Goodyear scholarships, grants support STEM

AKRON — In continuation of its commitment to support science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education, Goodyear has provided $20,500 in scholarships to 20 Northeast Ohio high school students.

The awards, which range in value from $500 to $2,500, were announced during the tire maker's annual STEM Career Day events, held April 29 at the University of Akron and May 6 at Firestone Community Learning Center, part of the Akron Public Schools system.

Students awarded $2,500 scholarships, and their college choices, are:

• Greta Noeth, St. Joseph Academy, Cleveland — Ohio State University;

• Kevin Du, Copley High School, Copley — Brown University; and

• Kyler Fertig, Akron S.T.E.M. High School, Akron — University of Akron.

Students awarded $1,000 scholarships, and their college choices, are:

• Steven Prexta, Green High School, Green — Ohio State;

• Amanda Kimble, Stow-Munroe Falls High School, Stow — Ohio State;

• Drew DeLap and James Bradcovich, Lake High School, Uniontown — both going to Ohio State;

• Lance Anenson of Green High School — Ohio State;

• Julia Zalewski, Roosevelt High School, Kent — Case Western Reserve University;

• Zeynep Ozgur, Hudson High School, Hudson — Kent State University;

• Mary Pat Nicodemus, Akron S.T.E.M. High School — University of Akron;

• Portia Snipes, Akron S.T.E.M. High School — Ohio University;

• Camden Fisher, Akron S.T.E.M. High School — Purdue University; and

• Amariana Dortch, Firestone High School, Akron — University of Akron.

Students awarded $500 scholarships, and their college choices, are:

• Nicholas Luther, West Geauga High School, Chesterland —University of Akron;

• Jared Ruehr, Aurora High School, Aurora — Northeastern University;

• Nicholas Koch, Holy Name High School, Brunswick — University of Dayton; and

• Matthew Lundell, Copley High School — North Carolina State University.

Goodyear noted that 1,800 students attended the two STEM events. During the April 29 event, high school students had the opportunity to learn about STEM education programs at the University of Akron during a tour of the campus. They also were challenged to put their engineering skills to the test by channeling the ingenuity of Rube Goldberg and "over-engineering" a contraption that checked tire pressure.

Winners of the high school Rube Goldberg Machine challenge earned grants for their schools. Receiving prizes were:

• First place and Goodyear Associate Favorite, receiving $2,500 was Virtus Academy, Valley View;

• Second place, receiving $2,000 was Lake High School, Uniontown; and

• Third place, receiving $1,000 was Westlake High School, Westlake.

Middle school students, likewise, were challenged May 6 to create Rube Goldberg machines that would help to monitor tread depth. Teams selected as winners in that challenged were:

• First place and Goodyear Associate Favorite, receiving $2,500, was Catalyst Academy, Macedonia;

• Second place, receiving $2,000 was Akron S.T.E.M. Middle School, Akron; and

• Third place, receiving $1,000 was Buckeye Intermediate School (Team 2), Medina.

Students, parents and teachers attending both STEM events had the chance to learn more about science- and math-based careers by meeting with professionals, talking with representatives from area companies and learning more about educational programs at local universities.

Additional information about Goodyear's STEM Career Day program is available at www.goodyear.com/careerday.