STEM Career Exploration Fellowships Available: Montgomery County and Washington, DC, High School Sophomores and Juniors Can Now Apply

Fourth Class of STEM Fellows to Be Launched

Fellowships that enable high school students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are now open to sophomores and juniors in Montgomery County, Maryland, and Washington, D.C. Applications for the three-semester fellowships, sponsored by the Sandra Lee Heyman Foundation, are due by November 30, 2022, and are available online. Fellows will be announced in December and become part of the program’s fourth class. Initially open to sophomores only, eligibility has now been expanded to current juniors.

“The fellowship program is creating a path for the next generation of STEM leaders,” said Mat Heyman, chairman of the Foundation’s board of directors. To date, 49 high school students have participated as fellows. They complement the 24 winners of the Sandra Lee Heyman Higher Mathematics Award, given annually since 1999 to a top math student at Richard Montgomery High School, where Sandra Lee Heyman last taught.

The fellowships are intended for any students interested in STEM.  Those who already want to pursue a STEM career but have not yet identified a specialty as well as students who are only beginning to consider the possibility of a STEM-based higher education and career are encouraged to apply.

Fellows meet with STEM leaders from across the country, visit prominent institutions in the Washington, D.C., area (public health conditions permitting), and access peers and mentors virtually and in-person to support career exploration in STEM fields. When in-person events are not possible, discussions with STEM guests are conducted virtually in a small group setting. Fellowships come with a $500 stipend to cover travel and STEM-related expenses.

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 business and finance, sports management, arts and entertainment, and journalism. To date, Fellows have met with:

  • A Nobel Physics Prize winner, roboticists, a biophysicist, a materials scientist, and STEM career experts during tours and discussions at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as well as researchers studying birds during a tour and demonstrations at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

  • An astronaut, a cybersecurity expert, a structural failure investigator, an intellectual property attorney, a software engineer, the chief technology officer of Buzzfeed, a vice president of engineering at a data startup, a senior director of marketing at a major medical electronics company, and an electrical engineer who serves as vice president at an aeronautics firm.

  • An obstetrician, the chief of pediatric emergency medicine at an urban hospital, as well as the manager for a program at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) who helped to develop vaccines to combat infectious diseases and pandemics, including COVID-19.

  • The lead official responsible for social, behavioral, and economic science research at the National Science Foundation (NSF), a climate science communicator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and a chemist who served as the chief executive of the world’s largest association of scientists.

Fellows also are connected with other successful STEM professionals and informed about internships for which they may be eligible.

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 Chairman Mat Heyman: mat@theslhfoundation.org

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