Impact of Science-Focused Voelcker Grant Is Far Reaching
Young Women’s Leadership Academy is thrilled to announce the extension of the Voelcker Grant for two more years with $40,000 committed for each of the next two years. The opportunities made possible by these funds include valuable professional development for teachers to remain current with best practices in all science disciplines and science enrichment for all students from sixth grade to twelfth grade.
This grant has a far reaching impact, including the following stories from our former students:
Dominique Cameron –participated in Science Fair; graduated from medical school in May, 2024 completing her residency in Boston in gynecology.
Evelyn Ibarra - participated in Science Fair, pursuing her doctorate at Colorado University in bioengineering with her current research in diabetes at Barbara Davis Center. She completed her Masters in Bioengineering in May 2023.
Megan Reyna - graduated from University of Chicago 2020, conducting research in a lab in Chicago. Participated in science fair in middle and high school.
Janelle Arnold - graduated from Princeton University in May 2023, and is now part of an international cohort of researchers. Had a research project while at Princeton that took her to an internship with Advanced Materials Science funded by the National Science Foundation. She did computational modeling of thermoplastics and bottlebrush molecules; coding and running simulations of how certain thermoplastic materials worked in different stages of evaporation. Participated in science fair in middle and high school. She also participated in science fair in middle and high school. Competed in INTEL (international level science fair competition). Voelcker Biomedical Program Scholar.
Nadia Gonzales - graduated from University of Texas at Austin with an astrophysics degree in May 2024. Participated in science fair in middle and high school.
Shreya Dheenan - at University of Texas at Austin, public health major working toward a medical pathway. Voelcker Biomedical Program Scholar. Participated in science fair in middle and high school which she states was her “favorite thing because it allowed me to explore very specific areas of science that I was passionate about and to share that knowledge with the scientific community.”
Bella Mazzucca - a current junior at MIT, studying computer engineering. Participated in science fair in middle and high school. Having a great time in calculus and programming courses.
Sophia Ramirez - at Harvard University, neuroscience major. Voelcker Biomedical Program Scholar. Was one of 3 students to earn a perfect score in the first calculus exam at Harvard in her class. Participated in science fair in middle school and Voelcker program in high school.
Ava Romero - a freshman at Yale University, medicine major. Voelcker Biomedical Program Scholar and strongly committed to pursuing a medical career in great part because of her experiences with science fair and Voelcker Biomedical program.
Delia Montelongo, YWLA Network Head of Schools, wrote to the trustees of the Voelcker Fund, Forrester M. Smith, Banks M. Smith, David P. Berndt, to express her deepest gratitude:
“I am sharing only a few of our students who have been greatly impacted by the efforts of our science department and the investment you have made in the Young Women’s Leadership Academy. You are changing lives daily in our small community and the ripple effect will be exponential with every year that we maintain the level of support and that we provide enrichment learning opportunities for all our students, while also developing our teachers consistently in the most innovative ways to remain competitive in our 21st century world.”
