Every year, 12-year-old Neveah Mosher from the South Bronx challenges herself to read over 300 books. Last year, she read over 325 books, and this year she plans to read even more. Neveah is currently in sixth grade at MS302, attends an after-school program provided by City Year, an educational nonprofit organization, and hopes to be the first in her family to attend college.

So, how many books do you plan to read a year?

Watch Neveah Mosher’s inspiring journey below.

Brownstones to Red Dirt is a touching documentary directed by Chad N. Walker and Dave LaMattina that “captures the growth of kids from housing projects in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn and war orphans living in Freetown, Sierra Leone who are brought together by a pen pal program that will change their lives.” Brownstones to Red Dirt will definitely pull on your heartstrings.

Watch Brownstones to Red Dirt below.

Dr. Christopher Emdin, a Columbia University professor who has teamed up with the GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan in a hip-hop meets science project titled Science Genius, breaks down five steps that could revolutionize teaching and engage students in learning. He calls this method reality pedagogy.

Watch Dr. Christopher Emdin’s 5 steps to overhaul teaching below.

(Photo by Nicole Bengiveno/The New York Times)

Dr. Christopher Emdin from Teachers College Columbia University, along with GZA from the Wu-Tang Clan, are using hip-hop culture to hack the science education model currently used in secondary schools in order to establish a new generation of science geniuses.

Watch Dr. Christopher Emdin break down the basis of their project, Science Genius.

In the short animated film, “Eyes On the Stars,”  The Rauch Brothers pay homage to physicist African American physicist Ronald E. McNair.

On January 28, 1986, NASA Challenger mission STS-51-L ended in tragedy when the shuttle exploded 73 seconds after takeoff. On board was physicist Ronald E. McNair, who was the second African American to enter space. But first, he was a kid with big dreams in Lake City, South Carolina.

Watch “Eyes On the Stars” below.

All I can say is WOW!

Set to Marijn van der Meer’s song, “Where the Heart Is,” blind skateboarder Tommy Carroll shares his inspiring story in this Arthur Neumeier-directed short documentary titled Brave.

He has been skating since he was ten, but has been blind since the age of two…

Watch Brave below.

Meet Kioni “Popcorn” Marshall, an extraordinary 12-year-old poet from the Bronx. Despite her age, Kioni has earned the respect and admiration of the NYC poetry community by developing her own unique voice and bravely exploring mature themes like alienation, abandonment, loneliness, and abuse. Follow Kioni’s emotional journey as she prepares for her first featured performance at New York’s famed Nuyorican Poets Cafe.

(Via THNKR)

Kelvin Doe, a 15-year old self-taught engineering prodigy living in Sierra Leone, builds batteries, generators, and transmitters from spare parts he finds in trash cans. He’s even created his own radio station where he broadcasts news and plays music under the moniker, DJ Focus. The folks at THNKR documented Kelvin’s first time in the U.S., where he became the youngest person in history to be invited to the “Visiting Practitioner’s Program” at M.I.T.

Watch the footage below and be inspired.