How One Student Turned Project Management Skills into a Path to Caltech—and Why More Youth Need Them
Early exposure to project management skills can shape students’ future success. Learn how one student developed these skills through the PMI Educational Foundation, leading to success at Caltech and a NASA mission project—and how project-based learning empowers youth to solve real-world challenges.
Before Nikhita Penugonda was tackling open-ended STEM challenges at California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and contributing to a NASA mission concept, she was learning how to turn ideas into action. Through Destination Imagination (DI), she built the skills to collaborate, adapt, and solve problems with a team.
Her experience reflects an important need in education today. While students build strong foundations in theory, they also benefit from opportunities to apply that knowledge—working through ambiguity, testing ideas, and creating solutions in real-world contexts.
That’s where project management comes in.
And for students like Nikhita, learning these skills early doesn’t just support academic success; it shapes how they think, solve problems, and create impact long before they enter the workforce.
Where curiosity becomes problem solving
From a young age, Nikhita was drawn to STEM. With an interest in space, she spent time stargazing, watching documentaries, and exploring how things worked. But it wasn’t until she joined DI in elementary school that everything clicked.
“It was the first time I realized I really enjoyed working on projects at a hands-on level,” she says.
At DI, she began collaborating with a team, solving real challenges, and seeing ideas from start to finish, an experience that shaped how she approached challenges going forward.
Programs like DI, supported by the PMI Educational Foundation (PMIEF), introduce students to project management through hands-on experiences before they enter the workforce. At DI, students work in teams to manage timelines, limited resources, and responsibilities while developing creative solutions to big challenges. For Nikhita, that journey started in fourth grade.
Learning project management before you know it’s a skill
At the time, Nikhita didn’t know she was learning project management. But the elements were already there, from deadlines to limited budgets.
“From the very beginning, project management was involved,” she says.
Students quickly learn that good ideas alone aren’t enough. They must organize their work, track resources, and communicate clearly with their teammates.
What began as an extracurricular became something more meaningful: a chance to experiment, collaborate, and turn push ideas further.
The power of project management and teamwork
In DI, the projects themselves were imaginative and technical. In one challenge, Nikhita’s team explored computer hardware issues.
“Our project focused on when dust gets into your computer; it causes problems like overheating,” says Nikhita.
Their solution blended engineering with storytelling.
“We said, ‘let's tell a story about people living inside the computer,’” she explains. “We built an actual shoe cleaning machine so the people ‘living’ inside can clean their shoes.”
As the challenges grew more complex, teamwork became essential.
“The biggest thing that makes a team successful is good communication,” explains Nikhita.
Learning how to combine ideas and work through disagreements helped teams create stronger solutions together.
“We had to communicate,” she says. “And we’d say, ‘I really like your idea, what if we also did this.’ And we learned how to take everybody's expertise and skills and use them in the best way possible.”
These experiences shaped how Nikhita approaches complex challenges today when the projects are bigger and the stakes are higher.
From STEM projects to Caltech
Today, Nikhita is a sophomore at the Caltech studying astrophysics with a minor in computer science.
At Caltech, she recognizes something familiar: the open-ended challenges she encounters require the same mindset she developed through PMIEF and DI—experimenting, adapting, and collaborating to find solutions.
“The biggest way that PMIEF helped me prepare for the rigor of Caltech was teaching me how to solve problems,” says Nikhita. “A big part of Destination Imagination is that it’s very open-ended. There’s no set of steps to follow. You must figure out how to take an idea and bring it all the way to completion.”
The biggest way that PMIEF helped me prepare for the rigor of Caltech was teaching me how to solve problems.
That mindset became even more relevant at Caltech.
“A lot of people who come here are interested in solving the big problems of today,” she says. “Destination Imagination taught me strategies for how to approach that.”
When projects hit unexpected obstacles, she draws from the creative problem-solving skills she practiced for years with DI. In one course, she was tasked with building a fully self-directed project—an open-ended assignment where students chose their own approach and brought their ideas to life.
