2024 STEM All-Star Students

Partners

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. This year North Dakota’s Gateway to Science is celebrating 30 years, MDU Resources is celebrating 100 years, and the Bismarck Larks are celebrating 8 years!

STEM All-Star Opportunity

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.

MDU Resources also sponsors a $1,000 award for one nominating teacher to be used for a STEM project at their school. In honor of their accomplishment, the Larks will recognize each 2024 STEM All-Star during the STEM Night game. 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

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 STEM Expo this year will be held June 1 from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. This event is open to the public!

Teachers, nominate your students!

Please complete the form below and submit it by Friday, April 26, 2024. Limit of two student nominations per teacher. Students recognized as STEM All-Stars in 2022 and 2023 are ineligible for the 2024 award. Nomination form is to be completed by the nominating teacher and not the student being nominated.

STEM All-Stars Nomination Form 2024

Please complete the form below and submit by Friday, April 26, 2024. Limit of two student nominations per teacher. Students recognized as STEM All-Stars in 2022 and 2023 are ineligible for the 2024 award. Nomination form to be completed by the nominating teacher and not the student being nominated.

Student's Name*
First Last
Student's Grade*
Parent's Name*
First Last
Parent’s Phone Number*
Parent's Email*
Nominating Teacher’s Name*
First Last
Name of School & School District (if different)*
City*
Teacher’s Phone Number (school)*
Teacher’s Phone Number (mobile)*
Teacher's Email (school)*
Teacher's Email (personal)*
If your school wins the $1,000 STEM grant, what is your STEM project and what materials, supplies, game, etc. would you purchase for your classroom?*
COMPLETE QUESTIONS IN THIS SECTION AS APPLICABLE TO THE STUDENT YOU ARE NOMINATING
Please summarize the student’s demonstration of the 4C’s - Critical Thinking, Communication, Collaboration, Creativity - in or out of school that makes him/her a STEM All-Star. (250 word maximum)*
Please tell us about any STEM-related extracurricular activities in which the student participates at school, clubs such as Scouting, 4-H, etc., and/or community organizations. (250 word maximum)*

2023 STEM All-Stars

Temperance Castillo

Mandan Middle School | 8^th 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) | 8^th 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) | 12^th 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 | 8^th 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 | 4^th 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 | 5^th 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.

Bismarck Larks STEM All-Stars