Links to 2020 Intern Blogs

Team Delta – Unity game design – FPU Senior Year Capstone

Team Echo – Unity game design – FPU Senior Year Capstone

Ciara A. – Zapworks and Unity Augmented Reality programming

Izzy Z. – SOLIDWORKS models

Juliana L. – SOLIDWORKS models | Florida Polytechnic University article

Featured Intern

At STEMWERX, we encourage students to become involved in paid or voluntary project-based apprenticeships and internships. These relationships with industry are valuable growth experiences that teach students critical thinking skills, communication, collaboration, and creativity.

The STEMWERX staff have mentored over 50 high-school and college interns in the last decade. Visit this page often to find view their stories about their past projects and where they are now.

Richie Leyton

I first met Todd and Beth Hanning, owners of STEMWERX, at a robotics event at USF. They spoke to me about their mission and the steps they were taking to grow their non-profit. Being a person who didn’t know what engineering was until I got to high school, I felt I shared a responsibility to teach kids about STEM. In early 2019 STEMWERX was invited to IMSA’s Roar before the 24, and because of my love for motorsports, I got to intern with them. At Scout Days during the Roar, we taught young scouts about aerodynamics and how that information relates to race cars. We had guest appearances from IMSA and Corvette Racing to show how STEM applies in the real world. During this time, I networked with many of the teams and discussed my involvement in Formula SAE and how that compares to racing in the big leagues.

Since then, I have been very fortunate to accept a full season offer from Ian Lacy Racing running in the GS/GT4 class. In 2019 (the same year I interned with STEMWERX), we won the GT4 America Championship. I never thought my career would soar so high so quickly.

In 2020 I graduated from USF with a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering, and my field of practice is professional motorsports. None of this could have been possible without STEMWERX. The STEMWERX family comprises artists, entrepreneurs, and volunteers passionate about STEM. I am very grateful for the opportunity they gave me, and I highly recommend them for any STEM-related event. They have a unique ability to connect with children and fill their eyes with wonder.

Thank you,
Richie Leyton

Previous Featured Interns

Ethan Hadorff – Engineering student University of Florida