Brandon Cai
Evan Amadio
Brandon Cai the son of Yi Cai and Qian Huang, will be graduating from Parkland High School. He plans to attend Stanford University to study Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Brandon took 19 AP courses with all A’s and served as the president of Math League and Physic Club. He is a 2-time US physics Olympiad (USAPhO) bronze medalist, USA junior Olympiad (USAJMO) qualifier, and Regeneron Science Talent Search (STS) national top 300. Brandon also won 1st place team at national team-based math competitions such as American Region Math League (ARML), Harvard/MIT Math Tournament (HMMT) and Princeton University Math Competition (PUMaC). Through his career explorations since 7th grade, Brandon actively competed in science fairs and was recognized as a national finalist at both the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) and the National Junior Science and Humanity Symposium (NJSHS). Brandon explored college level research at prestigious summer programs such as the Research Science Institute (RSI) at MIT, the Garcia Summer Research at Stony Brook, and the Stanford University Math Camp (SUMaC). Brandon is also interested in analyzing history, his team research project won National History Day (NHD) national top 20 and 2nd in Pennsylvania.
Evan Amadio is the son of Thomas and Christine Amadio and will be graduating from Parkland High School. He is pursuing electrical and computer engineering at Cornell University in the fall. Evan is president of LEO club, Science National Honor Society, Young Scientist Science Fair, and Physics Club, and vice president of Math League. He is a member of Parkland’s VEX Robotics team and a founder of the VEX program at Springhouse Middle School. He is a Lehigh Scholar and AP Scholar with distinction, and a high honors student. Outside of school, Evan has worked at Golden Stop as a cook for the past few summers and loves to cook as a ho9bby. In his free time, he also likes to surf, ski, play guitar, play video games, and hang out with friends.
Jayaditya Kothari
Jillian Halm
Jayaditya Kothari is the son of Priyank and Monika Kothari and will be graduating from Parkland High School. He plans to attend Rice University to study chemical engineering. At school, Jayaditya is the President of his schools Biology Club, Young Scientist Science Fair Program, and Science Olympiad team and the Vice President of his school’s Math League. He is also a National Merit Finalist, Lehigh University High School Scholar, and Coca-Cola Scholar Semifinalist. Outside of school, he enjoys conducting research related to the fields of biotechnology and sustainable energy and has presented at several competitions and conferences. Additionally, he is an active member of the Jain community, where he serves as the President of the Future Jain Leadership Program. He has also started the teen Money Matters program, where he teaches personal finance to K-12 students and hosts a radio show on WDIY. In 2024, he gave a TEDx talk on biotechnology’s role in transforming healthcare and qualified for the National round of the National History Day contest. In his free time, Jayaditya likes to play soccer, listen to music, and watch new movies and TV shows.
Jillian Halm will be graduating from Freedom High School and plans to study materials science and engineering at Lehigh University in the fall. She is the daughter of Shawna Rockafellow and Anthony Halm. Jillian is an AP scholar with honor, National Honor Society secretary, and Lehigh University High School Scholar. Jillian is the president of her high school’s STEM Empowerment Society, a club that empowers young students to find their passion within STEM. In 2024, she was a recipient of the Perseverance Award at the state Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science competitions, awarded for four years of first place awards at the regional level. This year, she placed 2nd in the Environmental Science category at the Lehigh Valley Science Fair and will present her research at the PJAS state fair in May. Outside of her academic pursuits, Jillian races bicycles on the velodrome and road. In 2024, she became the US National Champion in track cycling in the 15-18 Women’s Madison Event. She was also the junior women’s Rider of the Year at the Valley Preferred Cycling Center in 2024. In her free time, Jillian is an assistant coach for youth cycling programs, loves Formula 1 racing, and enjoys anything outdoors with her dogs.