Dereck Dirom currently teaches a Makerspace program at Abbotsford Sr. Secondary School and is a founder of GearBots Makerspace. He has seen first hand how promoting science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) through the use of robotics and coding can be an effective way to engage and motivate a diverse community of learners.  In 2008, he was awarded a Mitchell Odyssey Foundation Grant, which has assisted in the expansion of his community based Makerspace program.  In addition, Dereck in the creator and technical chair of GearBots Coding Challenge hosted at the BC Skills Canada provincial competition held each year at the TradeX in Abbotsford.