THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION PAGE 27 SEPT/OCT/NOV 2026 theconnectionsnj.com BACK SCHOOL PAGE 27 Scotch Plains high school student volunteers for a nationwide student-led nonprofit that inspires STEM passion in students by introducing hands-on STEM education to elementary classrooms in New Jersey. Iona Nandy, a rising Junior at the Academy for Allied Health Sciences in Scotch Plains, balances her schoolwork, sports, and other extracurriculars with outreach coordination for STEMsters, a nonprofit delivering hands-on STEM workshops to elementary students in New Jersey and across the globe. She manages these activities remotely from her home in Scotch Plains. Founded in 2022 by three high school students from Arcadia, California, STEMsters was created to provide younger children with hands-on STEM education earlier into their academic journey. The initiative has expanded to 169 chapters across 25 US states and six countries, including Canada, Peru, India, Indonesia, and Turkey. Everyone involved in this mission, from the founders to volunteers like Iona, is a high school student. After four years since embarking on their journey, the organization has achieved a remarkable impact: across 170 chapters, STEMsters reaches about 96,000 students annually, records over 16,000 volunteer hours each year, and delivers more than 3,200 lessons. Each month, around 9,000 students around the world participate in “I’m so grateful for having exposure to STEM at a young age, but I know that is not the case for many kids,” she says. “When I discovered STEMsters, I saw an opportunity to give younger kids the kind of early exposure I was lucky to have. I truly believe that that first hands-on project is what sparks curiosity, and once that curiosity is lit, it paves the way for an innovative passion.” High school students interested in establishing a chapter may visit www.stemsters.org or contact STEMstersOutreach@gmail.com. Your contribution could shape your community’s next generation of STEM innovators. Community members and organizations seeking to support STEMsters are also encouraged to reach out. hands-on sessions building projects that let them, literally, take their learning home. The focus on hands-on learning is what sets STEMsters apart from other organizations. Each workshop lasts one hour, starting with a ten-minute introduction to concepts and vocabulary. Then, students get to work in small groups on projects like art robots, zipline carts, UV houses, and zoetropes. Some chapters even offer a coding track for students interested in the computational aspect of STEM. The curriculum is tailored to adjust to each different age group, with separate content for kindergarten through second grade and grades three through five to ensure the lesson fits their developmental needs. At the end of each session, the students have a physical representation of their learning. Volunteers come away with something too. They get to see young minds grasp new concepts and discover new passions under their guidance. STEMsters has an active presence in New Jersey, with chapters at Monroe Township High School and in Monmouth County. There, the organization partners with the Boys and Girls Club of Monmouth to provide these hands-on STEM lessons. Iona helps expand this outreach through her role on the publicity team and actively advocates for the program by reaching out to local stakeholders. A COMMUNITY CHAMPIONS Local Teenager Inspires Children to Develop a Passion for STEM By Iona Nandy CONNECTION erriam Webster defines a thriller as “a work of fiction or drama designed to hold the interest by the use of a high degree of intrigue, adventure, or suspense.” As autumn approaches and the air begins to chill, nothing hits harder than a spooky, skull-rattling thriller. 1. The Housemaid by Freida McFadden READ IF YOU LOVE: Female heroes; Insane plot twists; Fast-paced, easy reads Though an instant hit, The Housemaid absolutely deserved its flowers. It follows the story of a young housemaid, Millie, whose criminal record makes it exceedingly difficult for her to land a job, yet she manages to find work at the expensive home of Nina and Andrew Winchester. The job feels like a blessing at first, but as Millie begins work, she instantly can feel something is wrong. As the drama unfolds, Millie unearths secrets meant to be hidden in the Winchesters’ attic, and McFadden spins an exciting, twisty tale. 2. Not Quite Dead Yet by Holly Jackson READ IF YOU LOVE: Sarcastic and blunt protagonists; Time pressure; Gradual yet noteworthy character development Holly Jackson, a recently well-known thriller author, delivers quite a nail-biting novel with her July 2025 release, Not Quite Dead Yet. On Halloween night in Woodstock, Vermont, 27-year-old Jet Mason gets attacked in her own house, resulting in an unfortunate brain injury, with the ultimate news that she has only a week left to live at the most. Although there is a possibility that Jet could survive if saying yes to a surgery with a 90% chance of death, she does not want to take such a risk. Instead, Jet decides to solve her own murder. Within one week, Jet is sure that she will be able to figure out who almost killed her on Halloween night. 3. The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson READ IF YOU LOVE: Family dramas; Excellent thriller writing; Well-placed, background romance The Reappearance of Rachel Price is nothing short of Jackson’s best work. Annabelle ‘Bel’ Price, 18, has been forever left in the dark about her mother, Rachel Price, so she agrees to filming a documentary about her mother’s disappearance. However, when Rachel mysteriously reappears, secrets are unveiled that shock Bel and change the course of the documentary. 4. Where There’s Smoke by E.B. Vickers READ IF YOU LOVE: Satisfying endings; Mixed POVs; Fast reads A hidden gem, Where There’s Smoke is the definition of bone-chilling. It revolves around a young woman, Calli Christopher, who just buried her father, but is instantly looped back into drama when a young girl shows up on her property. The narrative switches from Calli’s first-person to others’ third-person points of view, making the entire book exciting with constant changes in narration. The ending culminates beautifully, a characteristic sometimes rare in thrillers, making it the perfect fall read with a cup of tea. 5. A Flicker in the Dark by Stacy Willingham READ IF YOU LOVE: Layered character backgrounds and relationships; Recurrent themes; Red herrings Psychologist, Chloe Davis, is struck with a reminder of her childhood when teenage girls in town are reported missing and killed. Similar crimes occurred in her hometown when growing up, which leads Chloe down a rabbit hole of investigation with her own father being the one who killed the innocent girls years back. Chloe starts to notice similarities between these current crimes in Baton Rouge and those of the past that ultimately lead her into discussing with reporter, Aaron Doyle, who would help her figure out the mystery behind the sudden repeat of twenty years prior. Charlotte Mitchell has been an enthusiastic reader since elementary school with her favorite genre being thriller/mystery. Besides reading, her hobbies consist of running, theater, writing, and baking. Ameya Ram is also an eager reader whose favorites span genres; from memoirs to thrillers to literary fiction, she’s there for the ride. She also loves writing, tennis, and music. Both girls are sophomores attending Bernards High School. M Leaf Through These Thrillers By Charlotte Mitchell & Ameya Ram SHELF AWARENESS
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