Dublin, Ohio – Funded by the State of Ohio through the Department of Higher Education and operated as a program of The Ohio Academy of Science, Believe in Ohio is a Student STEM Innovation and Scholarship Program that helps prepare students for the future by increasing their engagement in the learning process through STEM and entrepreneurship. Students are challenged to solve problems and innovate solutions by developing new products or services or problem solutions with a STEM Commercialization Plan or STEM Business Plan. The program emphasizes the importance of STEM and an entrepreneurial mindset to compete in today’s Innovation Economy.
The Believe in Ohio program also recognizes students throughout Ohio for their contributions to STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship through the Believe in Ohio Statewide STEM Scholarship Program.
Recently, 46 juniors and seniors from 41 high schools throughout Ohio were recognized for their contributions to STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship. Each student will receive a $1,000 scholarship at attend any Ohio college, university, post-secondary career center, or vocational school. The application process evaluated academic achievement, answers to essay questions, and validated their accomplishments in STEM Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
“STEM and Entrepreneurship are the basis for innovation and building new business opportunities and problem solutions”, said Michael E. Woytek, Executive Director for The Ohio Academy of Science. Woytek went on to add, “Ohio has a long tradition of innovation, and these students are the future professionals needed to propel Ohio’s innovation economy”.
For many of the scholarship awardees, the Believe in Ohio Statewide STEM Scholarship introduced them for the first time to Choose Ohio First, an Ohio Department of Higher Education scholarship program that is dedicated to producing more Ohio STEM graduates.
Believe in Ohio is a free, comprehensive, curriculum-based, STEM and Entrepreneurship program for Ohio high school students. The program is designed to create a “Culture of Innovation” and to prepare students to meet the demands of a rapidly changing labor market and become contributors to Ohio’s innovation economy. Believe in Ohio is a program of The Ohio Academy of Science and was collaboratively developed with Entrepreneurial Engagement Ohio. For more information about Believe in Ohio, please visit www.believeinohio.org.
The 2021 Believe in Ohio Statewide STEM Scholarship Awardees:
| City | Name | High School |
| Akron | Mr. Gabriel DiFiore | Firestone CLC |
| Antwerp | Mr. Eric Thornell | Antwerp Local High School |
| Arcanum | Ms. Jorie McDermott | Arcanum High School |
| Arcanum | Ms. Grace Wooten | Arcanum High School |
| Beavercreek | Ms. Allyson Miller | Dayton Regional STEM |
| Bellbrook | Ms. Dasha Crocker | Bellbrook High School |
| Belpre | Ms. Victoria Smith | Warren High School |
| Boardman | Mr. Aidan Swavel | Boardman High School |
| Brunswick | Mr. Rithvik Ayyagari | Saint Ignatius High School |
| Chesterland | Mr. Ryan McGinnis | West Geauga High School |
| Cleveland | Ms. Zaynab Saheed | Campus International High School |
| Columbia Station | Mr. Landon Hunt | Columbia High School |
| Columbus | Mr. Samia Mahamed | Metro Early College High School |
| Dayton | Mr. Joseph Gulas | Archbishop Alter High School |
| Delaware | Mr. Caylee Combs | Rutherford B. Hayes High School |
| Delaware | Ms. Brynn McGrail | Rutherford B. Hayes High School |
| Dublin | Ms. Mohini Parvate | Dublin Jerome High School |
| Fayetteville | Ms. Lana Roy | Blanchester High School |
| Findlay | Ms. Chloe Hughes | Findlay High School |
| Greenville | Mr. Landon Muhlenkamp | Greenville Senior High School |
| Hillsboro | Mr. Carter Stevens | Blanchester High School |
| Jackson | Mr. Owen White | Jackson High School |
| Jefferson | Ms. Faith Blankenship | Jefferson Area Sr. High School |
| Kenton | Mr. Owen Styer | Kenton High School |
| Kettlersville | Ms. Alexis Shannon | Anna High School |
| Mason | Ms. Sanchita Paranthaman | William Mason High School |
| Massillon | Ms. Snehal Choudhury | Jackson High School |
| Maumee | Mr. Jacob Zajkowski | Anthony Wayne High School |
| Mentor | Mr. John Olenik | Lake Catholic High School |
| Miamisburg | Mr. Ethan Elking | Miamisburg High School |
| New Albany | Mr. Elijah Mansur | New Albany High School |
| North Royalton | Ms. Yaryna Kurdoba | Beaumont School |
| Portsmouth | Ms. Viviana Wheeler | Notre Dame High School |
| Ripley | Ms. Maci Haitz | Ripley Union Lewis Huntington |
| Sidney | Ms. Annamarie Stiver | Lehman Catholic High School |
| Solon | Mr. Cyril Andrews | University School |
| South Point | Mr. Paul Fryer | Tri-State STEM+M Early College High School |
| City | Name | High School |
| Sylvania | Mr. Haroon Lughmani | Sylvania Northview High School |
| Troy | Ms. Katie Weddle | Miami East High School |
| Uniontown | Mr. Grant Daly | Green High School |
| Urbana | Mr. Eric Goddard | Global Impact Stem Academy |
| Van Wert | Ms. Jamie Burenga | Van Wert High School |
| Van Wert | Ms. Sophie Rutkowski | Van Wert High School |
| Versailles | Ms. Lauren Menke | Versailles High School |
| West Jefferson | Mr. Andrew Geyer | Madison Plains High School |
| Wheelersburg | Ms. Serena Kataria | Wheelersburg High School |
