AAUW honors Fox Chapel Area female academics

More than 30 teenage girls were honored for their academic prowess by the Fox Chapel affiliate of the American Association of University Women.

A ceremony on March 20 recognized the future female leaders from Fox Chapel Area High School for their achievements in STEM fields.

Each student was nominated by teachers for the award, which shines a light on excellence in science, technology, engineering or math.

Seven of the honorees were nominated in two different categories.

Keynote speaker was Colleen Smith, STEM outreach coordinator at Penn State New Kensington. In her speech, Smith talked about the importance of supporting girls who excel in STEM subjects and encouraging them to continue along those career paths.

Participants had the chance to mingle with mentors from diverse science, tech, engineering and math fields. They included Dr. Pooja Amarapurkar; Danielle Kline, Westinghouse test engineer; Natalia Mejia, Code.org program evaluation analyst; and Brooke Pantano, a Ph.D. student in physical therapy at the University of Pittsburgh.

The professionals spoke about their own journeys and answered questions about STEM career choices and challenges.

The 2023 AAUW honorees are Annalese Bartolacci, Madison Callicott, Rebecca Chang, Amelia Costello, Anna Delale-O’Connor, Kaylee Dunham, Madisyn Elwood, Camryn Eisner, Gabrielle Generett, Selin Geylani, Josephine Giguere, Rayna Huang, Varnujah Kanagaraj, Claire Kinst, Shriya Krishnamurthy, Ava McCaffrey, Rachel Milchek, Alina Minturn, Swati Mylarappa, Alaina Okunewick, Christina Panza, Keya Patro, Lakshanya Rajaganapathi, Sophia Rzeszotarski, Jillian Stahl, Ariana Stevenson, Maria Stiger, Madeleine Stone, Emily Torbert, Gabriella Urso, Gloria Wen, Ella Werner and Yugi Zhou.

The mission of the AAUW is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research.

The Fox Chapel branch has active interest groups and carries out community service projects. Members meet monthly at the Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church, and the free programs are open to the public.