Ma’ayanot encourages and facilitates student participation in summer science and engineering programs. In 2019, Ma’ayanot students coded at major corporations, studied neural pathways, programmed robots and experimented with engineering at renowned universities. “Ma’ayanot helped me see that women can take part in fields like engineering that are predominantly populated by men,” said senior Peri Fogel, who studied at Rutgers University pre-college engineering program. AP biology at Ma’ayanot sparked senior Kayla Zlotnick’s passion for science. In Zlotnick’s research at Rockefeller University, “The questions we were examining didn’t actually have answers yet, so it was really exciting to be a part of that discovery process!” Senior Amira Isenberg learned to code in five different languages with Girls Who Code at Viacom. Junior Nechama Leah Friedman, who studied with Girls Who Code at Goldman Sachs, enjoyed meeting people of different backgrounds, a benefit also highlighted by Fogel and by Meira Shapiro, a junior who studied at Columbia University’s college robotics course. As Shapiro put it, “I really enjoyed studying my passion…surrounded by people with the same passion. The experience also made me realize and appreciate how much of my identity is shaped by Torah and Torah values, and showed me how big an impact my actions can have on people’s perceptions of Orthodox Jews.”

Science chair Gila Stein, AP biology’s Esther Slomnicki and outstanding teachers in the science and STEAM departments prepare the students with classes, coding clubs and co-curricular opportunities. The science department researches and identifies these competitive summer opportunities for all Ma’ayanot students each year, and encourages students to apply.

Whether it’s working toward a career in computer science, formulating cosmetics, medicine or the space program, all the while representing Torah values, Ma’ayanot students are going full “STEAM” ahead!