Senior Rees Draminski was awarded the Ravens Community Quarterback Award for his selflessness and commitment to his community. This award granted him $4,000 as a donation to TeCanal, a student-run non-profit organization that seeks to improve STEM education in Baltimore City schools. Draminski serves as TeCanal”s Chief Executive Officer.

Draminski was recognized on Sunday, Dec. 3 during the Raven’s game against the Detroit Lions. Along with his prestigious award, Draminski was even given a custom jersey to commemorate his achievement.

“We go into Baltimore, and we teach kids STEM, which is science technology engineering and mathematics, activities such as building a tower out of spaghetti and marshmallows, or we teach them computer science,” Draminski said about TeCanal. “If you’ve ever used Scratch, we teach them that, and we do math tutoring. Ae have a couple of outreach sites throughout the city of Baltimore.”

As TeCanal’s CEO, Draminski makes most major organizational decisions. TeCanal includes the efforts of many Mt. Hebron students. As acknowledged by the non-profit’s website, TeCanal aims to be a “‘canal,” or link, between technology and communities that will benefit from it. This grant will contribute to better providing technology and STEM education to schools in need.

“They gave us up to $4,000, which is really nice,” said Draminski. “We’re actually expanding to Boston right now, so we are probably going to buy a new kit of computers so they can get started in the Boston area. We’ll see how we grow.”

TeCanal is not only changing the lives of the students who are served, but the Mt. Hebron students who work for the organization are also impacted by helping underprivileged youth.  They are also grateful for Draminski’s leadership.

“Volunteering at Tench Tilghman has been an uplifting experience,” said senior Hanna Chang. “Seeing Rees’s passion for helping and providing a previously unattainable opportunity for the children in Baltimore has been rewarding.” 

“Through the organization and structure, I have become fond of Rees and the work he is doing,” added senior Sara Wunete. “He has made tremendous efforts to build a bridge between two communities that might not encounter one another on a day-to-day basis. They empower one another through education. I’m really happy to be a part of this organization.”

The Ravens Community Quarterback Award annually recognizes people who show leadership, dedication and commitment to improving their community.  Volunteers ages 13 and older who devote their time and efforts to a non-profit that is trying to better a community are eligible for this award.

“It was a really cool experience to go on to the field and be on the big screen,” Draminski said of the recognition ceremony at the Ravens game.

TeCanal has been making efforts to better educate Baltimore city students using STEM activities and is growing at a very rapid rate. This non-profit organization will benefit greatly from this award and grant.