Sapna Garg
University of Florida; Freshman
Position: Co-Founder
I wanted to create STIR as a means of giving back to my community. I recognize how lucky I was growing up with the school that I went to and having a wide variety of educational opportunities available. I feel like these past experiences have enhanced my ability to learn and have made me more passionate about the future that I wish to pursue.
Enrica Kumar
Rutgers University – New Brunswick; Freshman
Position: Co-Founder
After coming to college, I realized the advantage I had with my prior research experience at my technical high school. My mission with co-founding STIR is to spread this advantage. Knowledge is power, and I hope to be a power source for other students.
Lea Smolyanskiy
Bergen County Academies; Junior
Position: Board Secretary and Director of Internal Communications
I joined STIR because I am passionate about students getting opportunities to learn about topics outside of the school curriculum and finding new interests. I believe it is a great program to do just that and expose students to different types of research. As Secretary and Director of Internal Communications, I make sure that everything inside of STIR is going smoothly so that everyone can benefit from what it has to offer.
Katherine Weng
Bergen County Academies; Junior
Position: Director of Communications and External Outreach
I joined the Communications and External Outreach Department at STIR to help spread the word about this amazing opportunity for high school students who are interested in doing scientific research but don’t know where to start. I hope to reach as many STEM-lovers as possible so they can take part in this beneficial program.
Jake Golden
Bergen County Academies; Junior
Position: Co-Director of Curriculum Development
I am a strong believer in STIR’s mission and feel that providing students interested in STEM with early exposure to research skills will help students like me discover the world of research. I hope to spread my knowledge and enthusiasm for scientific research to others through our curriculum here at STIR!
Katie Zhou
Bergen County Academies; Junior
Position: Co-Director of Curriculum Development
Throughout the past few years, I have recognized the importance of research towards both our own intellectual development and the advancement of science. I hope that my experience in research and teaching others can help others gain knowledge in this field and contribute more to the world of research and science.
Leo Barrientos Gutierrez
Bergen County Academies; Senior
Position: Co-Director of Social Media and Marketing
I joined STIR as Director of Social Media in order to make use of my internship experience as Marketing lead as well as volunteer efforts with various organizations. STIR in particular appealed to me because I’ve always been interested in research and with STIR, I can spread knowledge about research in STEM to people who may not have access to it.
James John
Bergen County Academies; Junior
Position: Co-Director of Social Media and Marketing
I wanted to join STIR because I really resonated with what the organization stood for. I went into high school thinking that I was bad at science and a career in STEM was not for me but having access to research and participating in it made me realize that it was something I was really passionate about. I applied to be Director of Social Media and Marketing because I have a lot of experience in film and promotion from running a podcast and promoting events for my church and boy scouts troop.