Students Complete Year-Long STEM Program
funded by State of New Jersey, Bristol Myers Squibb, Comcast, Janssen, Merck, Novartis, Panasonic, PSEG Foundation, Spencer Savings Bank, Stryker, and Verizon
On Saturday, May 11, 2024, 123 New Jersey high school and college students graduated from the Governor’s STEM Scholars, a year-long program of the Research & Development Council of New Jersey that provides a 360° view of New Jersey’s STEM economy through conferences, lab tours, and a research project.
During the commencement ceremony and conference held at Kean University, each Scholar was honored for their efforts in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) with a diploma signed by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and a Joint Legislative Resolution sponsored by Assemblyman Chris Tully (LD-38), Deputy Majority Leader and Chair of the Assembly Science, Innovation and Technology Committee.
The graduating Scholars heard from esteemed speakers including Assemblyman Tully and Stephanie Otis, PharmD CHC, Vice President of US Medical Affairs at Ferring Pharmaceuticals based in Parsippany.
During Commencement, Scholars presented year-long research projects led by undergraduate and graduate-level Scholars that address community-based research questions. The research team led by Cooper Medical School of Rowan University student Anika Pruthi on Unearthing the Hidden Threat: Heavy Metal Pollution and Community Challenges in Hudson County, NJ was awarded an Excellence in Research Award. Team members included Suchit Basineni, Aden Falk, Carolyn He, Annika Raj, and Ishir Rao. All research projects can be viewed at www.govstemscholars.com/showcase.
“The Governor’s STEM Scholars provides high school and college students with an inside look into New Jersey’s vast STEM economy,” said Alise Roderer, Director of the Governor’s STEM Scholars. “Over the past year, these 123 exceptional Scholars have learned about career opportunities at R&D organizations throughout the state, developed 21st century skills to support their transitions into college and career, and created a research project with community-changing potential. We are proud of their achievements within the program and are looking forward to watching as they become our state’s next generation of innovators.”
The Governor’s STEM Scholars is a public-private partnership between the Research & Development Council of New Jersey, the Office of the Governor, the New Jersey Department of Education, the New Jersey Office of the Secretary of Higher Education, and New Jersey’s public and private research higher education institutions.
Throughout the academic year, Scholars participated in four conferences to explore different aspects of New Jersey’s STEM economy focusing on STEM in government, academia, and industry. During the 2023-2024 programmatic year, these conferences were held at the Rutgers School of Engineering, Princeton University, New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Kean University. Additionally, Scholars toured New Jersey STEM facilities and laboratories and engaged with STEM leaders at the United Airlines hub at Newark International Airport, Bristol Myers Squibb, Stryker Corporation, PSEG’s Salem and Hope Creek Generating Stations, and Kenvue.
The 2023-2024 Governor’s STEM Scholars graduates are (*denotes college-level Scholar):
Atlantic County
Alexander Savov
Aaron Simpson
Isabela Simpson*
Bergen County
Alexandra Bruno
Liliana Hopkins*
Cinthia Hussein*
Claire Jiang
Dennise Munyao,
Alfardi Nuruzzaman
Kevin Ozkuyumcu
Lindsey Samuel
Riyashi Varia
Burlington County
Michael Domenech
Adam Freedman
Ashley Kim
Nidhi Mandrekar
Camden County
Aden Falk
Alexander Kang
Jiwoo Lee
Praise Sodimu
Cape May County
Justen Wen
Cumberland County
Yeheira Acosta
Brianna Mosley
Essex County
Cristina Altamirano*
Julissa Beltrán
Kailan Campbell
Noor EL-Hawwat*
Andrés Jaquez Cruz
Alisson Lopez Donado*
Pari Narang
Ashley Noboa
Jerrick Romero
Kaelynn Ross
Nennin Toure
Gloucester County
Elizabeth Justin
Hudson County
Fatima Abella*
Krystinna Arevalo
Michelle Ayala
Hazel Bonilla
Valerie Duran
Carolyn Eloy
Isabella Fernandes-Santinho
Mircea Florescu*
Hector Gonzalez*
Raifah Kader
Axel Perez
Marisa Syed*
Raunak Verma
Madison Walia-Peters
Morgan Walia-Peters
Hunterdon County
Malorie Brown
Sofia Colella
Ian Grenda
Neeraj Venna
Mercer County
Matthew Abad
Tionna Dunn
Anvita Kulkarni
Muhammad Mir*
Shirin Sood
Middlesex County
Nishi Agrawal
Sarvesh Anand
Kerat Bangar*
Animesh Borad*
Pooja Challi
Lawrence He
Shelby Hilarczyk
Shreyaah Iyer
Sonal Lakhani
Aidan Ogborn
Chelsea Panton
Misha Patel
Anika Pruthi*
Reeti Rout
Zashaan Tahaqqum Shaik
Ved Shenoy
Pranav Tripathi*
Mia Velasco
Akhil Vemuri
Amber Verma
Yash Verma
Monmouth County
Suchit Basineni
Madeline Hunt
Marlene Krueger
Madison MacKenzie
Jacob Normand*
Annika Raj
Hayden Schechter
Shravani Vedagiri
Morris County
Myra Almeida
Isha Bhatia
Akintunde Fasoro
Carolyn He
Keira Lee
Daniel Leykin
Arata Nakano
Khushi Prajapati
Ishir Rao
Lithra Sankari
Ocean County
Katherine Estevanell
Anita Lemus Rivera
Passaic County
Seidy Castillo
Kenny Frias
Cesar Ramirez
Disha Rana
Alexander Relovsky
Somerset County
Kayrine Calderon
Jenny Gao
Kaelyn Johnson
Charlotte Liu
Lola López-Spencer
Oluwaniademi Ogundana
Shubham Sharma
Jennifer Tian
Vamsikrishna Vaidyula
Sussex County
Alexandra MacMullin
Union County
Mina Basaly*
Robert Bress
Jolie Estevao
Omolola Falana
Emily Hickey
Lily Liu
Janeli Tenecota-Villa
Warren County
Angelina Lin