Hometown: Cypress, CA
Major: Computer Science
University: Carnegie Mellon University
Vania Rohmetra, our STEM scholarship winner, has an outstanding academic profile with academic accolades such as being a National Merit Finalist, receiving an AP Scholar Award with Distinction, being a member of the National Honor Society, and being a recipient of the Award of Excellence by the National Academy of Future Scientists and Technologists. It is her dedication to STEM, particularly computer science, that really sets her apart though. She has been captivated by computer programming from an early age.
“I don’t think there is a particular moment that sparked my field of study, but all of those experiences together have combined to make me more passionate about computer science and STEM. For instance, when I was younger, my dad is in computer science, so watching him do stuff and teach me stuff that has inspired me.”
Vania started to pursue her dreams by enrolling in a computer programming summer camp in 2016 and advanced to an R Programming and Machine Learning camp last summer. She even started the Computer Science Club at Northville High School where she brought in guest speakers and organized hackathons.
Vania has already started to put her skills to work. As a member of MiRcore, a non-profit research organization, Vania is currently working to develop new inroads into cancer research. She has been statistically analyzing microRNA sequenced data using her R programming abilities to identify the target genes that are responsible for causing cancer.
She will continue her STEM pursuit at the University of Michigan where she was admitted to a dual degree program in the College of Engineering (Computer Science) and the Ross School of Business.
“There are a lot of opportunities in STEM, because STEM is everywhere! There so many work fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics so the opportunities are endless!”
