The honour of Friend is bestowed by the Science World Society on very special occasions. These are people who have contributed significantly to the advancement of STEAM education in the province, and who embody our values of curiosity and inclusion. We're delighted to call Andrew S. Wright, PhD, Science World’s newest Friend.
It began with a Ladybird book
Growing up in a blue-collar household in England, Andrew S. Wright’s journey to success wasn’t always assured. Nonetheless, as a child, he was blessed with two things: a garage full of junk which allowed him to tinker, and a plumber father who believed firmly in the power of education.
“My dad always used to say, ‘Work hard at school, play later. You do not want to work like me till the day you drop.’” Andy is video calling from his home office where, on the wall behind him, large, colourful prints of his wildlife photography tell the story of a life well-travelled. He laughs good-naturedly. “And man, does he remind me that I'm playing now!”
But it could so easily have gone another way.
“I was about nine,” recalls Andy, “and the school librarian would not let me take [this book] home because I was deemed to be not clever enough.”
The title in question? A 1972 Ladybird book called Making a Transistor Radio.
For Brits of a certain vintage, the sight of those illustrated children’s books will bring back memories of learning to read, or draw, or indeed, build a transistor radio. “My dad was livid,” says Andy of the librarian’s refusal. He recounts how they went to the bookstore instead and bought the book. After reading it, Andy figured he understood the instructions and the following weekend, father and son cycled 30 miles (roughly 48 kilometres) to a little hobbyist electronics store and bought the necessary parts.
When they got home, Andy’s dad had no idea how to help but encouraged his son to give it a go. “A day later,” smiles Andy at the memory, “I had my first radio.”
It was this same get-it-done spirit that saw Andy earning a PhD in Microwave Engineering, before coming to Canada and building a successful technology business with co-founder Laurie Wallace. They sold the company in the summer of 2000 — with the help of the inimitable Dr. Ken Spencer — and, as Andy tells it, “Suddenly, I’ve got a little bit of change in my pocket.”
Paying it forward
At the time, the area surrounding Science World was filled with families who could not afford to come through the door. “It was my dad who set me up for success in life,” says Andy, who saw an opportunity to do the same for local kids by setting up a fully funded after-school science program.
That was the inception of Super Science Club, now celebrating more than 25 years of changing lives in under-resourced schools. One particular memory stands out as Andy reflects on the impact of this work. “In the early days of Super Science Club, my wife and I went to join in one of the sessions at Florence Nightingale Elementary.”
That afternoon’s session was all about structures. “Vancouver Sun had donated tons of newspapers that didn’t sell,” explains Andy, “and the kids were making tubes out of newspaper and taping them together into an exoskeleton — kind of like Science World — and covering it with sheets.
“There were two Chinese girls, maybe seven or eight, that my wife and I teamed up with. They were very respectful, never-broken-a-rule-in-their-lives kind of kids, right? Good students, in the classical sense. Anyway, it came time to finish and clear up and I said to them, ‘Why don’t you just dive on your building and smash it up?’”
Andy pauses. “They looked at me like, are we allowed to do that? And I just said, ‘It’s your building, do what you want!’ The joy that exploded in their faces...”
Over time, Andy started hearing from teachers that Super Science Club was empowering those girls to speak up and start asking questions in their regular classrooms too. “That’s when I knew Super Science Club was really important. Forget the science, just that alone.” It’s clear how much this moment means to Andy. How much it chimes with his grounded, self-effacing approach to philanthropy.
Towards the end of the interview, when asked what gives him hope for the future, Andy considers his response carefully. “You know,” he sighs, “the Trumps of the world might be dominating, but good people quietly toil away, quietly doing good work. And the sum of all that good work, eventually, always comes to bear, right?”
“So,” he adds, his voice brightening, “my hope is that the bulk of humanity is good, and working hard to make the world better.”
