93 Strong: New Jersey's Next Generation of STEM Talent Graduates

Ninety-three Governor's STEM Scholars graduated high school this past spring. They join a growing network of alumni who came through the program as high schoolers and are now pursuing degrees, careers, and research in STEM fields.

Their intended fields of study span the full range of the STEM economy: engineering, computer science, pharmacy, biology, public policy, and more. Many will go on to build their careers here in New Jersey, contributing to the state's STEM economy.

Arnav Janeesh

Katherine Estevanell

Genesis DaSilva

Isabella Cortes

Zhekai Shen

Haley Mody

Angel Marquez

Siddharth Shankar

Carlos Sorto

Sophia Gao

Neeka Vojdani

Laura Bowen

Vinaya Vittal

Yasmine Lalani

Raunak Verma

Melanie Chauca

Isabella Merlino

Eva Patel

Jophy Lin

Claire Jiang

Rana Rabayah

Tanvi Walia

Anna Park

Penelope Herra

Axel Perez

Aaron Weinstein

We're proud of everything these 93 Scholars have accomplished so far, and even more excited for what comes next. Whether they're headed into a lab, a classroom, a startup, or a field we haven't imagined yet, we know they'll carry forward the curiosity and drive that brought them to the Governor's STEM Scholars in the first place. We can't wait to see what they build. Our 2026 high school graduates are: Gabriela Acosta, Perth Amboy High School

Yeheira Acosta, Cumberland County Technical Education Center

Karen Agbolou, Science Park High School

Sarvesh Anand, Monroe Township High School

Gabriel Arias, Union County Magnet High School

Ahmed Ashraf, North Bergen High School

Ishani Bakshi, Edison High School (EHS STEM)

Francesca Baptiste, Saint Vincent Academy

Warisha Bari, Newark Tech

Madelyn Boston, Paul VI High School*^

Laura Bowen, McNair Academic High School

Trexlor Boyer, Kingsway Regional High School

Malorie Brown, Hunterdon County Academies

Kailan Campbell, Essex County Schools of Technology Donald M. Payne Campus

Marc Carames, West Morris Central High School

Shashwat Chakraborty, Chatham High School**

Melanie Chauca, North Bergen High School*

Amy Chen, Gloucester City High School

Anu Chidambaram, Hopewell Valley Central High School

Isabella Cortes Parra, Union County Magnet High School

Genesis DaSilva, Toms River High School North

Ananya Datta, Academy Of Allied Health and Science

Maria Diaz Quintero, Academies @ Englewood

Owen DuHaime, Montclair Kimberley Academy

Maximus Elmorry, High Tech High School

Carolyn Eloy, Jose Marti STEM Academy

Chidera Emeaso, Hunterdon County Academies

Katherine Estevanell, Manchester Township High School*

Sean Fialcowitz, Delbarton School

Violet Fischer, Marine Academy of Technology and Environmental Science (MATES)

Sophia Gao, High Technology High School

Santiago Gonzalez, Wayne Hills High School

Penelope Herra, Marion P. Thomas Charter High School

Arnav Janeesh, Robbinsville High School*

Pranayaa Jeyaraman, Woodbridge Academy Magnet School

Claire Jiang, Bergen County Academies

Elizabeth Justin, Paul VI High School

Raifah Kader, Dr. Ronald E. McNair Academic High School

Navneet Kalatheeswaran, Bridgewater-Raritan High School

Anya Konduru, Somerset County Vo-Tech

Helena Kuchmek, Audubon Junior-Senior High School

Yasmine Lalani, Mountain Lakes High School

Sonia Leo, Moorestown High School

Gary Leschinsky, Davidson Academy Online

Jophy Lin, Manalapan High School

Charlotte Liu, Ridge High School

Kriti Malhotra, Manalapan High School

Nidhi Mandrekar, Cherokee High School

Angel Marquez, STEM Innovation Academy of the Oranges

Hillary Martinez, Memorial High School

Isabella Merlino, Toms River High School East

Haley Mody, PCTI STEM Academy

Abdulqudus Morakinyo, Newark School of Data Science and Informational Technology*

Pari Narang, Livingston High School

Oyinoluwa Obakeye, North Brunswick Township High School

Bryan Oko, Newark School of Data Science & Information Technology**

Anna Park, Academy of the Holy Angels

Eva Patel, Woodbridge Academy Magnet School

Maahishee Patel, Cumberland Regional High School

Axel Perez, Jose Marti STEM Academy*

Carlos Pina, Perth Amboy High School

Khushi Prajapati, Morris Hills High School**

Rana Rabayah, Atlantic City High School

Annika Raj, Biotechnology High School

Manya Rana, Passaic County Technical Institute STEM Academy

Jerrick Romero, Newark Tech Vocational High School

Victoria Rose, Saint Vincent Academy

Kaelynn Ross, DePaul Catholic High School

Reeti Rout, John P. Stevens High School

Di'dyana Rutty, Saint Vincent Academy

Reindy Sanon, Carteret High School

Krystal Santiago, Saint Vincent Academy

Josephine Serrano, Bergen County Academies

Aum Shah, The Academy for Mathematics, Science, and Engineering

Siddharth Shankar, High Technology High School^

Zhekai Shen, Elite Preparatory Academy

Florence So, Morris Hills High School

Carlos Sorto, Elizabeth High School Frank J. Cicarell Academy*

Joshitha Sripada, County Prep High School

Daniel Steiner, Chatham High School

Brianna Suazo, Jose Marti STEM Academy

Alina Sultan, Hackettstown High School

Paulina Tomlin, Vineland High School North

Raunak Verma, High Tech High School, Secaucus

Yash Verma, John P. Stevens High School

Vinaya Vittal, Ronald E. McNair Academic High School

Aaron Vivanco, Academy of Information

Neeka Vojdani, Moorestown High School*

Tanvi Walia, East Brunswick High School

Aaron Weinstein, Union County Magnet High School

Annabel Yin, Ridge High School^

Simon Youn, Bergen County Technical High School, Teterboro

Kevin Zhang, North Hunterdon High School* *denotes class valedictorian

**denotes class salutatorian ^denotes National Merit Scholar Finalist *Are you a Governor's STEM Scholars alumni and would like to be highlighted here? Please send your 2026 high school graduation photo to Alise Roderer at aroderer@rdnj.org.