STEM Career Awareness Fellowship Program Receives High Marks
Chemist, earthquake engineer, oncologist/drug developer, and forensic scientists are latest discussants
High school students across Maryland gave high scores to the Sandra Lee Heyman STEM Career Awareness Fellowship after they recently completed their third and final semester in the program.
All 37 fellows completing the program, now 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. Surveys of Fellows in the previous five years of the program yielded similar results. 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:
95% reported that they were now more interested in pursuing a STEM career than they were before beginning the fellowship; the others said that the program helped affirm an interest in a specific STEM field.
As a group, the fellows said that they are nearly 14% 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 240 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 comments made by the fellows after taking part in discussions with conventional and non-conventional STEM professionals:
“Going into the fellowship I already had the idea of possibly pursuing a career in STEM and with the new knowledge gained from it I’ve been encouraged even more to further pursue that goal.”
“This fellowship has introduced me to new STEM careers that I never considered or even knew of.”
“The events explored various STEM careers across a wide range of fields, which I really enjoyed and found useful because it can help almost anyone find the right path and interest.”
“Being able to get such a deep insight into all these careers has been such an inspiring experience for me. Previously, I thought my future was limited to just certain jobs. Meeting all these new people from different backgrounds in different STEM fields has broadened my knowledge and understanding of both what I want in my future and what I want that journey to this future to look like.”
“This fellowship has been an amazing opportunity. After every meeting I am interested in changing my future job or at least interested in studying something new in college.”
“I became more interested in careers that combine technology, problem solving, and innovation. The speakers made STEM careers feel more achievable and impactful.”
“The most important takeaways I heard from the guests throughout the fellowship were to stay open to new opportunities, embrace uncertainty, and not be afraid to pivot when your interests evolve.”
“The big takeaway for me was that your STEM journey is not always linear. Find those internships and opportunities within your desired field because they will help shape your path, do not be afraid of the unknown.”
“The fellowship events were a great way to get exposure to fields I wouldn't have thought about.”
“Hearing professionals explain their experiences made the careers feel more realistic and approachable.”
“I learned the flexibility of STEM professions; the knowledge and skills acquired in some STEM professions are often transferable to other professions. Personally, this means that I don't necessarily have to commit to my college major for the rest of my life.”
“Just realizing that there's so many career paths that I didn't know existed before has made me more interested in learning about STEM careers.”
“I think the biggest takeaway was to never give up or feel like I don't belong just because I don't look like everyone else.”
“The personal stories that the guest speakers told gave me an idea on how different paths look after high school and what to expect. They were great motivation for me to continue pursuing a path in STEM after hearing them talk about what they do and their enjoyment.”
“Listening to the speakers talk about their profession, especially hearing how they became interested with their profession in the first place was truly inspiring.”
Professionals and topics from the fellows’ most recent semester included:
Dr. Willie May, Vice President for Research and Economic Development, Morgan State University, formerly Director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology and President of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, on Chemistry, Leadership, and Real-World Impact
Ms. Veronica Cedillos, President, GeoHazards International, Global Earthquake Expert and Mariachi Musician
Dr. Matt Hellman, Senior Vice President of Early Oncology and Precision Medicine, AstraZeneca, formerly Attending Physician at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, on Careers in Cancer Research—Discussion with an Oncologist Turned Drug Developer
Dr. John Butler, Special Assistant to the Director, and Ms. Melissa Taylor, Senior Forensic Scientist, National Institute of Standards and Technology, on Forensic Science—DNA, Crime Scenes, and the Real Work Behind the TV Drama.
Recently, 73 Fellows from 22 schools across Maryland and Washington, D.C., completed their first of three semesters in Class 7 of the program. Recruitment for Class 8 Fellows is expected to begin in October 2026 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.