Coordinator
Sara Rosenthal
Why I chose my major: I’ve always found chemistry and math to be interesting! I love solving complex problems, and knew I wanted to continue my STEM education past high school. Chemical engineering stood out to me because of the wide variety of career opportunities that come with the degree.
Chemical Engineering / Class of 2025
Coordinator
Liya Jose
Why I chose my major: I love learning languages which is part of the reason I chose to major in both German and CSE. The creative problem solving skills you learn in CSE are very interesting to me. It’s not only a life skill to know how to code, but it’s also fun and at many times feels like solving a puzzle. I believe that computer science can take me anywhere and I’m excited that this summer it’ll be taking me to SPARK.
Computer Science & Engineering / Class of 2025
Staff
Srushti Balagali
Why I chose my major: I chose my major because in high school the classes that I enjoyed the most were math and science related. I didn't know a lot about STEM when I was applying to college but I knew I wanted to find something that combined math and science. When I saw the words biomedical engineering I wasn't sure what that meant but after learning more about it, I was interested in making it my major. I'm still sticking with it and I am enjoying what I am learning and I am excited to find ways I can apply what I am learning!
Biomedical Engineering / Class of 2025
Staff
Mayee Mavillapalli
Why I chose my major: Growing up, I have always loved experiementing and problem-solving. My passion for exploring the world around me and creating new things lead me to study a lot of science courses in high school such as biology and chemistry which lead me to discover biomedical engineering. BME encompasses major science courses which immediately lead me to pursue it.
Biomedical Engineering/Class of 2026
Staff
Tanya Parra-Sanchez
Why I chose my major: I chose to major in CSE because you can get the best of both worlds from software to hardware. The skills you learn in CSE such as communication and problem solving skills are not only skills you can apply to everyday life, but in the working environment as well. There is no boring moment in CSE, because there's always something new to learn and/or problems that arise that need to be solved. Also, I would like to make my mark through helping decrease the gender gap that's present in the STEM field. I'm grateful to be a part of SPARK as it gave me the opportunity to be able to pursue this goal of mine.
Computer Science Engineering/Class of 2026
Staff
Mariacamila Molina
Why I chose my major: I was always surrounded by people who were engineers and I just went straight into thinking that I wanted to be a STEM major.
Computer Science Engineering/Class of 2026
Staff
Kyla Levers
Why I chose my major: I chose to go into a STEM major because I saw how technology could impact the day-to-day lives of people everywhere and I wanted to help improve and create technology that could this.
Computer Science/Class of 2026
Staff
Willmar Diaz
Why I chose my major: I've always loved science. Watching my mom work in a dental office and make people feel better attracted me to science and medicine.
Biomedical Engineering/Class of 2026
Staff
Abigail Koval
Why I chose my major: I enjoy learning about how the world works and the reason why things happen. I also love the idea of creativity and just being able to just brainstorm and create /develop without limits which is why I picked a STEM major that allow me to pursue this path.
Biomedical Engineering/Class of 2026
Staff
Ingrid Magallanes
Why I chose my major: Science was always one of my favorite subjects in school! In high school, I was fortunate enough to be invited to several STEM events such as UCONN's Sisters in Stem and UCONN Health's Inspiring Women in Engineering and Medicine. As a first-gen latina, these events meant a lot to me and encouraged me to pursue engineering. This is the biggest reason of why I love opportunities like this to encourage other girls to look into stem!
Biomedical Engineering/Class of 2026