In Richmond earlier this week, Governor and First Lady Northam and the Virginia Council on Women announced the winners of the 8th Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Essay Contest for young women in their junior and senior years of high school.
The awardees were recognized at a reception hosted by the Governor and First Lady at the executive mansion.
“Every year, this contest rewards some of our brightest young women and provides them with scholarships to pursue their educational goals in high-demand STEM fields,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “The first lady and I are extremely proud of this year’s contest winners, and all of the students across our Commonwealth who will lead our future as the next generation of scientists, doctors, coders, and engineers.”
The Council on Women established this contest in 2012 to award scholarships to high school junior and senior women, living in Virginia, holding at least a 2.5 GPA. and planning to pursue STEM careers at institutions of higher education.
Contest award winners represent all five geographic regions of Virginia. Nearly 1,000 young women submitted essays focusing on their vision for a future STEM career.
The award recipient from Southwest Virginia was Bethany Hsiao, a senior from Blacksburg High School. She received a $5,000 scholarship that she can use at the University of Pennsylvania next year where she plans to study computer science.
Hsiao ‘s award-winning essay shared her early passion for math and how that transitioned to a love of coding and computer science. As she finishes her senior year at BHS, she’s working on a research project at Virginia Tech that uses her coding skills
According to Connie Froggatt, Montgomery County School Board member, Hsiao was a winner of the Montgomery County Education Foundation Creative Writing and Poetry contest two years ago.
Since its inception, the Council has awarded more than $150,000 in scholarships to deserving high school students and extends its sincere thanks to all of the sponsors and judges of this year’s STEM Scholarship Awards, it said in an announcement.
The scholarship sponsors were: Capital One, ADP, Barry Robinson, Morrison & Foerster LLP, Murphy & McGonigle, PC, Patient First, the Virginia Department of Transportation, United Healthcare, Troutman Sanders LLP, and McGuire Woods LLP.
The purpose of the Virginia Council on Women is to help women reach their potential and maximize their contributions to society and the Commonwealth initiating several projects to meet this goal including the annual STEM essay contest for young women in high school.
