When Ira Pramanick observed that young girls were often discouraged from pursuing STEM, she decided to do something about it.
Ira started the More Active Girls in Computing program, also known as MAGIC.
MAGIC is an organization dedicated to supporting middle and high school girls interested in STEM through mentor sessions with women who work in the STEM field. The mentors and students meet weekly to work on a project together for a time frame of 3-9 months. At the end of the session, the students present their work.
Milpitas Unified School District (MUSD) students have been part of the MAGIC program for seven years. The event and program are done in a partnership between MAGIC and the Milpitas Community Education Foundation (MCEF), a local non-profit that aims to support families in MUSD through additional educational opportunities. MCEF helps to recruit students for the program while MAGIC provides the mentors for the students.
MUSD students who were part of this year’s MAGIC program presented their final projects last month at Russell Middle School. MUSD middle school students recognized for their STEM work in MAGIC program
The four students who presented included 7th-grader Vihana Gandhi and 8th-grader Eshal Rahman from Rancho Middle School, as well as 7th-grader Aadya Gauri and 8th-grader Isabella Liu from Russell Middle School.
The students were recognized by California State Senator Aisha Wahab’s office, and were awarded certificates for their completion of the program.
The projects that were presented included a music-based video game, an AI program that helps to identify pneumonia from X-ray scans, a study tool that utilizes AI to assist students, and an experiment to imitate volcanic eruptions and geodes using household items. The students worked on their projects from January through May 2025.
When asked about her future plans for the project, Gauri said, “I want to take this project further to help kids learn different instruments. A lot of people like video games and play games, so this might help kids learn more.”
Robert Jung, who is the founder of MCEF and also serves as MUSD School Board Clerk, contributed to bringing the MAGIC program to MUSD back in 2018…
“I’ve seen people who are passionate, and they always find a way,” said Jung. “That’s what we hope to really achieve.”
