Middletown 5th Graders Chosen For STEM Event

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Two local elementary school students were chosen to represent Middletown in an elite program held at St. John's University this summer.

The students are Kaiden Leak and Averie Zerbo, both in the fifth grade at Bayview Elementary School in Belford.

They will participate in the National Youth Leadership Forum: Pathways to STEM, held on the St. John's University Queens campus this summer. The program aims to give students critical thinking skills and also improve their knowledge of STEM subject matter. They will take classes in wilderness and remote medicine, engineering and CSI (crime scene investigation).

Both students were nominated by their Bayview teacher, Aimee Rosenthal.

"I want to emphasize how incredible the teacher is who nominated them," said Kaiden's mother, Lisa Leak. "It is quite a bit of work to complete these nominations and it is not a requirement, but Mrs. Rosenthal always puts that added effort into encouraging our children to reach their fullest potential."

A biography of both students was provided:

Kaiden Leak is a Middletown travel soccer player, who loves to read, especially the “Last Kids on Earth” series. He is an incredible brother to his big brother Jace and little sister Eliana. He has a passion for STEM and hopes to one day be a computer engineer who designs games. His love for algorithms started a few years back when he learned to solve a Rubik’s Cube in under a minute.

Averie Zerbo is an avid reader, especially of all things fantasy. In her free time, she loves to draw and play softball. She is an incredible big sister to her two younger sisters Kaylee and Charleigh. Her goal in life is to enter a field in which she can help humans or animals. Avery loves school and is very interested in coding! She is especially excited to learn about crime scene investigation during this program.

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