STEM Career Awareness Fellows Award High Ratings to Program
Concluding their third and final semesters as Sandra Lee Heyman STEM Career Awareness Fellows, high school students from across Maryland gave high scores to the program in multiple categories.
Nearly 97% of the 29 fellows, now primarily seniors, responded in a survey that one or more events introducing them to STEM professionals just in the past semester influenced their views about STEM careers. Previous surveys yielded the similar results for earlier semesters. The fellows indicated that discussions with STEM guests suggested a career they had not known or thought about or swayed them away from a particular field that they had been considering in favor of another.
Other results:
90% reported that they were now more interested in pursuing a STEM career than they were before beginning the fellowship.
As a group, the fellows said that they are 24% more likely to pursue a career in STEM than before they took advantage of the program’s events; they now are 94% certain that they will seek to become part of the STEM workforce.
100% said that they would recommend the Sandra Lee Heyman Fellowship program to other students.
More than 170 students from Maryland and Washington, D.C., have participated in the program since it was launched in 2020. Every student who has completed fellowship surveys to date has said that they would recommend it to others.
Below are a few of the typical comments made by the fellows after completing the program and taking part in discussions with conventional and non-conventional STEM professionals:
“The events helped because we got to hear their stories, not only what they do now and their career, but how they got to where they are and how they chose to do what they do.”
“These events helped me learn about the variety of possible STEM careers. It also helped me realize it's okay that I don't need to know exactly what I want to do right now.”
“I'd never really thought of the specifics of working in STEM prior to the fellowship. Being able to hear the stories and careers of professionals in such a wide variety of fields gave lots of insight into possibilities surrounding the future!”
“It inspired me to experiment with various experiences that I may not previously have been open to trying.”
“Heading into the first semester, I already kind of had an idea that I wanted to pursue a STEM career, but now, having gone through the fellowship, I am certain that I want to be involved with STEM in the future. Listening to the speakers and even personally connecting with a couple professionals through the fellowship has solidified my desire to pursue STEM and now I plan to study climate science in college.”
“Before beginning the fellowship, I was almost entirely unsure of what I wanted to do, but now I am certain I would like to go into STEM.”
“I'm not exactly sure what career still but leaning towards engineering. These events helped me realize how many different possibilities there are for engineers.
“It was especially interesting to see the interdisciplinary applications of STEM.”
“This experience has been very valuable in allowing me to learn about STEM careers that I previously have no knowledge of. I particularly enjoyed hearing the specifics of what the speakers do daily and their impact on the world.”
“Before participating in the SLH fellowship, I did not know careers like a genetic counselor existed. The SLH fellowship has also been helpful in allowing me to ask questions to professionals working in careers I will potentially pursue in the future.”
“The questions by the students were important to help learn more. It was cool to hear other people's questions that I wouldn't have asked myself.”
“I have definitely been opened up to careers I would not have considered, and it has been really useful for me to hear about how the speakers got to where they are in their careers and how their education and work has had to change over time.”
“The events helped me to explore different careers in STEM in an accessible manner. This has been very valuable in helping me decide what I want to do in the future, as I can make more informed decisions. I now feel more confident that the careers I am looking into are ones that I will enjoy.”
“I have a better idea on STEM careers than before - I know what careers that I'm interested in thanks to the fellowship events, so it motivated me to explore opportunities in those fields.”
“I knew before I was accepted into the SLH fellowship that I wanted to pursue a career in STEM, so I never needed to be persuaded to go into a STEM career. However, the SLH fellowship has inspired and encouraged me to look into other STEM careers even more so now.”
“The guest speakers gave great advice about how to approach a career in STEM, for example reaching out, saying yes to opportunities, and getting experience and being introduced to a new field from internships, etc.”
In the fellows’ third semester, STEM professionals and topics included:
Mr. Chetan Sabnis, Engineering Director, Google: Lead engineer for Search Social Impact; his teams work on global elections, health, sustainability, and jobs.
Dr. Yvonne Masakowski, Retired Senior Research Scientist & Professor, formerly with the U.S. Navy and NATO: An expert in Psychology, Human Factors, Acoustics, and Artificial Intelligence.
From the U.S. Navy’s Naval Sea Ship Command: Mr. J. Carey Filling, SES, Director for Surface Ship Design and Systems Engineering; Mr. Dilip Ghate, Deputy Group Director for Surface Ship Design and Systems Engineering; and Dr. Nur Yeasin, Ship Design Manager for the LHA 9 Amphibious Assault Ship. Three experts with varied educational backgrounds and paths leading them to design ships.
Ms. Jennifer DiRaimo, Director of Research and Canadian Advocacy at the Platelet Disorder Support Association: A former genetic counselor who now focuses on science communications with patients, medical practitioners, researchers, and pharmaceutical companies.
Some of the fellows also toured a national user facility at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) that provides world-class neutron measurement capabilities to meet the needs of researchers from industry, academia, and government.
Recruitment for Class 7 Fellows is expected to begin in October 2025 for high school sophomores.
For more information contact Mat Heyman at mat@theslhfoundation.org
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.