2023 Winners

Alex Liesegang (top left) is a senior at the School Without Walls and is also enrolled through dual enrollment at George Washington University. He is graduating with a high school diploma as well as an Associate of Arts. He enjoys playing viola in his high school award-winning orchestra and running cross country on the National Mall. He is an Eagle Scout and has volunteered over 300 hours of his time throughout high school. He enjoys making music and doing covers with his rock band SchmOOzi on the weekends. He will be attending the University of California, Davis.
Marley Pinsky (top right) attends Clarksburg High School in Maryland. Marley is the founder of the Montgomery County Virtual Tutoring Project, co-founder of the MCPS Health Curriculum Youth Advisory Board, and founder and President of Coyotes Minds Matter. Through YMCA Youth and Government, Marley has attended national legislative conferences, advocated for civics education on Capitol Hill, and served as the 77th Youth Governor of Maryland. Marley performs violin with Potomac Valley Youth Orchestras, leads the Clarksburg Symphonic Orchestra as Concertmaster, and sings with the Clarksburg Chamber Choir. She will be attending the University of Pittsburgh’s Frederick Honors College, where she plans to double major in Urban Studies and Politics and Philosophy.
Lynn Tao (bottom left) is a senior at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology. She is passionate about creating medical advancements and promoting educational equity. As an RSI Scholar, a Regeneron Scholar, and an awarded inventor, Lynn has developed a breast cancer risk detection framework to improve early detection and optimized a protein prediction model for drug discovery using machine learning. She founded a non-profit organization, TeensHelpKids, and leads her school’s STEMbassadors organization to help underserved communities by providing educational opportunities and resources. Lynn has been honored with the Congressional Award Gold Medal and the Presidential Volunteer Service Award. As an avid STEM lover, she is also a USA Computing Olympiad Gold Division Competitor, a 2x USA Biology Olympiad National Finalist, and a leader of several extracurricular clubs. In her free time, she enjoys playing the violin and crocheting amigurumi. In the fall, Lynn will attend Harvard University, with plans to pursue a career in biomedical research employing artificial intelligence.
Faith Zhang (bottom right) attends Winston Churchill High School in Maryland. She debated extensively on the national circuit throughout high school, qualifying twice to the Tournament of Champions, while running a small YouTube channel along the way. She is also an avid musician, having served as concertmaster of her school orchestras, youth orchestra, and pit orchestra. Faith also plays violin in a string quartet, which has garnered success in various national competitions. In addition to her own work being published in literary magazines, Faith serves as an editor on three different student-run publications. She will be attending Rice University in the fall.
2022 Winners

Clockwise from top left: Carina, Dhruv, Vishnupriya, Shaina
Carina Guo attends Richard Montgomery High School in Maryland. Carina is the co-founder and captain of her school’s Debate Team and is currently ranked 1st in the country by the National Speech & Debate Association. She has participated in the C-SPAN StudentCam Documentary Contest, with honorable mentions in 2019 and 2020, 3rd prize in 2021, and 2nd prize in 2018. Carina has worked as a research intern for professors at MIT and BU studying COVID vaccine development and with the non-profit Paper Bridges as President of their Maryland chapter. Carina will be attending the University of Pennsylvania, where she will study economics and computer science.
Dhruv Pai attends Montgomery Blair High School in Maryland. Dhruv is the co-founder and President of Teens Helping Seniors, an international non-profit with over 1000 volunteers that has made 3500+ grocery and medication deliveries to seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a Board Member for the Montgomery Blair Counseling Advisory Committee, working to improve his school’s counseling services. At Montgomery Blair, he also captains the Math Modeling Club, Internet of Things Club, and serves as President of the Math and Science Honors Societies. He will be attending Stanford University.
Shaina Adams attends Woodrow Wilson High School in Washington, DC. Shaina has studied at the Kudan Institute of Language and Culture in Japan and leads an online Japanese learning community. She is the co-founder and head of mentoring for her school’s Minorities in Advanced Placement (MAP) committee, addressing the lack of diversity in advanced classes, as well as a harpist in both orchestra and jazz band. Shaina has worked as an intern with The World Bank Group and is her school’s representative in the Citywide Student Voice Council. Shaina will be attending Harvard University, where she will study economics and East Asian Studies.
Vishnupriya Alavala attends Freedom High School/Academies of Loudoun in Virginia. Vishnupriya is President of her school’s Medical Association Club, which engages students with anatomy and physiology. She has interned with the Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience at George Mason University and worked as a medical volunteer with the Red Cross and the Virginia Volunteer Health System (VVHS) Medical Reserve Corps. She has tutored in various fields for the past 7 years and is the editor of the Women’s Entrepreneurial Opportunity Project blog. She will be attending Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), where she will study biology in the Guaranteed Admission Program for Medicine (B.S./M.D.).
2021 Winners

Clockwise from top left: Cate, Roma, Gwen. Not pictured: Ekene.