2023 STEM All-Star Students
North Dakota’s Gateway to Science has teamed up with MDU Resources and the Bismarck Larks to bring STEM education (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) to the baseball field. Together, we understand the importance of equipping youth with the knowledge and skills to solve tough problems, gather and evaluate evidence, and comprehend information.
Each year, six students from North Dakota schools who exhibit hard work, education, and a love of learning are selected as STEM All-Stars from nominations by their teachers.
The 2023 STEM All-Star students are:
- Temperance Castillo – 8th grade – Mandan Middle School
- Charlee Weinert – 5th grade – Hettinger Public School
- Chloe Pierson – 4th grade – Carrington Public School
- Lander Monson – 8th grade – East Fairview Elementary School
- Charles Dobrzelecki – 8th grade – Horizon Middle School (Bismarck)
- Kyle Marcotte – 12th grade – St. Mary’s Central High School (Bismarck)
Read more about each student below.
MDU Resources also sponsors a $1,000 award for one nominating teacher to be used for a STEM project at their school. The 2023 grant is awarded to Stacy Larson and St. Mary’s Central High School, and will be used to purchase equipment for the robotics team.
In honor of their accomplishment, the Larks will recognize each 2023 STEM All-Star during the June 3rd game and STEM Night. Each STEM All-Star receives the following:
- Larks jersey with name on the back
- Four Larks tickets to the STEM Night game
- Recognition in the Larks STEM Night game program and on-field on STEM Night
- Family 1-day pass to North Dakota’s Gateway to Science
MDU Resources also sponsors a $1,000 award for one nominating teacher to be used for a STEM project at their school. The 2023 grant is awarded to Stacy Larson and St. Mary’s Central High School, and will be used to purchase equipment for the robotics team.
In conjunction with the STEM All-Star recognition, the MDU Resources STEM Expo is held at the ballpark earlier in the day. This is a carnival-style event featuring hands-on STEM activities hosted by area businesses. The June 3rd STEM Expo is open to the public and runs from 10 am to 1 pm.
Thank you to the teachers who submitted nominations. And CONGRATULATIONS to 2023 STEM All-Star students!
2023 STEM All-Stars
Temperance Castillo
Mandan Middle School | 8th Grade
Temperance likes learning about science to see how things are created. She enjoys figuring out how things work and building things on her own. A favorite class project in her computers class was to build and code a LEGO catapult robot where she played a lead role in building the robot and modifying the code. Temperance is involved with her school’s recycling program and helps her neighbors with gardening and repairs they need done.
Charles Dobrzelecki
Horizon Middle School (Bismarck) | 8th Grade
Charles excels at cybersecurity, helping the Horizon Middle School’s team win the inaugural state middle school championship while exhibiting his skills in solving cyphers, programming challenges, and basic engineering problems. Charles also helped his Technology Student Association (TSA) team with the state championship in Technology Bowl. “Charles’ ability to answer technology terminology questions from prior knowledge in Tech Class was instrumental in this process,” teacher Wade Kadrmas shared. Charles also won the cybersecurity event as an individual, the TSA state coding competition with a partner, and was a member of the HMS robotics team that won a city-wide challenge.
Kyle Marcotte
St. Mary’s Central High School (Bismarck) | 12th Grade
As the head engineer of the school’s FTC Robotics team, Kyle solves problems that arise while building a robot and thinks of ways to improve the robot’s design. He collaborates with his teammates and leads the team through hours of trial and error between the engineers and the programmers. Kyle is also involved in Science Olympiad, sports, music, and school clubs. The school’s Science Olympiad coach describes Kyle as “the go-to-guy for building challenges” and his science teacher notes “he is a responsible, patient leader.”
Lander Monson
East Fairview School | 8th Grade
Lander diagnoses issues with his school’s Chromebooks and repairs them during his spare time. He recruited another student who was interested and they work together, sometimes finding alternative solutions to fixing the same problem. Lander also assists with problematic lab equipment, printers, and smart boards. Lander’s true passion is farming. He can often be found researching changes in the farming world when he’s not fixing technology issues.
Chloe Pierson
Carrington Public School | 4th Grade
Logic puzzles, digital breakout rooms, and creating marble runs are some of Chloe’s favorite activities, with math and science being two favorite subjects. Chloe is in a breakout group at school where she has succeeded in a variety of coding, robotics, problem-solving, and engineering projects. 4-H is a new addition to Chloe’s activities, and she is looking forward to it bringing more opportunities to engage in STEM activities.
Charlee Weinert
Hettinger Public School | 5th Grade
“Her enthusiasm for science is particularly noteworthy,” Hettinger teach Ms. Schneider noted about Charlee. “She is an exceptional student who consistently exhibits innovative ideas and a willingness to seek answers to insightful questions.” Charlee challenged herself to design a car that does not run on gas or electricity. She created the design independently and sought feedback from her high school science teacher. Her creativity, curiosity, and tenacity make her an outstanding student and an asset to any learning community.