Crisisa youth-led climate justice initiative.
As if that weren’t enough to keep her busy, she worked with legislators to co-write three climate bills for the Indiana General Assembly, raised $87,000 to support student journalism programs as director of Youth Environmental Press Teamand helped secure winning votes for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett in a critical municipal race.
It’s the kind of résumé you’d expect from someone twice her age. Yet when you ask how Maiga got here, she doesn’t talk about awards or titles—she credits her high school.
Maiga is a graduate of Indiana-based Purdue Polytechnic High Schooldesigned in partnership with XQ Institutea nonprofit working to modernize the high school experience. In 2016, only 12 graduates from Indianapolis Public Schools enrolled at Purdue University, the state’s flagship postsecondary institution. Determined to change course, the community came together to create PPHS, a project-based, STEM-focused high school serving students citywide.
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In its first graduating cohort, the school single-handedly tripled the number of Indianapolis public high school graduates entering the university. The network of now three schools has become a statewide model helping to shape policy across Indiana.
It’s that flexible, out-of-the-classroom thinking that defined Maiga’s four years at PPHS’s Englewood campus. The school gave her the opportunity to discover her passions with interest-driven classes and meaningful internships, shaping her skills and, ultimately, helping her chart her future.
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One of those opportunities was the STARTedUP Challengea pitch competition that gives local high school students a chance to develop their entrepreneurial skills while learning from business leaders and investors. Magia, who had honed her professional skills at PPHS, was well prepared. She and her Compleyes.ai co-founder walked away with first place—and a $25,000 check.
“High school was so important to me,” she said. “I feel like if you talk to a traditional high school student, they probably don’t feel heard enough in educational decisions—that’s pretty different when you talk to students at my school.”
Instead of taking four years of English classes, Maiga interned with a legal organization where she practiced the same reading and writing skills—perhaps with even rigor—while gaining immersive, practical experience and class credit.
“People think internships are in addition to what you do in the classroom, like joining a sports team or an extracurricular, but they’re not,” she said. “In my internship, I did essentially the same things I did in a lot of my English classes, but it was technical and advanced.”
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Work-based learning let Maiga imagine a career on her own terms—and redefine what success meant along the way. Growing up, she’d always loved the humanities, but her family—who immigrated from West Africa when she was in fifth grade—valued conventional, financially secure paths. “These roles didn’t fit the traditional idea my family had of a successful career.”
That perspective began to shift during Maiga’s time at Purdue Polytechnic. Through hands-on learning and exposure to a variety of industries, she began to see that success had many definitions, opening her eyes to the range of possibilities after graduation. “It was really important because it showed me there are different career paths where you can have a lot of impact.”
The experience didn’t just change Maiga’s mindset — it also helped bridge a gap between her and her family. “That was the one thing standing between us,” she said.
By seeing the kinds of professional paths Maiga could pursue, her parents began to understand that her interests in the humanities could lead to real, fulfilling work. “My experience at PPHS helped us get closer.”
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Maiga’s story is a testament to what’s possible when schools give students room to explore, fail, and redefine success for themselves. For her, work-based learning wasn’t just an academic exercise—it was an invitation to connect her passions to real-world change.
Today, Maiga continues to lead the charge at Compleyes.ai as the company evolves and grows while also supporting Mayor Hogsett as an intern. And, of course, she is beginning her next chapter at Cornell.
As she looks ahead at her future and future generations, Maiga hopes students get the same chance to learn on their own terms. She believes that when young people are empowered to explore their passions, they not only transform their own lives but also shape the communities around them. For Maiga, the journey is only beginning—and she’s determined to make sure others can start theirs, too.
Disclosure:The XQ Instituteis a financial supporter ofThe 74.
