Maria Rahamägi
by Senni Aalto, Gather Reporter for Europe
Founder and a CEO of Edumus, Maria Rahamägi, a JA Estonia alumna, got the idea for her company from the impact her JA mentors made on her.
Edumus brings professionals to schools to teach one grade, in one subject over one school year. For example, electrical engineers come to schools to teach physics, giving the students the opportunity for real-world knowledge and experience and giving the professionals the opportunity to experience the joy of interacting with students. In February 2020, Maria and Edumus were awarded the top prize (US $12,000) in the JA Alumni Accelerator Award competition, sponsored by FedEx.
When COVID-19 broke out in Estonia, all students were moved to online school. Realizing that not all families have computers at home, Maria led an initiative called “Every Student Online,” organizing data about students who still needed devices and people who had some to donate. Within one month they managed to deliver around 1,000 devices to those in need and, to date, another 1,000 more! Maria has turned the initiative over to an existing NGO to carry it forward, although she continues to advise them and spread the word.
““With Edumus, I aim to inspire and enable professionals across fields and countries to share their passion with students by teaching. Through my JA experience I learned that investing in education has by far the greatest returns one could wish for.””
