Maggie Grout is the founder and CEO of Thinking Huts, an international NGO that increases global access to education with innovative, humanitarian-driven technology solutions. Founded by Maggie  8 years ago, when she was15, Thinking Huts seeks to empower young people, especially girls, to achieve more opportunities by obtaining an education. Grout gave a TEDx talk in 2021 on “how we can tackle the global education crisis with 3D printing.”

Grout was born in a rural village in China and adopted at a young age, but where she came from largely shaped her outlook on life and subliminally led her to start Thinking Huts in 2015. Growing up in London and Colorado, Grout was exposed to the melting pot of cultures in British and American society, but she often wondered why so many people were unaware of how others lived an ocean away. She understood what poverty looks like firsthand and how education empowers people to attain greater opportunities.

“I definitely observed that in university where you see maybe multiple choice tests rather than critical thinking usage. You're exactly right. In developing countries such as Madagascar, it's a matter of not even having the basic education skills like literacy and mathematics to then be able to advance beyond their village of origin to pursue greater opportunities. So I would say, in the US people are more focused on grades and standardized test scores, and then how much money they could make after graduation.

At least from my experience going to university, I was a business major, so a lot of people wanted to go into banking, venture capital, and those type of consulting jobs where they would be guaranteed a stable income. Whereas, in Madagascar, they're just really wanting to learn English and how they can go to higher education, oftentimes in France or other European countries.”

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