B&W Y-12 Commercialization Manager Jeremy Benton, left, chats with STEM Scholarship winners Sara Lemmonds and Wes Jenkins, two Roane State Community College students who will split $5,000 in scholarships. (Photo courtesy of B&W Y-12)
B&W Y-12 recently awarded $5,000 in scholarships split between Roane State Community College freshmen Wes Jenkins and Sara Lemmonds, a press release said.
B&W Y-12 operates and manages the Y-12 National Security Complex in Oak Ridge for the National Nuclear Security Administration.
The contractor said the scholarships are part of its effort to support science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education.
Recipients of the B&W Y-12 STEM Scholarship must be full-time students at Roane State pursuing a degree in one of the STEM fields of study.
Jenkins is a Harriman High School graduate and plans to major in biology. Lemmonds graduated from Oak Ridge High School and is enrolled in the college’s pre-med program.
“If Jenkins’ career unfolds as planned, he’ll be teaching high school biology and nurturing new STEM students,” the release said. “He is intrigued by the body systems and how they work together.”
“I had several learning problems when I was younger,” Jenkins said in the release. “Earning this scholarship makes me feel like I have succeeded in overcoming them and recognizes my hard work to become a good student.”
Lemmonds particularly enjoys chemistry and aspires to be an oncologist. In high school, she participated in a clinical internship that included a rotation at the Thompson Cancer Survival Center.
“I found my niche,” she said. “This scholarship means the difference between achieving my dream of saving lives as a radiation oncologist and settling for something less.”
She also dreams of helping find a cure for cancer, the release said.
B&W Y-12 STEM Scholarship applicants submitted an essay addressing why a STEM education is important to them. Other factors for selection included their academic performance in high school as well as their extracurricular involvement. The release said B&W Y-12 commercialization manager Jeremy Benton initiated the scholarship and coordinated with the Roane State Foundation to establish the opportunity for incoming freshmen.
“With firsthand awareness of the increasing workplace demand for individuals with scientific and technical skills, Benton realizes the importance of investing in a future work force,” the release said.
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