Career-related Programme: Morgan Hawkins, DC International School (Coordinator, Shane Donovan)

Morgan is a skilled broadcast journalist and video producer at DC International School. She focuses on featuring underrepresented voices in her storytelling, and has produced segments about topics including higher education programs in prison, food injustice, and the successes and struggles of Black entrepreneurs. Three of her stories have been nationally published by PBS News. She serves as executive producer and lead editor of DC International School's student-run news show, Dragon TV. The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences recently honored Morgan with the national Douglas W. Mummert Scholarship, which is awarded to a student who plans to pursue television production and has made a positive impact through community service. She will accept this scholarship on stage at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards. In the fall, Morgan will attend the Park School of Communications at Ithaca College, where she will major in Documentary Studies and Production.

Diploma Programme - Daphne Wang, North Hagerstown High School (Coordinator, Christopher Downs)

Daphne Wang is a Diploma Candidate from Western Maryland dedicated to the pursuit of learning. An active member of her community, Daphne has been involved in student council on the school, regional, and state levels. In her 2 year tenure as the State Legislative Affairs Coordinator for the Maryland Association of Student Councils, she has advocated for the student condition through working with legislators and taking official organizational stances on bills passing through the MD General Assembly. As the most recent Student Member of the Washington County Board of Education, she represents the voices of thousands of students before those making decisions on their behalf. She enjoys volunteering, having participated in initiatives like the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s Student Visionary of the Year campaign, raising $25,000+ with her team to support blood cancer research and treatment. Additionally, Daphne participates in a variety of other clubs and extracurriculars like Key Club, Academic Quiz Team, orchestra, and piano. In her free time she assists her parents in their local restaurant. Daphne will be attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall to study Mechanical Engineering!

Middle Years Programme - Maya Mourshed, Francis Scott Key Middle School (Coordinator, Shonica Jordan)

Maya Mourshed is a student at Francis Scott Key Middle School who exemplifies being an inquirer, thinker, and communicator. She excels at creatively blending STEM and the arts. Her debut book, Chemistories, an anthology of stories and poems that bring chemical elements to life, became a top seller on Amazon in the Children’s Chemistry Books category. One of her poems, “When Geometry Met Algebra”, earned a Silver Key in the 2025 Scholastic Writing Awards, and she placed first nationwide in the grades 6–8 category of the American Chemical Society’s illustrated poem competition. She also won the state competition for National History Day in the Junior Individual Performance category for her rap about the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

Passionate about community service, Maya received the Superintendent’s Student Service Learning Award. She has been playing piano since she was four years old and enjoys volunteering her time with two nonprofit organizations, Unmute and The Tacy Foundation, performing piano pieces for senior citizens to spark joy and evoke cherished memories. She also speaks at community events, sharing her journey as a young author to inspire her peers and younger children to pursue their dreams and passions at any age.

Primary Years Programme: Grayce Burnette, Strelitz International Academy (Coordinator, Alicia Pahl-Cornelius)

Grayce is a feminist, environmentalist and an empathetic person. Her passions are writing, learning, cheer and especially reading. She loves hands-on learning, going to the library and reading books for three hours straight. Since her dad is in the Navy, Grayce has lived in three different countries: United States of America, Spain and Bahrain, and has traveled to over thirty countries by the time she was seven. This has taught Grayce to be open minded and has fed her love for mythology and different cultures. Her two sisters have taught Grayce responsibility, resilience and most importantly, you can’t mold people into what you want. Grayce is a recent graduate of Strelitz International Academy in Virginia Beach, Virginia.