Spencer Savings Bank, a leading New Jersey-based community bank, is proud to support New Jersey STEM education with a recent $10,000 donation to the Governor’s STEM Scholars program and a student bank executive meeting. The Governor’s STEM Scholars program, run by the Research & Development (R&D) Council of New Jersey, provides New Jersey’s highest-achieving students with a variety of tools to excel in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Two scholars visited the bank’s headquarters building to meet with the Executive team and various bank leaders.
Prisha Malik, a senior at the Academy of Math Science and Engineering in Morris County, and Simon Youn, a junior at Bergen County Technical High School, had a meeting with the bank’s Chairman and CEO Jose Guerrero, Chief Financial Officer Steve Fusco, as well as bank Treasurer, Controller, Director of Information Technology and Information Technology Manager. The students enjoyed an intimate sit-down conversation, in the boardroom over dinner, with the bank leaders who offered a wealth of industry knowledge, career guidance and key strategies for professional success. These meaningful insights are intended to empower students as they continue their academic pursuits and prepare to become the next generation of leaders.
“New Jersey’s legacy of innovation is fueled by exceptional talent. At Spencer, we are proud to support this talent which will help our New Jersey communities continue to grow and thrive in the future,” stated José B. Guerrero, Chairman and CEO of Spencer. “Our team enjoyed connecting with Prisha and Simon and hearing about the impressive work they are doing in the STEM field. We wish them all the best and look forward to the significant contributions they will make to our community in the future!”
Prisha Malik is interested in enhancing decision-making in governmental policy through STEM techniques. She is interested in the intersection of policy and STEM and is currently researching the impact of local hate crime laws on hate speech in the United States as an intern in the Spatial Data Lab. She is also a competitive debater, placing in far out rounds at many national and international tournaments, which has helped her view experience/decisions through the lenses of various philosophical frameworks. To spread her love for debate, she founded a debate program at Pathways for Exceptional Children and is the president of her school’s Model Congress Club. Additionally, she is a national qualifier in data analytics(1st) for FBLA. Prisha is a firm believer of collaboration and interdisciplinary studies and is excited to use data to come to more efficient solutions.
Simon Youn is a junior from Bergen County Technical High School. He is interested in circuits and specifically chip design. Over the summer, Simon went to MIT Beaver Works Summer Institute, where he got the opportunity to design and produce a 16-bit CPU and an accelerator for the Keccak -f1600 process. Simon also is president of Bergen Tech’s STEM Club, and co-founder and vice president of the non-profit STEM4All. Simon interns at The Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey, where he conducts research on over one-hundred year old aviation articles and interacts with guests. Simon has won and placed in multiple competitions as well, including TEAMs, placing 6th internationally; Seaperch, placing top three in the New Jersey/New York regional; the International Astronomy and Astrophysics Competition, receiving a Bronze Medal; and receiving a Gold Presidential Volunteer service award. In his free time, Simon enjoys biking, running, playing clarinet and saxophone, and playing video games, along with designing and testing different ASIC designs on FPGAs. In the future, Simon hopes that he can learn more about chip design, and make more progress in chip development.
For more than 60 years, the R&D Council has supported the state’s innovation economy, which boasts of a first-class workforce of scientists, engineers and other STEM professionals. The Governor’s STEM program was founded by the R&D Council to provide New Jersey’s highest-achieving high school and college students with a variety of necessary tools, so that they may continue to excel in fields related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.