Sheela Sethuraman’s journey has been anything but conventional. While her peers took more traditional paths leading to medicine or law, she chose a different direction.
“I was interested in exploring filmmaking and media and mass communications,” she says with a grin, “which was, as you can imagine, a sort of nontraditional route. While most people tended to go the more tried and tested paths, I longed for something more.”
Her adventurous spirit and curiosity earned her an undergraduate degree in engineering at the Government College of Technology, Coimbatore. She then started a master’s program at the Mass Communications Research Center in New Delhi with the hopes of becoming a documentary filmmaker.
When she came to Michigan State University, Sheela was a starry-eyed doctoral candidate. “The communications program’s emphasis on practical applications and deep research enticed me here,” she admits. “And then, to work closely with Dr. Carrie Heeter, whose work uses the web and digital media for interactive education,” she swoons, “that was a revelation.”
“I worked as an intern in her lab,” Sheela reflects, “and I enjoyed and appreciated this new media/space as a vehicle for education and learning.”
Seeing an industry paradigm shift ahead, Sheela traded her Ph.D. program in communications for a master’s in educational technology. “I realized the change would tie together my twin passions: technology and engineering. I was doing some programming and building new things — but the switch provided a way to fuel my interest in visual media in the service of education and instruction. I felt that it was a much better fit for what I wanted to do.” Sheela continued, “I was interested in building solutions.”
Sheela graduated with her master’s degree in May of 1997. As a Spartan, she moved to the New England area to launch her career at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST).
“My time at CAST shaped my ideas about education and technology. It crystalized my certainty about wanting to be in a company or organization that was particularly mission-driven.”
At CAST, Sheela learned the value of intrapreneurial risk-taking, earning the trust and admiration of her colleagues. Early in her tenure, she saw ways to optimize the structure of the technology platform. She proposed the solution — and she undertook her idea’s implementation.
This lead to the founding of her computational math platform CueThink.
CueThink is a technology platform that helps students in K–12 tell math stories. “‘Founder’ is something I wear with immense pride.”
Sheela’s EdTech venture, CueThink, leveraged its unique position as an online teaching tool during the pandemic. They are in the process of launching a pilot program in a small group of schools across the US. She is proud of this milestone.
“I’m especially excited for this because we are so well aligned philosophically with our partner […], and we see what the work means for the market.”
But CueThink’s most significant achievement is receiving a contract with EF+ Math, funded by both the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Zuckerberg-Chan Foundations. The substantial investment includes a $1.35M, three-year grant to increase educational equity in underserved schools by teaching students crucial math skills, such as executive function, problem-solving, and metacognition.
“It’s gone remarkably well despite the pandemic,” says Sheela.
To make this a reality, she’s collaborated with experts from the University of New Hampshire, UPenn, and the University of Minnesota.
Sheela has sat in on co-design sessions with 6th–8th graders in Black and Latinx communities throughout this process. Working closely with young people, “you get to hear direct from them what’s working and what’s not.” These co-design sessions have been critical to rapid integration.
Additionally, CueThink has partnered with Cornell Tech to explore how a school in the Bronx could use the platform for computational thinking.
Sheela’s 14- and 16-year-old daughters’ experiences with math also serve as inspiration for CueThink.
“As they grapple with math sometimes or they need support and help, I’m struck by two things: One, I do look at one of my children who tends to think outside of the box in her solution strategies. I think CueThink is powerful at capturing those alternate strategies and approaches so that every student has a sense that they have a voice and a space to contribute,” she said.
Creating equitable spaces is a hallmark of CueThink’s mission and a large part of Sheela’s personal mission.
She served as a venture coach for 2021’s Burgess New Venture Challenge and mentor other women entrepreneurs of color in the Boston area.
“I’m looking forward to more opportunities both at MSU but also in other environments. […] I presented to two different women in entrepreneurship programs at other universities. And I’ve been mentoring young girls from underserved communities with their college process,” said Sheela.
For marginalized women, she believes that confidence is a crucial skill when entering the entrepreneurial ecosystem.
“Confidence is fundamental whether it’s a fake it till you make it or whatever those models are. I’ve seen many young women particularly—and I was definitely that tentative—not willing to make bold decisions and reach out to some people. Because you’re, like, ‘I’m not so sure I’ve got it yet.’”
Sheela credits MSU with allowing her to build an ecosystem that has led to her success today. “Michigan State in so many ways, while being a massively large public university, allowed me to create my own ecosystem and made me feel at home in my little spaces.”
In August 2021, Sheela was named one of the Burgess Institute’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, providing insights and expertise to student venturers within the Discovery and Launch programs. Curious about how you can give back? Reach out to Christopher Sell today!