Our STEM pen pal volunteers make our program possible. They donate their time, expertise and stories to make STEM more relatable and interesting for our student pre-scientists. They have proven to be reliable friends and sparks of inspiration that help students discover their STEM potential.
At the end of the 2024-25 school year, we asked our 46 teachers to identify STEM pen pals who went above and beyond this year to cultivate a meaningful relationship with their pre-scientist and inspire them to explore a future in STEM.
Out of the 3,258 incredible STEM pen pals who volunteered this year, we are excited to celebrate the following 202 STEM professionals who went above and beyond. These 6% of our volunteers made a profound impact on their pen pal this year, and we are so grateful.
There are three awards we give out:
- 🧠 Excellent Explanations 🏆
This award went to STEM pen pals offering understandable and engaging descriptions of STEM content. The words of these volunteers built students’ STEM knowledge and inspired them to research more about STEM. - 📝 Exceptionally Engaging Letters 🏆
STEM Pen Pals that received this award had a way with words (and visuals) that left our pre-scientists smiling, laughing, and telling everyone that would listen about their wonderful stories their STEM pen pal would share. - 🤝 Compassionate Connections 🏆
By openly sharing their challenges, triumphs, and heartfelt advice, recipients of this award built deep, meaningful connections with their pre-scientist pen pals.
We are thrilled to share the names of the STEM professionals who received these awards to recognize them for their important role in inspiring students to discover their STEM potential:
In recognition of
🧠 Excellent Explanations 🏆
Adrian Wiegman
Alexis Harvey
Allison Poh
Amy Mundorff
Andrew Li
Anna Argento
Bayleigh Benner
Beth Twohy
Brenna Ceron
Caroline Kratka
Chiho Sugimoto
Daniel Brethauer
Elise Le Boulicaut Ennis
Emily Hansen
Emily Yerington
Ever Vasquez-Portillo
Hannah Zierden
Ikumi Ellis
Jenna Trofin
Jess Bellovich
Jester Goldman
John Pohl
Jordan Smiley
Julia English
Kaewjearanai Yangkao
Kate Shanks
Katelyn McPaul
Katie Ciurleo
Kyle Noordhoek
Madeline Sykes
Maryam Azmi
Matt Addicoat
Megan Gates
Michaela Rogers
Michelle Hooks
Mohamed Abdel Hakeem
Morgan Miller
Nathan Tehrani
Priyanka Nain
Rakshita Balaji
Rebecca Reals
Roman Pittman
Rupal Kalapanda
Samantha Stettnisch
Taryn Brechbill
Teresa Baraza
Yuleny Gomez Rodriguez
In recognition of
📝 Exceptionally Engaging Letters 🏆
Abigail Roelle
Adolfo Salgado-Casanova
Alfred Pico
Alyssa Guarino
Alyssa Player
Amanda Dugan
Andrea Wenzel
Andrew McWilliam
Annessa Foss
Anthony Ramos
Barbara Wilson
Bella Fascendini
Berenise Lopez-Lopez
Beth Johnson
Caitlin Mack
Cecilia Villanueva
Dani Buchheister
Danna Linn Barnett
Dasha Musatova
Delfina Navarro-Estrada
Diego Cuerda-Gil
Emily Gantz
Erica Sawczynec
Geraldine Hernandez
Hazel McGuffin
Helena Wagner
Jason Jordan
Jessica Lawless
Jessica Velez
Joe Wood
John Alling
Julia Oktawiec
Kal Bistolas
Katherine Gallagher
Kelly Chang
Kursti Eaves
Kylee Noel
La’Nese Lovings
Lauren Walls
Lin Liu
Lisa Schreihart
Lynn Chen
Manmeet Pelia
Margie Pelczynski
Mariana Dupont
Maribel Cruz Reyes
Maribel Okiye
Mark Nicholas
Meghan Breen
Melanie Carr
Monica Gordillo
Mukunda Prasad Poudel
Natalie Miller
Noah Somberg
Ryan Hannum
Safron Milne
Sarah Emel
Sarah Foess
Sasha Campana
Shreeya Shetye
Silvija Milosavljević
Stephanie C de Barros
Ty Trapps
Victoria Cassady
Vincent Corbo
Zachary Goff-Eldredge
In recognition of
🤝 Compassionate Connections 🏆
Adeleine Cheng
Alex Shenfield
Alex Wheaton
Alexandra Hoey
Anapaula Themann
Andrei Klishin
Ariel Brown
Becca Thomas-Kuzilik
Binh Ha
Brianna Hill
Brooklynn Joyner
Candy Wong
Chenoa Palmer
Cheyenne Tait
Connor Soncrant
Corinne Henshaw
Daniel Yoo
Deb Triant
Deepa Balasubramanian
Devin Skelton
Eliany Perez
Elizabeth Ampolini
Emily Poulin
Fatemeh Aflatounian
Francyne Kubaski
Georgia Kopf
Gillan Phillips
Greta Pagel
Jaclyn Cetiner
Jeff Rakitt
Jessica Myers
John Hart
Jolene Iseler
Jonathan Chapman
Jordan Pitman
Joshua Vincent
Julia Joos
Juliana Fischler
Kailee Behunin
Kathryn Neugent
Kayla Clauson
Kelly Grimes
Kristen French-Kim
Lakshta Kundal
Laura Salcedo
Liz Marchio
Liz Phillips
Lucy Ward
Manouk Gerritsen
Maria Brownfield
Maricar Harris
Marina Luccioni
Marissa Bills
Marissa Sandoval
Megan Herbruck
Megan Moran
Megan O’Connor
Mira Swartzlander
Natalie Pfann
Nina Hernandez
Nolgie Oquendo-Colon
Orsi Hamari
Pablo Cabrera
Parris Mayhood
Rachel Ende
Rachel Witt
Randy george Herrera
Rebecca Downey
Rebecca Randles
Sabrina Chow
Sahitya Injamuri
Samantha Hamilton
Savannah Williams
Semira Kizhakkey
Serina Lane
Sezin Aday Aydin
Sharon Soliday
Sharyl Bailey
Sierra Miller
Sonia Arumuganainar
Sonja Daebelliehn
Sophia Brunko
Srishti Baid
Stella Mayerhoff
Stephan Erxleben
Tyler Bowling
Vaishnavi Dornadula
Vraj P. Chauhan
Ximena Bonilla Bustillo
These volunteers received certificates from LPS to recognize their efforts. Some of them also posted about what the award meant to them on LinkedIn – check it out.
Thank you to all of the STEM professionals who volunteered their time this year to connect with and support the next generation of STEM leaders.
