Two sisters in Portsmouth Public Schools have both been accepted to the 2021 Naval Academy Summer
STEM Seminar, a competitive program that draws more than 5,000 applications from across the country
and only selects 280 students for each of its three sessions.
Kayla and Ava Parada will be participating in the seminar this summer, which features live classroom
sessions with Naval Academy faculty, officer-led seminars on majors at the academy and a culminating
STEM competition that will be judged and awarded.
Kayla, a junior at I.C. Norcom High School, and Ava, an eighth-grader at Churchland Middle, will be part
of the 12th year of this Summer STEM Seminar.
According to the Naval Academy, the seminar program allows students to “explore, create, build, and
expand (their) critical thinking and collaboration skills, all while virtually experiencing world-class
facilities at one of the country's top engineering programs” in addition to having the opportunity to
“experience the exceptional Naval Academy education provided to Midshipmen while interacting with
like-minded students who share an interest in STEM.”