This spring, the Columbia University School of Professional Studies (SPS) hosted a reception at the Macquarie Group offices to honor the accomplishments of the 2024–2025 Youth in STEM (YIS) cohort. The event recognized the achievements of 22 rising high school sophomores, juniors, and seniors from across the five boroughs of New York City and marked the end of a multiday, in-person residency hosted by BlackRock, Ares Management, and the Macquarie Group.
At the reception, students from the cohort were presented a certificate of participation, in recognition of their completion of a rigorous program. The celebration also offered a networking opportunity for the students as the next generation of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) leaders.
Founded in 2016, the program aims to engage students across New York City in STEM education. Housed within Columbia SPS’s Pre-College Programs, the initiative offers interactive workshops, introducing students to professional pathways in STEM and finance while pushing them to think critically about the intersection of identity, innovation, and impact.
Recent cohorts have benefited from the mentorship of Columbia HBCU Fellows, and are immersed in college-level STEM courses and challenged to apply what they’ve learned to real-world problems.
2024-2025 Youth in STEM cohort at their end-of-year residency. Photo credit: Steve Myaskovsky
During the academic year, students enroll in one STEM-related noncredit course per semester through Columbia’s Academic Year Weekend program. Course offerings included subjects like Neuroscience of Psychiatric Disorders, Introduction to Programming with Python, Social Psychology, Cell and Molecular Biology of Medicine, and Math Modeling and Statistics Applications. For some YIS students, this was their first hands-on experience with biomedical research, machine learning, medicine, and behavioral science.
A major highlight of this year’s residency was the STEM Research Project. Students were divided into eight teams and challenged to propose tech-based solutions to real issues facing New York City, such as the housing crisis, stormwater management, traffic congestion, environmental sustainability, and public health. Teams presented their proposals to a panel of judges that included Greg Robinson, former director of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope and Information & Knowledge Strategy (IKNS) faculty member; author Robin Stevens Payes of the Edge of Yesterday series; and Dr. Ramone Segree, executive director for Women for Women International and faculty member in the Nonprofit Management program.
The presentations were not only bold and research-driven but deeply personal. Teams discussed systemic inequities, proposed scalable solutions, and even outlined what it would take to bring their ideas from concept to execution. “The students showed up from day one,” said Vanessa Carillo, associate director of Pre-College Programs at Columbia SPS. “They were curious, focused, and fully engaged—asking thoughtful questions, connecting with mentors, and showing a real desire to lead.”