But just days before the deadline, her team’s original plan fell apart.
“We were trying to finish the project, and it just wasn’t working,” she says. “We were really worried we wouldn’t be able to complete it.”
With time running out, they had to rethink their approach entirely.
“We ended up using some 3D-printed parts as a substitute for what we originally planned,” she explains. “And we managed to bring everything together just in time.”
“That kind of creative problem-solving really came from my experience in Destination Imagination,” she says. “It made me realize that those skills stuck with me and helped me come up with a solution when we needed it most.”
That kind of creative problem-solving really came from my experience in Destination Imagination. It made me realize that those skills stuck with me and helped me come up with a solution when we needed it most.
Those same skills also helped her contribute to real-world space exploration projects.
During her time at Caltech, Nikhita participated in NASA’s L’SPACE Mission Concept Academy, working on a team tasked with designing a rover to explore subsurface caves on Mars.
“My experiences from PMIEF and DI helped with the NASA project because it was an interdisciplinary team that needed to work together all at once to try to create this rover,” Nikhita explains.
Each subsystem had to function as part of a larger system, reinforcing how decisions on complex projects impact the entire team.
“I knew that any decision I made would impact the other subteams, so I better make the right decision,” she says.
That experience felt like a real-world extension of the project management skills she first developed years earlier. “The skills I learned from PMIEF and DI really helped,” says Nikhita.
Why teaching youth project skills early changes everything
For Nikhita, the lesson is simple: students shouldn’t have to wait until adulthood to learn how to solve real-world challenges.
“It's important that youth have project management skills early before they enter the workforce,” she says. “It makes them strong contenders to be someone that will make a real difference in the world.”
It's important that youth have project management skills early before they enter the workforce. It makes them strong contenders to be someone that will make a real difference in the world.
Project skills—communication, teamwork, planning, and adaptability—unlock opportunities for young people to take on bigger challenges. More importantly, they teach students how to work with others to achieve something greater.
“The biggest problems in STEM are never going to be solved individually,” she explains. “You are always going to be working with a group of people.”
When students build these skills early, they become more confident in their ability to collaborate, contribute, and make an impact—and to do something bigger than they could alone.
Creating the next generation of problem solvers
Today, Nikhita is not only shaping her own future but inspiring the next generation to follow a similar path.
“I think my role in shaping the next generation of problem solvers is to give back to the community,” she says. “I was really privileged to participate in these programs from a young age, and now I want to share my experiences by inspiring or mentoring others—just like I was inspired by my own mentors—to continue passing on knowledge and inspiring future generations.”
Through programs supported by PMIEF, more young people are gaining access to project-based learning experiences that build the skills needed to create real-world impact.
They build confidence. They discover new passions. And they begin shaping the future in ways they never expected.
PMI gives you the tools that you need to be able to make a difference.
That’s the power of Projects on Purpose—empowering the next generation to turn ideas into meaningful impact.
“PMI gives you the tools that you need to be able to make a difference,” she says.
Tags: Power Skills | Leadership | Career Development
Help the Next Generation Turn Ideas into Impact
PMIEF helps young people around the world develop the project skills they need to solve real problems in their communities and beyond. Your support helps expand access to project-based learning opportunities like Destination Imagination—empowering more students to become confident problem solvers and future leaders.
About the Author
Autumn Granza
Digital Content Strategist
Autumn is a digital content strategist who blends creativity with strategic thinking. With expertise in crafting and optimizing content to inspire diverse audiences, she enjoys creating media that drives engagement and makes a lasting brand impact. Autumn leads PMI's award-winning podcast, Projectified®, where applies her storytelling skills. Holding a B.A. in journalism from Marywood University and a master's in global studies and international relations from Northeastern University, she brings a unique perspective to her work. Based near Scranton, PA, Autumn extends her creativity beyond her professional endeavors as a photographer and enjoys exploring nature, visiting coffee shops, traveling, and being a self-proclaimed professional day tripper.
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