STAR EXECUTIVE

Henry Lim

Henry Lim

Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida recently welcomed Henry Lim to its board of directors. A Maitland-based immigration attorney, Lim belongs to the American Immigration Lawyers Association and the Hispanic Bar Association of Central Florida. He earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Florida State University before going to the University of Miami School of Law. Lim emigrated with his family from Nicaragua and saw how his parents struggled to put food on the table—an experience that inspired lifelong advocacy for others and prompted his involvement with Second Harvest. “I understand that food insecurity affects communities of color at a higher percentage,” he says. “And the pandemic has only worsened circumstances for many of these families. I’m humbled by this opportunity to join Second Harvest’s board and help to make a difference for those in need.”

STAR STUDENTS

Ying Student Science Competition winners

Annika Vaidyanathan

Since 1999, Dr. Nelson Ying—local scientist, entrepreneur and philanthropist—has partnered with Orlando Science Center to celebrate outstanding science students through his sponsorship of the Ying Student Science Competition. Among the four finalists this year, two projects inspired by the COVID-19 pandemic so impressed the judges that both students—Annika Vaidyanathan and Ishika Nag—were named grand prizewinners during a virtual ceremony. Each winner received a $5,000 scholarship, a $1,000 award for his or her science teacher or mentor, and an additional $1,000 for his or her school. The remaining finalists also received cash prizes to help fund their continued research.

Annika Vaidyanathan, a junior at Winter Springs High School, wanted to increase the effectiveness of face masks to help slow the spread of the virus. She developed and tested a coating that would cause COVID-19 virus-sized nanoparticles to bead and roll right off a face mask, creating greater protection for the wearer. She also looked at ways to manufacture this coating safely and cost-effectively. 

Ishika Nag

Ishika Nag, a sophomore at Oviedo High School, was focused on improving the efficiency and affordability of air filtration devices, like both masks and HVAC filters, by coating them with nanoparticles. Her research showed that this coating improved a mask’s air pollution and virus filtration efficiency while ensuring its safety for human use. She was originally inspired to pursue this multi-year project after visiting a friend who had moved to New Delhi. She saw firsthand how much her friend’s life had been impacted due to the change in air quality. The global pandemic then convinced her to create a low-cost, high-quality filtration device that could protect people from both pollution and airborne viruses.

Nikhil Iyer

Nikhil Iyer, a junior at Edgewood Junior/Senior High School in Merritt Island, won $1,000 for his research on improving machine learning by modeling artificial neural networks after the human brain using virtual neurotransmitters. His project could increase the efficiency of artificial intelligence.

Gustavo Toledo

Gustavo Toledo, a senior at Edgewood, won $500 for his research to improve the hydrodynamic efficiency of autonomous underwater vehicles by testing torpedo models with various golf ball-sized surface textures. His project could enable underwater research vehicles to go further and collect more data over a longer period of time.

STAR STUDENTS

Windermere Prep

Windermere Prep is proud to congratulate 11 juniors from the class of 2022 in their recognition in the National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. These juniors met the requirements needed to enter the 2022 National Merit Scholarship Program. Based on the qualifications for the test, the students have displayed outstanding academic potential. Each of the students is among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants who will be recognized as either semifinalists or commended students in the fall. The students are: Gabriel De Luca Vinocur, Adam Fadhli, Miguel Fernandez, Julia High, Samuel Ledden, Emma Lefsky, Yazheng Liao, Ashley Oleyar, Lucas Ramey, Rayyan Shaik and Stuart Sheffield.

Sadie Hansen

STAR STUDENT

Sadie Hansen

Earlier this year, Sadie Hansen, a seventh grade student at The Christ School, says she “was researching service opportunities and learned that many girls have to prioritize what they purchase, and feminine hygiene products were not a priority.” After making some calls to local high schools, she discovered that this is a problem right here in our community. “The first two schools told us that they are pretty consistently blessed with food donations, but feminine hygiene products are often just completely overlooked,” says Hansen’s mother, Donna. With that in mind, Hansen began the Sister Swan Project, dedicated to filling this important need. She began by bringing donations to Evans High School and soon realized that this need was ongoing and widespread. Additional schools have reached out to the Sister Swan Project, including elementary schools. “I would like to get enough donations before the end of school this year so I can give a big supply to girls to use over the summer,” she says.

STAR CITIZENS

Axiom Bank

Axiom Bank

Several Axiom Bank employees, including president and CEO Dan Davis, proudly participated in the seventh annual Orange County Bar Association’s Law Day 5K. Davis was joined by Axiom’s controller, Vanessa Lopez, and Kissimmee branch banker Jasmin Sanchez and her husband, Esteban, as they navigated the three-mile course around Orlando’s Lake Baldwin on April 24. The event raised money to help support free civil legal aid programs provided through the Legal Aid Society.

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