I AM STEM
I AM STEM Student Speaking Contest
The I AM STEM speaking contest was designed to help Penn State's Eberly College of Science students develop and share stories of their science journey! Winners of the contest have been Keynote Speakers at our ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women event where they have been able to inspire other burgeoning STEM minds!
Contest Objectives:
- To develop the science communication abilities of Eberly College of Science students
- To identify and showcase Eberly College of Science students with inspiring, authentic STEM stories
- To identify keynote speakers from the Eberly College of Science student community who can inspire and inform students and families who attend our ENVISION: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women.
To learn more about the competition - check out our I AM STEM program video here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BCCL9qm9M_8
Also, check out the Penn State Today story about the 2019 I AM STEM competition!
Congratulations to our 2022-2023 Winners!
1st Place Winner
Natalya Radovic
2nd Year Undergraduate
Astronomy and Astrophysics

2nd Place Winner
Miatu Kormah
4th Year Undergraduate
Biological Science and Health Professions

3rd Place Winner
Ariella Biney
2nd Year Undergraduate
Biology
Congratulations to our 2021-2022 Winners!

Ellie is a third-year plant biology PhD student at Penn State. She studies the chemicals in plants that provide nutrition and make humans healthy. Not only is chemistry fun, investigating plant small molecules allows scientists to improve the quality and affordability of nutritious plants worldwide. Ellie first became interested in science as an undergraduate and loves the real-world applications of plant biology. Ellie's hobbies include running, biking, hiking, and all things outdoors.

Margaret is a second year PhD student in Penn State’s math department. As a kid, Margaret enjoyed math, but didn’t consider it a career option until she got to college. In college, she realized that her curiosity and love of creative questions found a natural fit in the world of mathematics. Since then, she’s done research in the area of dynamical systems, including problems motivated by physics and biology. She is eager to share her love of math with the next generation through outreach and teaching. Outside of math, Margaret enjoys baking, being outside, and reading non-math related novels.
Videos of Past Winners and Participants
Congratulations to the 2020-2021 Winners!
1st Place: Sarah Chapman (Chemistry Doctoral Student)
2nd Place: Sarah Pfaff (Plant Biology Doctoral Student)
3rd Place: Phoebe McClincy (Astronomy and Astrophysics Undergraduate Student)

Our 1st and 2nd place winners presented Keynote Speeches at ENVISION 2021: STEM Career Day Supporting Young Women!
Watch Sarah Chapman's ENVISION Keynote Speech.
Watch Sarah Pfaff's ENVISION Keynote Speech.
Congratulations to the 2019 winners!
1st Place: Latisha Franklin (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Doctoral Student)
Check out Latisha's keynote speech here: https://youtu.be/c3ZMlwm-P4o
2nd Place: Yasha Duggal (Chemistry Doctoral Student)
3rd Place: Albaine Hendrickson-Stives (Chemistry Doctoral Student)
We have also posted the final 2017 winner keynote talks as well as a few of the "mini keynotes" that our competitors gave during the 2018 competition on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZI9S-ReVMf6PFPyWrZNgdmX_W8RqCh0i . Check them out!
Questions?
Contact us via email at outreach@science.psu.edu or give us a call at (814) 865-0501
Office of Science Outreach, 201 Ritenour Building, University Park, PA 16802