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 STEM and entrepreneurship program that teaches students how to commercialize products and services and create business plans that are driven by innovation. A total of 31 STEM Commercialization and STEM Business Plans were awarded with $274,000 in scholarships at the Believe in Ohio State Competition. These scholarships can only be used to attend an Ohio college, university, or technical college.
In 2021, the Believe in Ohio program awarded more than $400,000 scholarships in total. “This year’s projects were not only amazing, but also very inspiring”, said Michael E. Woytek, Executive Director for The Ohio Academy of Science. Woytek went on to add, “the Believe in Ohio program provides students with a vision of what’s possible as it broadens and builds critical skills needed to compete in today’s economy. It also provides them with a sense of purpose for pursuing post-secondary opportunities, here in Ohio”.
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 Believe in Ohio State Competition plans include:
School Name and City, Type of Plan, Student Name(s) and Grade(s), Plan Title, Award
Bio-Med Science Academy STEM School – Rootstown
Individual Ms. Autumn Margaret Nicole Groen, 12
Plan Title: Carnauba Wax Food Wrap
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Mr. Tage G Mahle, 12
Plan Title: Epoxy Scaleable
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Ms. Rayleigh Stafinsky, 12
Plan Title: Stackable Puzzle Storage System
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Blanchester High School – Blanchester
Individual Ms. Grace Danielle Irwin, 11
Plan Title: Interstitial Fluid Microneedle Sensor Patch Incorporating Nanoparticles for Monitoring Opioid Use.
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Mr. Carter Anthony Stevens, 12
Plan Title: Bone Regenerative Injection
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan 1st Alternate
Brecksville-Broadview Hts HS- Broadview Hts
Individual Mr. Lucas Andrew Kirin, 12
Plan Title: Handheld Power Tool Guidance System
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Team Mr. Zachary Bryan Zywiec, 10 and Mr. Jacob Bryan Zywiec, 12
Plan Title: myFit, the Virtual Try-On and Fitting Clothing Experience
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Canfield High School – Canfield
Individual Ms. Emma Dodig-Drahotusky, 11
Plan Title: Naturally Occuring Antiviral Agents for Use on Cell Phones
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Team Ms. Morgan E Carey, 12, Ms. Madison R Puskar, 12, and Ms. Marisa F Scheetz, 12
Plan Title: Neutralized Dog Waste Solution
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Carroll High School – Dayton
Individual Mr. Kevin Samuel Agnew, 12
Plan Title: LED Pacing System for Runners
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Columbus Academy – Gahanna
Team Mr. Soham Joshi, 11 and Mr. Raaghav Malik, 11
Plan Title: S.E.N.S.E: A Multipurpose Robotic Glove Designed to Teach Sign Language through Guided Manual Motions
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Hilliard Darby High School – Hilliard
Individual Mr. Anas Muhammad Mereb, 9
Plan Title: Bio Inspired & Smart Blade Designs for more Efficient and Resilient Small Wind Turbines
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Jackson High School – Massillon
Individual Ms. Snehal Choudhury, 11
Plan Title: Creating an Alcohol-Free, Essential Oil-Based Sanitizer for Better Hand Hygiene
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Lutheran West School – Rocky River
Individual Ms. Acacia Allison Uechi, 12
Plan Title: Citrus Clothing Company
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Milton Union High School – West Milton
Individual Ms. Alyssa Layne Smith, 11
Plan Title: SwingMax
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Ms. Madison Elizabeth-Ming Stasiak, 11
Plan Title: The Bottle-Attachment with Suction Equipment (BASE), a Universal Non-Tipping Cup Holder to Keep Bottles Upright
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Notre-Dame Cathedral Latin School – Chardon
Team Mr. Zach DeRespiris, 12, Mr. Evan Fonash, 12, and Mr. Mario Misiti, 12
Plan Title: Aerobic Success Enhancement Mask (ASEM)
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Team Mr. John Cesen, 11, Mr. Vincent Mickey, 11, and Mr. Brandon Preseren, 11
Plan Title: The Cleanstrument
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Team Ms. Abby Bouton, 11, Ms. Liz Brey, 11, and Ms. Cailin Hyslop, 11
Plan Title: Misting Hand Sanitizer Station (EMAW-Station)
Award: STEM Business Plan 1st Alternate
Team Ms. Zoe Allison, 11, Ms. Vivian Ha, 11, and Ms. Kaitlin Tabernik, 11
Plan Title: Wi-Fi Signal Recognition Tracker (WSRT)
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan 2nd Alternate
Olmsted Falls High School – Olmsted
Individual Mr. Galvin J Morgan, 11
Plan Title: Wellworks Water
Award: STEM Business Plan 2nd Alternate
Rutherford B Hayes High School – Delaware
Team Ms. Caylee Bree Combs, 12 and Ms. Brynn Eleanora McGrail, 12
Plan Title: Creating a Sustainable Cycle with a Duckweed-Based Fertilizer
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Upper Arlington High School – Upper Arlington
Individual Mr. Malachi Gallo Son, 11
Plan Title: Intercept
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Mr. Mihai Crisan, 11
Plan Title: Development of a photonic integrated circuit (PIC) that outperforms current ubiquitous integrated circuits
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Mr. Benjamin Maximus Son, 10
Plan Title: Receiver Protector
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
VanWert HS – Van Wert
Team Mr. Andrew Li, 12 and Ms. Sophie Grace Rutkowski, 12
Plan Title: Massaging Biometric Compression Sleeve
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Team Mr. Zachariah Andrew Mason, 12 and Mr. Octavius Malichi Tucker, 12
Plan Title: The Big Rig Trash Compactor
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
West Geauga High School – Chesterland
Individual Mr. Bryn Patterson Morgan, 10
Plan Title: Improved Spatial Positioning System Pt. 2
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Westlake High School – Westlake
Individual Ms. Michelle Khoury, 12
Plan Title: Water Weighers
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
Individual Mr. Jacob Mathew Rintamaki, 11
Plan Title: The Transformable Tent: A Novel Design to Aid Humanitarian Relief Efforts
Award: STEM Business Plan $10,000 Scholarship
William Mason High School – Mason
Individual Mr. Emir Tali, 10
Plan Title: Portable Solar Tracker
Award: STEM Commercialization Plan $10,000 Scholarship
