Hey! My name is Shruti Ramkumar and I’m super excited to be teaching you all. I’m extremely passionate about empowering young children in STEM because they are our next generation! I feel that it is important for kids to gain exposure in a variety of different subject areas. Through these programs I hope to meet the bright, young, and talented children of our future. I’m 17 years old and a rising senior at Hamilton High School. I’ve taken several Advanced Placement classes at Hamilton High School such as AP Biology, AP Java, AP Chemistry, and AP Calculus AB. My main extracurricular is science research, which I’ve done since 5th grade in the form of science fair projects. I’ve won the Best of Fair Award and several 1st place awards at the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair (AZSEF). I have been doing research with university professors for the last two years and I plan to continue this into next year. My passion for science led me to receive the Science Student of the Year award at Hamilton High School. I was selected out of 1000 other students. I’ve also taught kids between the ages of 5-13 at the Aloha Mind Math Center.

Hey kids! My name is Shreeya Dheman and I am one of the instructors at STEM Matters Foundation. I am currently going to be a senior at Hamilton High School. I have taken and done many engineering and science classes/ clubs in my recent years, including AP Biology, AP Chemistry, science fair, and VEX robotics. I’ve also been invested in both speech and debate. Starting out as a novice I had been to multiple national tournaments and had broken to at least semifinals in speech at every state tournament I have been to. I had also been double entered in the state tournaments, breaking in both public forum debate and DI for speech at the same time. I reached quarterfinals at a national tournament for novice debate. I gained much teaching experience as I’ve worked with a number of students in the STEM field as well as in the sports and arts field. I’ve also had the ability to lead my students to competitions successfully. Along with tennis, I have competed in karate for the past 6 years competitively and have gone to the national level as a second degree black belt.

Hello my name is Taneesha Kapadia and I’m excited to teach you all! I will be an upcoming senior at Hamilton High School, and I have taken the following STEM Advanced Placement courses: AP Biology, AP Physics 1, AP Java, And AP Computer Science Principles. I have competed in science fair for the last five years. My main extracurricular is debate, in which I compete in the Public Forum category. I have made it to out rounds at every tournament, including national level ones, and placed at 5. In the past, I have competed and placed in VEX robotics, and worked at science camps. My freshman year of high school, I took a photography course in which I learned photoshop. You can checkout my website and photos here: https://taneeshakapadia.wixsite.com/photography

Hello everyone! My name is Sanvi Lamba and I am happy to be one of the high school instructors for STEM Matters Foundation! I have always enjoyed helping and teaching others; for instance, I have been involved in Link Crew this past year in school, where I volunteer in freshman-affiliated activities and keep in contact with an assigned group of incoming students to help them adjust to high school. For this coming school year, I’m going to be a senior at Hamilton High School. As a sophomore this past year, I have taken and earned an A in Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Chemistry. In addition, I have participated in Academic Decathlon, where I learned more about the field of medicine through this year’s topic of health and wellness, as well as Science Bowl, where I focused on obtaining more information from the field of science from the wide arranged topics of energy, astronomy, biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics.

Hello! My name is Matthew Layne. I’m 18 and a rising senior at Hamilton High School. I am super interested in the STEM field and cannot wait to share that interest with your child! School is extremely important to me, and so I always try to do my best as well as challenge myself as much as possible. In regard to STEM-related classes, I just completed AP Biology, AP Physics, Honors PreCalculus, and Honors Chemistry all with high A’s. In addition, I am very passionate about science fair. I received First Place at Hamilton Invitational Science and Engineering Fair(HISEF) two years in a row and competed at AzSEF both years. Beyond that, I also have a science fair project planned for this coming year during which I will be working with my brother-in-law, who has a PhD in biophysics, at his lab. Outside of school, my main passion is karate. I have trained in the American Kenpo style for close to 10 years and have a second degree black belt. For three of those years, I had the opportunity to be an instructor, teaching students of all ages 3 and up. Finally, I currently work at Mathnasium of Ocotillo, teaching math to students of all ages and ability levels. Again, I look forward to working with your child to give them the necessary skills and excitement for a STEM-filled future!

Hello, my name is Anushka Mitbander, and I will be one of the high school students that will be teaching at STEM Matters Foundation. In the 2020-2021 school year, I will be a senior at Hamilton High School. During my time at Hamilton, I have taken many science classes including Advanced Placement Biology and Advanced Placement Chemistry, in which I have received A’s. Additionally, I have participated in Speech and Debate my freshman and sophomore years. I was a Novice Lincoln Douglas Debater, as well as an Original Oratory Speaker. Next year, I will be taking the position of Captain for Public Address Speaking.

Hi! My name is Medha, and I’m an upcoming senior at Hamilton High School. A little bit about me: I’ve taken several Advanced Placement courses, including AP Calculus BC as a freshman, AP Physics 1, AP Chemistry, and Multivariable Calculus and Differential Equations. My main out-of-school extracurricular is dance, which I’ve been practicing for 13 years, and I have been invited to perform in multiple festivals throughout the US and India. I also learn classical vocal music, and I’ve won first place awards at multiple competitions in Arizona, California, and along the East Coast. I’ve been doing Speech & Debate for the past 2 years, particularly Public Forum debate, and I’ve competed at tournaments both in Arizona and nationally. I attended a camp last summer where I was coached by debaters that were ranked nationally in the top 10 out of over 1000 teams. I’ve placed at upwards of 7 tournaments in Arizona, including tournaments like Winter Trophy and Jackrabbit, and reached elimination rounds at national tournaments with over 150 entries. I was also nationally ranked this year for debate, and was among the top 8 at the state-wide tournament in March. I’m excited to be teaching at STEM Matters!