Applications Open for DC-Area High School STEM Career Exploration Fellowships
Second Class of STEM Fellows to Be Selected
High school sophomores from two schools in the Washington, D.C., area now may apply to a fellowship program to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). The fellowships, sponsored by the Sandra Lee Heyman Foundation, will be awarded to students from Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville, MD, and the Washington Leadership Academy, a public charter school in the District of Columbia. Applications are due by December 18, 2020 and are available here.
The 18-month long fellowships are aimed at promising high school students. Fellows range from those who already aim to pursue a STEM career but have not yet identified a specialty to other students who are only beginning to consider the possibility of a STEM-based higher education and career. Fellows meet with STEM leaders across the country, visit prominent institutions in the Washington, D.C. area, and access peers and mentors to support career exploration in STEM fields.
Once selected, the new fellows will become the second class in the program. Current fellows selected last year have met virtually with scientists and engineers holding technical and managerial positions, including the Chief Technology Officer of BuzzFeed, the senior director of global marketing for Medtronic, and a physician in a large obstetrics and gynecology practice who has assisted patients in underserved populations. Prior to the current public health emergency, fellows visited the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) where they toured laboratories and met with a diverse group of accomplished scientists and engineers, including a Nobel Prize winner in physics. For now, future events will be conducted virtually in a small group setting.
Class 1 of SLH Foundation Fellows participate in a virtual event with a senior marketing executive in the Medical Device industry.
For three semesters, fellows take part in events that offer close-up views of careers in which STEM education is a solid foundation – from laboratory researchers and those in “traditional” science and engineering careers to others who use their STEM backgrounds in sports management, arts and entertainment, business and finance, and journalism.
Fellows also are connected with successful STEM professionals, including previous winners of the Sandra Lee Heyman Higher Mathematics Award – a scholarship given annually since 1999 to one outstanding Richard Montgomery High School mathematics student.
The non-profit Foundation conducts its work in memory and honor of Sandra Lee Heyman, who taught mathematics at the community college, high school, and middle school level in Montgomery County (MD), Fairfax County (VA), and New Providence (NJ). She passed away in 1998 due to an autoimmune blood disease. The Foundation was formed by Sandra’s family to honor her memory and extend her legacy.
For more information, visit www.theslhfoundation.org or contact Foundation Board President Mat Heyman: mat@theslhfoundation.org.