2021 Winners
Clockwise from top left: Cate, Roma, Gwen. Not pictured: Ekene.
Cate Schultz attends Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland. Cate founded and currently leads the Greentree Outdoor Education and Recreation program to encourage positive interactions with nature for children experiencing homelessness. She has worked as an intern with Impact(Ed) International, a workshop teacher with the Children’s Defense Fund Freedom School Workshop, and a Farm Director with Urban Beet. Cate is also a traditional Irish dancer and dance teacher. Cate will be attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Honors Carolina and Excel@Carolina Pre-Masters in Education programs, where she will study environmental studies and elementary education.
Ekene Chukwueke attends E.L. Haynes Public Charter School in Washington, DC. Ekene has worked as a Research Assistant at Children’s National Hospital, McClendon Center, and The Johns Hopkins Hospital. He has also served as a Registered Nurse (RN) Assistant at MedStar Washington Hospital Center and as a Volunteer at Carroll Manor Nursing & Rehabilitation Center. At E.L. Haynes, Ekene is President of the Boys to Men Mentoring Program, Art Club, and Environmental Club, and President & Founder of the Research Institute Club. Ekene will be attending Harvard College, where he is considering concentratingin government, sociology, and/or history.
Gwen Setia attends James Madison High School in Virginia. Gwen is the co-founder of the JMHS ESOL Advocacy Organization, which she started to address the disparity in standardized test pass rates among ESOL students at JMHS. She has lobbied with Team ENOUGH Virginia Lobbying Collective, interned with Elaine Luria for Congress, and was a Digital Fellow with Team Warner & the Virginia Coordinated Campaign. Gwen is the Editor-in-Chief of the JMHS Montpelier Yearbook Staff and President of the Young Democrats. Gwen will be attendingNorthwestern University, where she plans to double-major in economics and political science.
Roma Dhingra attends Poolesville High School in Maryland. Roma is the founder of the Poolesville Combating Childhood Cancer Club (C4), which has raised money for childhood cancer research and toys for young cancer patients and recently hosted an online seminar about cancer treatment and childhood cancer awareness. She has completed Research Internships at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and CVPath Institute, and has volunteered at Walter Reed’s Pediatric Oncology Clinic. Roma is also a First-Degree black belt in Tang Doo So Karate. Roma will be attending Georgetown University, where she plans to study the biology of global health.
2020 Winners
Clockwise from top left: Riya, Emmy, Sosina, Anikait
Anikait Dhond attended Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke, VA. An avid environmentalist, Anikait uses his YouTube channel, Danikat Fishing, to explore local waterways and highlight fishing methods that minimize ecological damage. Anikait led an effort to Adopt-a-Highway in his local community and was the recipient of the VA Governor’s Stewardship Award for Land and Water Conservation. He was Captain of the Club Soccer Braddock Road Youth Club and Lake Braddock Varsity Tennis Team, as well as a volunteer soccer coach for DC Scores and a talented french horn player. He attends Georgia Tech, where he studies biological systems engineering.
Emmy Song attended Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, MD. Emmy uses creative writing to speak out about social issues and has had her writing published in 24 print/online magazines, such as Writing for Peace, Pulitzer Center, and National Poets Quarterly. She was the Editor-in-Chief of the student newspaper and an online literary magazine. In addition to her passion for writing, Emmy founded interGIRLS, a national organization that supports women in math, and brainpowHER, a weekly programming class for middle school girls. Emmy is also a violist in the Maryland Classic Youth Orchestra. She attends Princeton University, where she studies mathematics and economics.
Riya Maheshwari attended Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn, VA. Riya has spent over 300 hours as an Emergency Room and Labor/Delivery Volunteer at StoneSprings Hospital Center and participated in George Washington University’s Medical Laboratory Sciences Program. As a Bank of America Student Leader, she helped develop a program at the YMCA to expose youth to medical careers. Riya participated in her school’s first foreign exchange to Durban, South Africa and she served as a Global Ambassador at her school, welcoming foreign exchange students to the DMV. Riya attends Georgetown University, where she studies human science on the pre-med track.
Sosina Gebremichael attended Benjamin Banneker High School in Washington, DC. She founded a Financial Literacy Club and a Coding Club at her school and helped develop a Community Organizing for Racial Equity program at the Latin American Youth Center to engage youth in racial justice advocacy. Sosina was appointed to lobby alongside the president of College Board to increase funding and access to the AP curriculum for low income and rural areas. Additionally, Sosina has completed coursework at Columbia University and Northwestern University in Psychology and Microeconomics. She attends American University, where she studies Mathematics-Economics and Computer Science.
2019 Winners
Praneeth Penmetsa is from Ashburn, VA and attended Rock Ridge High School. Praneeth 
was the President of Future Business Leaders of America, the Key Club, and Rho Kappa National Social Studies Honor Society, as well as a Co-Founder of Peers and Students Taking Action, a nonprofit organization supporting children and families in Loudoun County. Praneeth worked as a Volunteer Firefighter/EMT for the Ashburn Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department. He attends the University of Virginia and studies Global Development and Commerce with an Entrepreneurship Track.
Nina Tang is from Germantown, MD and attended Poolesville High School. She was the founder and captain of the FIRST Tech Challenge (FTC) Team #13100 and founder of a STEM outreach program for young children at the Maggie Nightingale Library. Nina has worked as a Research Intern at the University of Maryland and the National Institute of Standards & Technology. She is an award-winning pianist and self-taught Korean speaker. Nina attends Cornell University, where she studies Computer Science and minors in a foreign language.
Maya Woods-Arthur (not pictured) is from Washington, DC and attended Washington Latin Public Charter School. She spent a month studying political science at the St. Albans School of Public Service and was the first ever high school intern at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Maya earned the Girl Scout Gold Award and worked as a Girl Scout Congressional Aide to Congresswoman Norton of DC. She attends Harvard University, where she studies politics and the Middle East.
*Maya was the recipient of the Ambassador Andrew L. Steigman Merit Award, an award honoring the memory of our distinguished late colleague and past President.
2018 Winners
Lauren Espinoza is from Rockville, MD, and attended Montgomery Blair High School. She served as team leader for the FIRST Robotics Competition Team 449 and was a research intern for the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute where she analyzed single- photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). Lauren was active in the Keep America Beautiful Youth Advisory Council, Montgomery County Commission on Children and Youth, and the Girl Scouts. She attends Harvard University and plans to study both economics and Near Eastern languages and civilizations in preparation for law school.
Sheyda Tribble is from Washington, DC, and was dually enrolled at School Without Walls and The George Washington University (GWU) Early College Program. On campus, Sheyda was an anchor on a political radio show for the student- run station WRGW and an active member of GWU’s NAACP chapter. She is an active photographer and poet and recently self-published her own book of poems, Adolescence: Poetry and Musings of a Young, Black Girl. She attends Northwestern University and studies economics and international studies.
Sherry Xie is from Falls Church, VA, and attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (TJHSST). She founded, developed curriculum for, and taught an introductory computer science and animation camp for elementary to high school students. Sherry was team captain for TJHSST Cross Country and Indoor Track and is a four-year TJHSST Varsity Soccer player. Sherry has served as Student Government Association Vice President (17-18), Treasurer (16-17), and Class Treasurer (15-16). Sherry attends Harvard University and studies government, economics, and computer science.
