StM News

Three St. Martin’s students – BoFan Hua ’24, Jeremy Hua ’25, and Cole LaCoste ’25 – were among just 15 finalists in the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans STEM Signing Day at STEM Fest on Saturday, October 14. St. Martin’s was the only school to have more than one student participate in STEM Signing Day, where students were honored for their current accomplishments and asked to declare their college of choice.

BoFan Hua, who finished 10th in this year’s After-the-AP National Data Science Championship, hopes to major in computer science at CalTech and is using his time at St. Martin’s to take as many AP courses as he can. Jeremy Hua is part of the robotics team and Science Olympiad, and is currently completing an independent study in AI. He hopes to attend Columbia University and major in computational geometry in college, and is also very interested in video game design. Cole LaCoste is a junior enrolled in AP Computer Science Principles this year. Having earned admission into St. Martin’s signature STEAM Diploma Certification program, he is very interested in computer science and understands how it will support him in his medical career. As part of his STeaM diploma requirements, Cole participated in an Introduction to Surgery course at the Boston Leadership Institute last summer.  

St. Martin’s Innovation + Design Program also hosted a table at STEM Fest, serving as a hands-on STEM exploration station for STEM Fest visitors. The StM presence was one of nearly 100 experiential STEM activities that explored topics including anatomy, biology, chemistry, circuit building, coding, conservation, DNA, electricity, ecology, engineering, forensics, medical science, physical science, physics, robotics, nutrition, math and financial literacy, and much more. 

At St. Martin’s learning is not just about thinking, but about doing. The Innovation + Design (I+D) program is turning the notion of a traditional classroom on its head, giving students opportunities to tackle big projects with real solutions for real problems.

Innovation + Design skills are scaffolded age-appropriately from the Lower School STeaM curriculum through the four-year I+D course rotation in the Middle School, where students move through multi-language coding, woodworking, production, and app development. Working alongside faculty, Upper School students integrate I+D skills and projects into core subject areas while engaging in activities that cross artificial disciplinary lines.

Founded more than 75 years ago, St. Martin’s is a coeducational, independent school that provides students from eight weeks through grade 12 with a superior and challenging college preparatory education focused on development of the whole person. St. Martin’s Episcopal School prepares students to thrive in college and in life through Faith, Scholarship, and Service. For more information about St. Martin’s Episcopal School, visit www.stmsaints.com; find the school on Facebook at www.facebook.com/stmsaintsla, or on Instagram (@stm_saints).