Lionville Student Among Finalists For Nickelodeon Kid-Of-Year

CHESTER SPRINGS, PA — Five thousand kids applied to be named Nickelodeon's Kid of the Year, and when the list was trimmed down to 20, Ronak Suchindra of Chester Springs was still there.

The Lionville Middle School eighth-grader stood out for his work starting up a nonprofit named Kids Connect as the pandemic closed schools last March.

"It was about getting kids involved," Suchindra said. He saw a problem arising, that kids were home, not seeing each other, not connecting, so he set about finding a way to solve the problem. He said he asked, "What am I going to do to get kids involved who are sitting at home, disconnected?"

Kids Connect brings online workshops free to kids. It's a network of volunteers, he said, "a way to gather friends with cool talents and put them to work." Kids from all over the world are participating, he said.

It grew out of an earlier capstone project at school, given in place of a midterm. But, his idea was just bigger than that. He's corralled friends who are able to teach what they know. They put together video workshops and kids can join in. The fun and educational workshops are being picked up by schools, youth groups, and libraries, he said. "People started telling people," Suchindra explained.

"Through our first few classes, we received some excellent feedback. The kids who took part in our classes gave us some great advice which helped me improve Kids Connect’s classes," he said.

He advertised the program and created a Facebook page so parents could stay up to date with all of the classes and information.

The workshops have taught origami, coding, games, robotics, and other topics like how to solve a Rubik's Cube. He said coding has been really popular.

So far about 800 kids have attended the Kids Connect workshops. The volunteers helping make it happen have logged around 650 hours, and the workshops themselves add up to about 3,000 hours of interaction.

Suchindra did the nonprofit application process himself but has involved others along the way, whom he said he hopes are awarded for their work. "We also have around 30 youth volunteers who are working constantly to teach their classes to others."

He considers the work a success because the kids in the workshops are "engaged with something to do, and they are learning different subjects in a fun way." He said he found inspiration in Albert Einstein's words, "A crisis creates a new opportunity."

Suchindra said he hopes to keep expanding the programs and involving more kids and volunteers. So far, Kids Connect workshops have seen attendance from the U.S., India, Canada, and Singapore.

Suchindra wants to study aerospace engineering. "I watch movies about colonizing Mars and other planets, and I want to do that," he said. But, he's really very down-to-earth. His interests are in helping people connect, get educated, and to help everyone use their talents.

The final-five list of Nickelodeon's Kid of the Year was named on Monday, and Suchindra wasn't on it. He said he's not disappointed.

"It was really good to make the list of 20," he said. "Our mission is to spread the love of learning to every corner of the world."