We are thrilled to announce that for the 2025–2026 school year, MESA students will be working on the theme “Each One, Teach One”. This theme centers the design process around community, connection, identity, and intergenerational knowledge, inviting students to turn to the wisdom closest to them, such as elders, family members, neighbors, and culture bearers.
While last year’s theme of Designing for Environmental Sustainability emphasized global systems, Each One, Teach One turns inward and hyperlocal, focusing on how young inventors can use engineering and design to strengthen the communities and cultures they are part of. Inspired by the African American proverb Each One, Teach One, this theme encourages students to recognize and uplift the brilliance that already exists around them and transform it into design solutions that nourish, connect, and empower.
MESA middle and high school student teams will partner with a real client from their local community, someone with lived experience and insight into a local challenge. That client could be a grandparent, an elder, or immediate family member; a neighbor or fellow student; a teacher, school staff, or volunteer; or even a local essential worker such as a mail carrier, small business owner, or community caretaker. To ensure the work is grounded in local knowledge, clients must live or work within one mile of a student’s school or home.
Using the engineering design process, students will identify a problem alongside their client, then build and test a prototype in response. Projects can take many forms, but to help teams get started, we have identified three tracks:
- Grow & Nourish: Design something related to food, wellness, gardening, or nutrition.
- Pass It Down: Create something that preserves and shares local culture, stories, or traditions.
- Sense of Place: Build something that helps people feel more connected to where they live or who they are.
Equity Above all
MESA’s mission to bridge the equity gap in STEM fields is translated in the way we select our annual themes. We know that historically underrepresented students bring powerful perspectives that STEM fields urgently need. Too often the contributions of Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color, as well as women and other marginalized groups, have been excluded or erased from the dominant narrative of scientific progress. Scientific discoveries, agricultural innovations, and technologies that shaped the modern world frequently went uncredited when they originated in these communities.
Through this theme, students will challenge that pattern by centering the wisdom that is already alive in their families and neighborhoods. Innovation begins with listening and learning. Across many cultures, knowledge is passed hand to hand and story to story. This year, students will honor that process by identifying challenges from within their own communities and designing tools, technologies, or systems in response. By engaging with these traditions and perspectives, students not only invent for the future but also honor and reclaim legacies that have been overlooked or dismissed.
How You Can Get Involved
The best way to support MESA students’ on this year’s theme is to sign up to volunteer as a STEAM Coach. Industry professionals, university students, and community members can support students virtually or in person throughout the design process. Learn more about STEAM coaches here, and fill out the interest form today! For more information email ormesa@pdx.edu
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