Our Mission
Our mission is to emanate STEM passion for the youth in our community! As high school co-founders who were introduced to STEM at a young age, we wanted to give back to our community by introducing the next generation to our common passion. As students who attended events run by non-profits such as ourselves, we understand how engaging hands-on activities can be when conducted alongside teenage role models and how events such as the ones we host have the power to influence kids to explore the STEM field! Apart from emanating STEM passion, our mission is to also grow a collaborative, supportive, and united STEMANATE community. We hope you can join our STEMANATE community today by joining our email list!
Ryan Cheriathundam
Freshman at University of Maryland
(Co-Founder)
STEM has always been a part of my life and has always been my interest. As a result of my love for STEM, I extended my involvement by taking a more extensive variety of challenging STEM-related courses, doing summer camps, and participating in STEM challenges. Activities such as these resonated with me and initiated my interest in STEM. For this reason, STEMANATE is an opportunity to provide the next generation with a fun STEM experience that will spark their passion for STEM. Outside of STEMANATE, I enjoy working with kids in various ways, such as tutoring elementary schoolers at the Mathnasium, coaching tennis at River Falls Club, working as a camp counselor, and coaching third-grade boys' soccer. I also had the opportunity to participate in an internship with the Navy called SEAP. During this eight-week internship, I worked on developing a STEM curriculum for the Navy to be launched nationwide called Seaworthy STEM. I see STEMANATE as another opportunity to engage with the youth community in another area that especially interests me!
Cara Cheriathundam
Sophomore at Walt Whitman High School
(Co-Founder)
My passion for STEM was first sparked through various summer programs throughout my elementary school years. During these programs, I had the opportunity to work on multiple projects that required implementing various technological and engineering techniques. In addition to these extracurricular activities, my teachers led me in various STEM activities and projects, furthering my interest. The idea of being involved in a program like STEMANATE excites me not only because of my passion for STEM, but also my love for working with kids. I have worked as a peer tutor in the classroom, as an instructor in camps, as a coach in tennis, and as a babysitter for the most amusing children. This past summer, I was accepted into the Women in Engineering Program at the University of Maryland, where alumni and current college professors/students inspired me with their experiences and informed me with their knowledge of the various engineering disciplines. I am excited to encourage and support the next generation of innovators in the same way so that they see the endless possibilities in science, technology, engineering, and math.
Maya Cheriathundam
Sophomore at University of Maryland
(Co-Founder)
I have long had a passion for STEM as a kid, attending a variety of STEM events, camps, conventions, etc. I would like to especially thank my elementary school, Carderock Springs Elementary School, for emphasizing my STEM exposure. The introduction I got to STEM at a young age truly kickstarted my curiosity and influenced me to explore different STEM-based classes throughout middle and high school. I was especially fortunate to be selected for the SEAP internship program for the U.S. Navy last summer. I had the opportunity to spend eight weeks working closely with prestigious naval scientists and getting involved in naval projects with real-world impact on the warfighter. Since my time in high school is approaching its close, I wanted to share my STEM passion with future generations. For this reason, I helped to found STEMANATE so potential STEM passion can be kickstarted at an early age similar to how mine was!
Our STEMANATE Ambassadors
As high school co-founders who were drawn into STEM by events such as our own, we know that the kids are most engaged in participating in challenges alongside older teenage role models. For this reason, STEMANATE selected a team of high school STEMANATE ambassadors who share a similar STEM passion to the co-founders to assist in leading our events! Scroll below to meet our team!
