High School Sophomores Now Can Apply for STEM Career Exploration Fellowships: Accepting Applications for the Eighth Class of STEM Career Exploration Fellows
Fellowships that enable high school students to explore careers in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) are now open to current sophomores in Maryland and the greater Washington, D.C. area.
Applications for the three-semester fellowships, sponsored by the Sandra Lee Heyman Foundation, are available online and due by December 7, 2026. Fellows will become part of the program’s eighth class.
“Feedback from our students consistently shows that they have gained insights into the possibilities of STEM careers through the program,” said Mat Heyman, chairman of the Foundation’s board of directors. “This program helps to prepare students to make more informed choices about their path forward,” he said. To date, 245 high school students have participated as fellows since the program launched in 2020.
The fellowships are intended for students interested in learning more about options for STEM education and careers. Those who already want to pursue a STEM career but have not yet identified a particular field – 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. Most discussions with STEM guests are conducted virtually in a small group setting. For the 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, arts, and journalism. Fellows also are connected with other successful STEM professionals for advice and are informed about internships.
Within the past year, fellows have met with:
A professor of genetics – who is also on the staff of her university's Arts Institute –as well as the CEO of a biotech company.
An oncologist who moved from his medical career in clinical practice at a world-renowned cancer institute to become a cancer drug developer at a major pharmaceutical company.
A world-leading forensic DNA researcher who has literally “written the book on the subject and developed new techniques needed to identify victims of the 2001 World Trade Center disaster, who teamed with a forensic science research manager who focuses on human factors and trustworthy AI.
A civil engineer and president of an international geohazards institute who described her lifetime work protecting communities from earthquakes and tsunamis by leading international teams that blend engineering, culture, and community partnership.
A widely respected chemical researcher and director of a large federal laboratory who served as president of the world’s largest scientific society, who shared his journey from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to become a national leader in science.
The Director of a prominent think tank’s Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technology Initiative who previously led a U.S. government AI program – and traced her career from an electrical engineering degree to being featured by Time magazine as among the country’s top AI experts.
A physical therapist who, inspired by her sports injury, began her own clinic and small business 25 years ago, who also described other therapy professions.
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.
Prior classes of fellows met with:
An arctic ice expert, a genetic counselor, a panel of Navy engineers involved in ship design and maintenance, a senior software engineer, and an expert in psychology, human factors, acoustics, and artificial intelligence.
Multiple civil engineers (one who has started a company to provide communities with innovative energy-related solutions to climate challenges and another who provided a tour of US Capitol buildings and explained engineering opportunities in federal agencies), a computer scientist who specializes in artificial intelligence, an acoustical ocean ecologist, math and science teachers, and a White House meteorologist with expertise in climate issues together with another meteorologist working on issues related to structures.
An astronaut, multiple cybersecurity experts working in the defense and civilian sectors, a structural engineer who investigates building failures, 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.
Biomechanical engineers from multiple universities, a bioengineer, a neuroscientist, and a semiconductor researcher who is deputy of the advisory board overseeing the National Science Foundation.
An obstetrician, the chief of pediatric emergency medicine at an urban hospital and a pediatrician at a leading children’s 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 chemists who served as the chief executive of the world’s largest association of scientists as well as news media executives and university researchers and professors.
To date, well over 90% of fellows responding to surveys report that the fellowship has informed and influenced their interest in a STEM career – and 100% would recommend the Fellowship experience to other students interested in STEM.
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; the foundation was formed by Sandra’s family to honor her memory and extend her legacy.
The fellowships complement the 28 winners of the Sandra Lee Heyman Higher Mathematics Award, given annually by the Foundation since 1999 to a top math student at Richard Montgomery High School, where Sandra last taught.
For more information, visit www.theslhfoundation.org/ or contact Foundation Board Chairman Mat Heyman: mat@theslhfoundation.org