STEM Team Honors Top Indiana Students in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Holly Lawson
Deputy Director of Communications
(317) 232-0536
hlawson2@doe.in.gov
INDIANAPOLIS – Governor Eric J. Holcomb and the Indiana Department of Education today announced the four members of the 2022 Governor’s STEM Team, which honors outstanding high school students for their exceptional efforts and accomplishments in science, technology, engineering or math.
“Just as careers in science, technology, engineering and math are continuing to grow rapidly across Indiana, so is the innovation led in Indiana classrooms,” said Gov. Holcomb. “The students selected this year for our STEM Team represent the next generation of Hoosier innovators, as they’re each already using their scientific and technical knowledge to make an incredible impact in their communities.”
In addition to being selected as a member of the Governor’s STEM Team, each student receives a $1,000 scholarship deposit into an Indiana CollegeChoice 529 Direct Savings plan, administered by Treasurer of State Kelly Mitchell, and a letterman jacket identifying them as members of the Governor’s STEM Team.
“These students represent what is possible when doors of opportunity are opened to explore, engage and experience high-demand STEM fields across all grades,” said Dr. Katie Jenner, Indiana Secretary of Education. “The newest members of the Governor’s STEM team are already using their skills to make an enduring impact in their communities, and I’m confident this impact will only continue to grow as they embark on their next steps.”
The members of the 2022 Governor’s STEM Team are:
Science: Allison Maskew, Noblesville High School, Noblesville
Allison is a senior at Noblesville High School. From a young age, Allison’s love for science was evident through her science fair projects and conference attendance. Allison has attended several camps which have led her to an appreciation of medical careers. She is currently interning at CVS Pharmacy as a pharmacy technician-in-training. Her research efforts include studying the effects of sugar concentration on the growth of gram-negative E. coli bacteria. In the fall, Allison will attend Purdue University to study pharmaceutical sciences.
Technology: Rama Khabbaz, Valparaiso High School, Valparaiso
Rama is a senior at Valparaiso High School. In addition to taking 10 Advanced Placement (AP) classes, Rama also tutors at the Syrian Community Network, a refugee support organization. In 2020, Rama was accepted into the Girls Who Code Summer Immersion Program and her love of computer science grew. She has coded her own website and worked with machine-learning algorithms, including k-means clustering and gradient descent. This fall, Rama will study computer science.
Engineering: Siya Goel, West Lafayette Jr/Sr High School, West Lafayette
Siya is a senior at West Lafayette Junior/Senior High school. Siya is an independent researcher in pancreatic cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation devices through Purdue University. Additionally, she is the co-founder of Buzz Online, an online educational platform for free STEM courses that has connected over 20,000 students and showcases over 500 student projects. Siya’s future plans include becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon and impacting her community through research and activism.
Mathematics: Matthew Liu, Columbus North High School, Columbus
Matthew is a senior at Columbus North High School. Throughout high school, Matthew has taken three dual credit mathematics courses at Ball State University and several others outside of the STEM field. His research experience while in high school includes serving as a research assistant at the Morehouse School of Medicine and completing his first authored paper while interning at Pioneer Academics Research. He is fascinated by the integration of math and science and looks forward to continuing to conduct research on complicated scientific problems. This fall, Matthew plans to study chemistry.
In addition to the four members selected for the Governor’s STEM Team, 12 students received honorable mentions:
Science
- Rishi Rao, Columbus North High School, Columbus
- Katelyn Roseberry, Mississinewa High School, Gas City
- Malia Sanghvi, Homestead Senior High School, Fort Wayne
Technology
- Tanya Datta, Penn High School, Mishawaka
- Vinay Krishnan, Fishers High School, Fishers
- Alexandra Tauriainen, Lawrence Central High School, Indianapolis
Engineering
- Evan Carr, Columbus North High School, Columbus
- Katie Essex, Southport High School, Southport
- Brayden Gogis, Franklin Central High School, Indianapolis
Mathematics
- Logan Moore, DeKalb High School, Waterloo
- Paul Ulrich, Indiana Academy for Science, Mathematics, and Humanities, Muncie
- Madelyn Zavada, Penn High School, Mishawaka