Record Number of STEM Career Exploration High School Fellows Selected, Program Expands to New Schools
48 students selected from 16 Maryland schools
The Sandra Lee Heyman Foundation today announced that a record number of high school students have been selected to participate in a fellowship program that enables them to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The 48 new fellows are from 16 high schools in Montgomery County and Baltimore, MD, including four schools represented for the first time by students in the program. Richard Montgomery High School in Rockville claims the largest number of fellows, with 17. Sandra Heyman led the mathematics faculty at the school until she passed away in 1998.
The new fellows, primarily sophomores, join 123 students from five prior classes since the program launched in 2020. They will meet with a diverse group of STEM professionals from around the country over the next three semesters to gain insights and exposure to a variety of fields. The students get 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, communications, arts and entertainment, and more.
The fellows are students who enjoy STEM and are curious to learn more about exciting potential careers in these areas. They range from those who already aim to pursue a STEM career – although most have not yet identified a specialty – to other students who are only beginning to consider the possibility of STEM-based higher education and careers.
The sixth class of fellows and their schools are:
Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Baltimore)
Peyton Beach
Khalira Bolden
Montgomery Blair High School (Silver Spring)
Juniper Brinegar
Joyce Fang
Jessica Hsieh
Meghna Singh
Gugan Thuduppathy
James H. Blake High School (Colesville)
Eden Moore
Winston Churchill High School (Potomac)
Alexa Chiochankitmun
Ryan Leung
Evan Xin
Clarksburg High School (Clarksburg)
Olivia Lee
Col. Zadok Magruder High School (Rockville)
Sofia Battistel
Northwest High School (Germantown)
Tejashri Aravinth
Northwood High School (Rockville)
Angeline Orellana
Magdalena Serna
Paint Branch High School (Burtonsville)
Angelina Umanzor
Poolesville High School (Poolesville)
Adrian Arokiyaselvam
Nivedha Bhogavilli
Conrad Kim
Gina Song
Richard Montgomery High School (Rockville)
Rithika Arun Venkatesh
Kristiyan Donchev
Sierra Fleisher
Nuala Grady
Allan Guech
Sophiana Jiang
Emily Liu
Logan Liu
Tiffany Lu
Pema McAlister
Aviva Mitrani-Reiser
Zehna Patel
Adhi Ponraj
Sohum Sen
Nimay Sharma
Sedric Su
Sophia Wang
Seneca Valley High School (Germantown)
Aeric Cheng
Isabella Hanif
Vedashruthi Rangareddyvari
Springbrook High School (Silver Spring)
Kelsey Diep
Victoria Ezeukwu
Nabayt Sebhatu
Walt Whitman High School (Bethesda)
Olivier Bui
Walter Johnson High School (Bethesda)
Michael Prokpowicz
Orit Vainstein
Thomas S. Wootton High School (Rockville)
Madeleine Pettit
Fellows have visited laboratories at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Smithsonian’s National Zoo, and U.S. Capitol buildings. They have spoken with a wide range of STEM professionals. (See below.)
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. In addition to the fellowships, the foundation sponsors scholarships for Richard Montgomery High School students excelling in mathematics.
Volunteers interested in being considered as a guest speaker, host for a field trip, or mentor can find more information here.
The Foundation welcomes donations to support student Fellows.
For more information, visit www.theslhfoundation.org or email Foundation Board Chairman Mat Heyman: mat@theslhfoundation.org.
STEM professionals who have met with SLH Fellows include:
a Nobel Physics Prize laureate,
White House and federal agency climate and weather researchers and communicators
an astronaut/engineer/lawyer and an engineer/intellectual property attorney
an economist who led all social science programs at the National Science Foundation (NSF)
a chemist who moved into information technology positions in industry and government and now serves as a top advisor to the NSF and as a senior official at an HBCU (historically black college or university)
math and science high school teachers and university professors and researchers in a wide range of fields
structural engineers who investigate building disasters and another who manages buildings for the U.S. Congress – as well as a civil and environmental engineer who launched a company to provide energy audits and solar microgrids while offering training and jobs to community members after earning degrees at an HBCU and Stanford University
computer scientists, including an artificial intelligence expert, a software engineer, a vice president of a digital advertising company, and multiple cybersecurity experts from the private sector, civilian agencies, as well as the US Army
a chemistry executive and science communicator, along with several biomedical engineers, and biochemists who oversee multiple federal research programs – including one who managed a Defense Department program which made major contributions to the science behind COVID-19 vaccines
an acoustical ocean ecologist
an electronics engineer who specializes in drones and aerospace technology
doctors practicing obstetrics and gynecology and pediatric medicine
a computer and electronics engineer working in a senior marketing position with a medical equipment manufacturer, and another who is the chief technology officer of a major digital media company
a neuroscientist at a prominent brain research institute who now focuses on outreach to students interested in STEM
a physicist and electronics engineer who has managed large neutron research facilities at multiple federal laboratories
a former congressional and industry staffer and top federal official who is now a lobbyist specializing in technology policy issues.
The Sandra Lee Heyman Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization established in memory of Sandra Lee Heyman, a long-time mathematics teacher at the elementary, middle school, high school, and community college levels. The 18-month long Fellowship is aimed at promising high school students who have the opportunity to meet with STEM leaders, visit prominent institutions in the Washington, D.C., area, and access peers and mentors to support career exploration in STEM fields. There are multiple ways to support the Fellowship program, and donations to the Foundation are tax deductible.