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Sign up for The 74 Newsletter Raina Maiga is a freshman at Cornell University. Sheu2019s also a co-founder of Compleyes.aia startup that leverages A”,”copyrightYear”:”2025″,”articleSection”:”Education”,”articleBody”:”nnn n Get stories like this delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for The 74 Newslettern n n n nRaina Maiga is a freshman at Cornell University. Sheu2019s also a co-founder of Compleyes.aia startup that leverages AI to help businesses with environmental compliance, and executive director of Confront the Climate Crisisa youth-led climate justice initiative.nnnnAs if that werenu2019t enough to keep her busy, she worked with legislators to co-write three climate bills for the Indiana General Assembly, raised $87,000 to support student journalism programs as director of Youth Environmental Press Teamand helped secure winning votes for Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett in a critical municipal race.nnnnnnnnItu2019s the kind of ru00e9sumu00e9 youu2019d expect from someone twice her age. Yet when you ask how Maiga got here, she doesnu2019t talk about awards or titlesu2014she credits her high school.nnnnMaiga is a graduate of Indiana-based Purdue Polytechnic High Schooldesigned in partnership with XQ Institutea nonprofit working to modernize the high school experience. In 2016, only 12 graduates from Indianapolis Public Schools enrolled at Purdue University, the stateu2019s flagship postsecondary institution. Determined to change course, the community came together to create PPHS, a project-based, STEM-focused high school serving students citywide.nnnnIn its first graduating cohort, the school single-handedly tripled the number of Indianapolis public high school graduates entering the university. The network of now three schools has become a statewide model helping to shape policy across Indiana. nnnnRelatedHow Work-Based Learning Helped Two Oakland Teens Take Flight u2014 LiterallynnnnItu2019s that flexible, out-of-the-classroom thinking that defined Maigau2019s four years at PPHSu2019s Englewood campus. The school gave her the opportunity to discover her passions with interest-driven classes and meaningful internships, shaping her skills and, ultimately, helping her chart her future.nnnnOne of those opportunities was the STARTedUP Challengea pitch competition that gives local high school students a chance to develop their entrepreneurial skills while learning from business leaders and investors. Magia, who had honed her professional skills at PPHS, was well prepared. She and her Compleyes.ai co-founder walked away with first placeu2014and a $25,000 check.nnnnu201cHigh school was so important to me,u201d she said. u201cI feel like if you talk to a traditional high school student, they probably donu2019t feel heard enough in educational decisionsu2014thatu2019s pretty different when you talk to students at my school.u201dnnnnInstead of taking four years of English classes, Maiga interned with a legal organization where she practiced the same reading and writing skillsu2014perhaps with even more rigoru2014while gaining immersive, practical experience and class credit.nnnnu201cPeople think internships are in addition to what you do in the classroom, like joining a sports team or an extracurricular, but theyu2019re not,u201d she said. u201cIn my internship, I did essentially the same things I did in a lot of my English classes, but it was more technical and advanced.u201dnnnnWork-based learning let Maiga imagine a career on her own termsu2014and redefine what success meant along the way. Growing up, sheu2019d always loved the humanities, but her familyu2014who immigrated from West Africa when she was in fifth gradeu2014valued more conventional, financially secure paths. u201cThese roles didnu2019t fit the traditional idea my family had of a successful career.u201d nnnnThat perspective began to shift during Maigau2019s time at Purdue Polytechnic. Through hands-on learning and exposure to a variety of industries, she began to see that success had many definitions, opening her eyes to the range of possibilities after graduation. u201cIt was really important because it showed me there are different career paths where you can have a lot of impact.u201dnnThe experience didnu2019t just change Maigau2019s mindset u2014 it also helped bridge a gap between her and her family. u201cThat was the one thing standing between us,u201d she said. By seeing the kinds of professional paths Maiga could pursue, her parents began to understand that her interests in the humanities could lead to real, fulfilling work. u201cMy experience at PPHS helped us get closer.u201dnnnnMaigau2019s story is a testament to whatu2019s possible when schools give students room to explore, fail, and redefine success for themselves. For her, work-based learning wasnu2019t just an academic exerciseu2014it was an invitation to connect her passions to real-world change. nnnnToday, Maiga continues to lead the charge at Compleyes.ai as the company evolves and grows while also supporting Mayor Hogsett as an intern. And, of course, she is beginning her next chapter at Cornell.nnnnAs she looks ahead at her future and future generations, Maiga hopes more students get the same chance to learn on their own terms. She believes that when young people are empowered to explore their passions, they not only transform their own lives but also shape the communities around them. For Maiga, the journey is only beginningu2014and sheu2019s determined to make sure others can start theirs, too.nnnnDisclosure: The XQ Institute is a financial supporter of The 74.nn n n n Did you use this article in your work?
nWeu2019d love to hear how The 74u2019s reporting is helping educators, researchers, and policymakers. Tell us hown n nnn !function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s){if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?n n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;n.queue=();t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;n t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)(0);s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window,n document,’script’,’https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);n fbq(‘init’, ‘626037510879173’); // 626037510879173n fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);n nnnnnDisclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification. nWe do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.nnnnnnAuthor: Hannah AskewnPublished on: 2025-12-12 19:30:00nSource: www.the74million.orgn”,”publisher”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”,”@type”:”Organization”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”logo”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/images-e1759081190269.png”},”sameAs”:[“https://www.facebook.com/uaetodaynewscom”,”https://www.pinterest.com/uaetodaynews/”,”https://www.instagram.com/uaetoday_news_com/”]},”sourceOrganization”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”copyrightHolder”:{“@id”:”#Publisher”},”mainEntityOfPage”:{“@type”:”WebPage”,”@id”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/this-indiana-student-turned-a-high-school-project-into-opportunity-and-a-startup-the-74/”,”breadcrumb”:{“@id”:”#Breadcrumb”}},”author”:{“@type”:”Person”,”name”:”uaetodaynews”,”url”:”https://uaetodaynews.com/author/arabsongmedia-net/”},”image”:{“@type”:”ImageObject”,”url”:”https://i0.wp.com/uaetodaynews.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Raina-maiga-825×495.png?fit=825%2C495&ssl=1″,”width”:1200,”height”:495}}
Disclaimer: This news article has been republished exactly as it appeared on its original source, without any modification.
We do not take any responsibility for its content, which remains solely the responsibility of the original publisher.
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Published on: 2025-12-14 05:02:00
Source: uaetodaynews.com
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