University Women honor Fox Chapel Area students for STEM excellence

Tawnya Panizzi
Wednesday, April 17, 2019 11:55 a.m. | Wednesday, April 17, 2019 11:55 a.m.

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Honorees Hannah Drum and Grace Han join panelist Anastasia Markiw at the American Association of University Women’s STEM Careers Achievement event on April 11, 2019.

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Abby Kieffer and Susan Hicks were among the honorees at the 2019 American Association of University Women’s STEM Careers Achievement event on April 11, 2019.

For their academic achievements in STEM fields, a group of female students from Fox Chapel Area High School were honored by the American Association of University Women (AAUW).

The girls, all sophomores and juniors, were lauded during a ceremony April 11 at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church by AAUW members from its Fox Chapel branch.

Founded in 1881, AAUW fights for equality in education for women.

Guest speaker was Sunanna Chand, director of Remake Learning, an innovative group working to engage students in the digital age. Chand told the audience girls in STEM fields deserve special attention and her organization is helping young women overcome gender bias in STEM occupations.

The evening’s other panelists included Anastasia Markiw, project architect for Design Group; Hannah Doyle, medical oncology physician assistant at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center; Emily Duff Bartel, staff policy engineer at Uber Advanced Technologies Group; and Julie Phillippi, assistant professor of cardiothoracic surgery at the University of Pittsburgh and director of postdoctoral research for the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Students were encouraged to interact with the experts in an effort to expand the horizons of young people who are considering career options.

They were nominated by their teachers, who made choices based on proficiency, interest or exceptional enthusiasm for a STEM field — science, technology, engineering or math.

Students honored include Suparna Agrawal, Macey Balk, Justice Carmody, Claire Cummings, Hannah Drum, Blair Echnat, Jasmine Eng, Claire Fenton, Rachel Ferris, Alayne Gaghan, Bryn Gerlach, Ainsley Good, Hend Hamada, Madilyn Harajda, Susan Hicks, Abby Kieffer, Madolyn Kieffer, Cuna Kim, Zeynep Ozkaya, Isabella Quercia, Lauren Sabol, Shyann Secola, Anzu Sekikawa, Jenny Shulkin, Kaylee Werner, Minnie Zuo, Paige Asbury, Chloe Bennett, Zoe Boychuk, Hazel Cline, Elena Conway, Margaret Dean, Samantha Dunlap, Grace Han, Natalka Harris, Catherine Heidenreich, Isabella Krisky, Lucy Markovitz, Alyssa Mattheis, Kimia Rafiee, Abigail Rickin-Marks, Cecilia Rike, Vinisha Sant, Vivian Shao, Kiersten Shiring, Grace Sisson, Kaylyn Toomey and Sydney Ulanowicz.

For more on the Fox Chapel Area affiliate, visit aauw.com.