Three Heroes. Three Career Paths. One Camp.

Three Heroes. Three Career Paths. One Camp.

by John Conrad | Jun 3, 2026 | iBIO News

Ten years of STEMgirls means ten years of alumnae quietly building the future of healthcare, research, education, and engineering. This week, we want you to meet three of them - and notice the pattern.

Hania Syed - Sophomore. Inventor. Reporter.

Three years at STEMgirls didn't just keep Hania curious - they handed her the tools to invent. Her anti-fog spray took 1st place at the Chicago Invention Convention and qualified her for nationals twice. She's now taking Honors Chemistry, AP Physics, and AP Pre-Calc - and freelancing as a STEM reporter on the side.

"Be curious and always ask questions because you will always learn something new."

Kirah Romero - Future Neurosurgeon.

Kirah is a junior at Woodlands Academy of the Sacred Heart who leads her school's robotics coding team, runs an annual summer program for under-resourced kids ages 6-13, and conducts research through Argonne National Laboratory's Exemplary Student Research Program. This summer, she heads to Oxford University for a prestigious medical program.

"Take time to figure out what you're really passionate about and then pursue it."

Annie Serdar - Future Pediatric Hospitalist.

Annie's path started with banana DNA at STEMgirls. It's continued with a biomedical sciences degree at Marquette, a Northwestern Medicine internship, and the presidency of A Moment of Magic - where she broke the national volunteer visit record. Next stop: med school at The Ohio State University.

These three aren't outliers. They're the result of a curriculum, a community, and a confidence-building formula that's been refined for a decade. And we're bringing it to Chicago for the first time on July 6.