During a trip to the Yale Peabody Museum when he was in high school, Jules Pugh had the chance to handle a meteorite. More than 4.6 billion years old, the space rock predates the formation of the solar system.
The experience instantly broadened his understanding of the natural world.
“I never thought I would have the chance to hold an object that’s older than our solar system,” said Pugh, a 2020 graduate of New Haven’s Hill Regional Career High School. “I’d never imagined that such a thing even existed. It was natural history in my hands.”
At the time, Pugh was participating in EVOLUTIONS — Evoking Learning and Understanding through Investigations of the Natural Sciences, or “EVO” for short — a free afterschool program at the Peabody for high school students from New Haven and West Haven public school districts.
For Pugh, the otherworldly encounter sold him on the program.
“Experiences like that kept me coming back,” he said.
EVO, which marks its 20th anniversary this year, annually provides about 100 local students experiences and instruction intended to inspire a passion for STEM fields (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and help them prepare for college. Students typically enter the program as 9th- or 10th-graders and participate until they graduate high school.
Pugh, who graduated from Emory University last year, says the program was his “home away from home” during high school.
Not only did it prepare me to share ideas and thrive in college, but it also was a safe space for me when I wasn’t being heard at home or at school.
“EVO felt like a family,” said Pugh, who now teaches math at a middle school in Atlanta. “Not only did it prepare me to share ideas and thrive in college, but it also was a safe space for me when I wasn’t being heard at home or at school. It meant a lot to me.”
Other recent EVO alums speak fondly of their experiences in the program — and of the friends and mentors they met while participating in it.
Shua Kim, who graduated from Hillhouse High School in 2020, says her fellow EVO students kept her motivated to succeed.
“In high school other students were not as motivated as me,” said Kim, who recently graduated from New York University where she studied biology and public health on a pre-med track. “EVO was different. Everybody wanted to do well in school and go to college. That positive energy was inspiring.”
In addition to promoting STEM literacy and career awareness, the program encourages students to develop communication, leadership, and other skills that facilitate success in the classroom and workplace. It includes a weekly class led by Yale students centered on STEM-related activities, monthly workshops and special events, and opportunities to view the Peabody Museum’s collections, Yale laboratories, and other science museums.
It also helps guide students through the college-application process, offering SAT prep, assistance with completing applications and applying for financial aid, and group tours of colleges in the region.
“EVO really helped me navigate the college-application process,” Pugh said.
Participants are selected through a competitive application process. Each year, the program serves about 25 students from each high-school grade level.
Matea Ortiz joined EVO during her sophomore year at West Haven High School. Her older sister was an EVO alum and had enjoyed the program, Ortiz said.
EVO is something we opted to do, and I think that cultivates a cohort of students who are eager to learn.
“At school, people were there because they had to be,” said Ortiz, who will begin her sophomore year at Simmons University this fall. “But EVO is something we opted to do, and I think that cultivates a cohort of students who are eager to learn. We had common interests, which made it easy to make friends.”
A transgender woman, Ortiz began her transition while in the program.
“Everyone at EVO supported me, which wasn’t necessarily the case elsewhere,” she said. “The program provided me a safe space to socialize and make friends before going out in the real world. I didn’t really get that in high school. I had cool teachers, but I didn’t have the support from other students there. I had that here.
“It gave me a chance to blossom into a version of myself that I’m not sure I would have achieved had I not attended EVO.”
The program provides students opportunities to socialize and have fun as they learn about science and prepare for college. Alums affectionately recall having the opportunity to spend the night in the museum’s galleries watching movies together, waging lip sync battles, and just enjoying each other’s company.
Andrea Motto, the Peabody’s assistant director of public education and outreach, said the program aims to be a place where students can thrive socially and academically.
“We strive to provide a supportive environment where students feel empowered to learn and develop skills they need to succeed in the next phase of their lives,” Motto said. “It’s a joy to see our students flourish and go on to make a positive impact in the world.”
Janae McMillan, assistant manager for public and youth engagement, and Aaliyah Shabazz, lead educator for youth engagement — who direct the program — are themselves EVO alums.
“We want to be responsive to the needs of teenagers,” said Shabazz. “And as their needs change, the program does as well. We try to address the students’ different academic, social, interpersonal needs. And since science is always evolving, our programming continually evolves. We try to stay current so that the students are always connecting with the newest set of Yale grad students to learn about latest developments in science.”
The most recent class of EVO graduates was the first to experience the program since the Peabody reopened in the spring of 2024 after a transformative renovation. (During the renovation, the program’s weekly sessions were held at an offsite location.)
“I think the students had a lot of fun exploring the museum’s redesigned and updated galleries,” Shabazz said.
EVO offers students the opportunity to gain employment experience while working at the Peabody. Sci.CORPS (Science Career Orientation and Readiness Program for Students), a paid work experience offered to juniors and seniors in EVO, trains students to work at the museum as “gallery educators,” who interact with visitors, showing them specimens and other objects that augment the exhibits on display. Through the program, students learn how to effectively communicate scientific knowledge to audiences of all ages.
Kadidja Morou, who graduated from West Haven High School in June, says that participating in the Peabody Museum’s EVO after school program made her feel more comfortable with public speaking and engaging with people she doesn’t know.
Kadidja Morou, a 2025 graduate of West Haven High School, says she valued the work experience that she gained through Sci.CORPS. While the museum was under renovation, Morou and her peers designed new exhibit carts, selecting objects to share with visitors on the gallery floors.
When the museum reopened, she managed “the paleo cart,” which included a cast of a Tyrannosaurus Rex skull and a coprolite specimen (or, a fossilized dinosaur poop), among other objects.
“Kids love handling the fossils,” said Morou, who will start at Gateway Community College in the fall (and who ultimately hopes to become a physician).
These experiences, Morou said, helped her become more comfortable engaging with people.
“It improved my public speaking skills and made me more comfortable engaging with people I don’t know,” she said. “Before my experience with EVO and Sci.CORPS, people would tell me I had a mean mug even though I’m not a mean person. I just didn’t smile much. Welcoming visitors to the museum helped me learn to smile.
“I smile a lot now,” she added.
