COSWD Welcomes STEM Students from Local High School

With the students from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School are Drs. Montessa Mitchell (l), Marie Bernard (third from r), Glorivee Pagan-Mercado (second from r) and Pamela Tamez (r), all of COSWD.

Dr. Marie Bernard, NIH chief officer for scientific workforce diversity (COSWD), recently welcomed several students from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School to NIH.

Before leading a tour of Bldgs. 1 and 10, COSWD staffers Drs. Montessa Mitchell, Glorivee Pagan-Mercado and Pamela Tamez described their journeys to NIH and encouraged the students to pursue their interests in science, technology, engineering and math.

The visit came about after Bernard accepted an invitation from Julia Meddin, president of the school’s Minority Women in STEM club, to present on STEM careers at a club meeting last April. 

In an email to the COSWD team, Meddin wrote, “It was very cool to see the UNITE hallway. It’s amazing how much minorities have already made an impact on STEM and I hope in the future it will be completely normal to see women and minorities be the most successful doctors and scientists in the NIH and the field as a whole.”

Students from Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School visit NIH.