Behind the Scholarship Scene: Insights from Administrators and Winners

Maxwell Mamishev is now a first-year Electrical Engineering major at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Previously, he went to Nathan Hale High School and North Seattle Community College. Maxwell participated in several STEM projects throughout his four years in high school.
During the COVID pandemic, he designed the Social Distancing Reminder (SDR), a wearable LiDAR-enabled device that reminds people to keep a distance of six feet or more. Together with two friends, he founded a company to turn a prototype into a product, and eventually, several hundred were distributed to the most vulnerable people through various channels. Some of them are still in use today, especially by immunocompromised people during the flu season.
Maxwell was also active at the University of Washington’s Industrial Assessment Center, where he worked with manufacturers on improving energy efficiency. He headed up a successful campaign to promote energy-saving habits and performed on-site energy audits focusing on sensor-based technology.
Maxwell is now at UIUC, working on power electronics as an undergraduate research assistant. He is an IEEE officer at UIUC, and he will be attending the IEEE Rising Stars Conference on behalf of the UIUC branch, presenting his new results in early 2025.

Jayda Washington-Boothe is a senior at Coconut Creek High School and a dual-enrolled student in Atlantic Technical College’s Applied IT & Cybersecurity program. With a 4.7 GPA, 19 industry certifications, and the International Cambridge Diploma, she is a member of National Society of High School Scholars (and Ambassador), National Honor Society, and National Technical Honor Society.

She is deeply committed to service and leadership, serving as Youth Consultant and Marketing Director for Dare to Care STEM Camp, where she mobilized elementary and middle school students to participate in hands-on STEM activities. A former TED-Ed Talk speaker and NASA Space Camp Hall of Fame Scholarship Recipient; Jayda inspires audiences worldwide by advocating for youth in STEM. She is President of HIP (Health Information Project, Secretary and Senior Mentor in Mentoring Tomorrows Leaders(MTL), Treasurer of M.O.S.S. ( Make our Schools Safe, Broward County Chess Queen Ambassador, and competes at local, regional and national Track and Field events in the long jump and sprints.

Jayda empowers youth to see themselves as servant leaders and innovators. Resilient and visionary, she continues to transform challenges into opportunities, building a legacy defined by service, mentorship, and impact.

Sabrena Jegatheeswaran is a committed youth leader whose work spans student advocacy, community health, and environmental action. She serves with the Federation of Canadian Secondary Students, contributing to national student-focused initiatives that amplify youth voices and improve access to extra-curricular opportunities. At the local level, she plays an active role in the Markham Ward 6 Youth Council, where she helps plan community events, and support projects that connect young people.

Sabrena is also a core member of her school’s Healthy Schools initiative, where she helps organize free breakfast programs and wellness events that have supported hundreds of students and strengthened school-wide engagement in health and nutrition.

Beyond her leadership roles, Sabrena co-founded Second Wave Canada, an environmental project focused on repurposing plastics into community resources. She led a multi-week plastic drive, built a public shelf out of recycled materials, and created an accessible craft corner for children in a local library.

Across all her work, Sabrena is driven by a commitment to practical impact, youth empowerment, and sustainable community development.