Aspiring health-tech entrepreneur brings passion and creativity to local and global causes and seeks to empower young women in STEM

ANKENY, IOWA, UNITED STATES, May 5, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- “Sanjana Vellanki is a natural entrepreneur who is wired to serve others with her passion for problem solving and incredible aptitude for data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence,” said Cheryl O’Donoghue, CEO at Aspire2STEAM. “She has much in common with the company that sponsored her ASPIRER scholarship—Ulysses Learning—a company dedicated to transforming service cultures using EQ, data analytics, and high-tech.”

Currently, Sanjana is finishing up her freshman year at the University of Maryland, College Park. She's pursing a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science with a concentration in Data Science and a minor in Statistics. She's an active member in university clubs such as Snider Consulting Group and QUEST, and is a Computer Science Recruitment Ambassador. In her free time, she enjoys learning about investing in crypto, tutoring middle schoolers in computer programming principles, and working on coding projects with her friends. She works part time at the Academy of Art at Highland Park (AAHP) where she was recently promoted to Executive Senior Staff Manager. This coming summer, Sanjana is excited to be a development intern with Commvault (a data management and recovery company).

“Ever since I was little, I’ve always loved to embrace my ability to be creative and imaginative as a means to give and contribute to a community,” said Sanjana. “And I especially love to use my creativity towards a cause.” Growing up, Sanjana, an avid pianist, performed at a local senior center every Sunday afternoon. She picked up computer programming from her father at an early age and traveled abroad to India to teach students in tribal villages the basics of computer coding. She spent eight years developing her artistic abilities at a local art school and created several products she would sell to support local causes, including shorts made from plastic juice pouches to promote Earth Day awareness. Sanjana said, “I quickly learned that I enjoyed entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation, and this was something I wanted to pursue throughout high school and college.”

Sanjana attended a high school specializing in mathematics, sciences, and engineering technologies, which presented her numerous opportunities to develop her creative problem-solving skills. She excelled in upper-level math classes such as Calculus 3 and Discrete Math, participated in a Medlytics research program hosted by MIT, and interned at a health tech startup as a Marketing Data Analyst. She also explored the world of entrepreneurship by participating in startup conferences and hackathons, serving as a student consultant for Barclays and Lego, and partnering with an East African startup to promote early childhood development centers for impoverished children.

While in high school, Sanjana also attained several unique achievements and awards. During her time as a studio practitioner at AAHP, she developed an eight-piece artist’s portfolio over the course of two years which she used to help educate and raise awareness about Artificial Intelligence. Her portfolio was presented at the North Brunswick Township Municipal building as part of an art exhibit.

Additionally, Sanjana received the President’s Volunteer Service Award Gold Medal (2021, 2020, 2019) for 150+ hours of volunteer work each year; earned an OSHA General Industry (Manufacturing) Certification (2021); was a New York Member of Sciences inductee (2020), representing the year’s top 1,000 kids world-wide participating in solving global issues; and was selected as the MIT GrandHACK Medicine NY Winner (2019) for “Supportcha”—a health-tech startup idea aimed to address the disproportionate ratio of professional therapists and psychologists available to college students on campus. She was also named the MIT GrandHACK Medicine NY Post Hackathon United Health Services Winner and was granted funding and support to launch her Supportcha start-up idea (2019).

“It’s such a privilege for us to sponsor Sanjana’s scholarship,” said Dina Vance, Senior Vice President and Managing Director, North American Operations at Ulysses Learning. “We share her passion for serving others through technology-supported learning and innovation. And we have every confidence she will achieve her academic and career goals and look forward to reading all about her next accomplishment!” Ulysses Learning was founded in 1995 as a joint venture with Northwestern University’s world renown Learning Sciences department. Ulysses has one of the only training systems proven to build EQ with its proprietary Framework with Freedom© approach, enabling service representatives to develop skills to empathize with others, build stronger customer bonds, and improve team dynamics with confidence, consistency, and excellence.

Regarding her post-college career pursuits, Sanjana has plans to conduct significant research on carcinogenic patterns in patients during all stages of cancer, and create algorithms which can accurately diagnose individuals with cancer in its earlier stages. She also envisions starting her own firm with researchers, scientists, and technologists that connect the tools they create to hospital systems so they can be incorporated into annual checkups. “I intend to make these tools affordable and easy to use so that individuals who live in less fortunate areas of the world can still get access to health screening and analysis without having to pay enormous medical bills,” said Sanjana.

Equally important is Sanjana’s desire to build a company that is founded by talented and underrepresented women to hopefully inspire future generations to pursue male-dominated fields. She said, “As a woman in STEM and an individual of color, I’ve seen how predominantly male-dominated environments can feel intimidating, especially in the tech industry. I want to prove that race, sex, gender, and background doesn’t define an individual’s capabilities to be successful in specific industries, but rather adds to the diversity needed to bring about new solutions and perspectives.”

ABOUT…

Aspire2STEAM.org is a charitable 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which has earned Guidestar’s Gold Seal for integrity, transparency, and accountability. We provide scholarships and mentoring to young women and girls who are working hard—aspiring—to achieve “STEAM” careers that require education in science, tech, engineering, the arts, or math…and they could really use a hand up over the incredible barriers of student debt and rising education costs, and the real, ever-present opportunity barriers that keep them out of most male-dominated industries.

Scholarship Applications and Donations Accepted Year-Round!

Cheryl O'Donoghue
Aspire2STEAM
+1 630-253-8861
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Sanjana Vellanki