Trinity Mauer, a junior at Beehive Science and Technology Academy, began receiving recognition and awards for her passionate STEM pursuits since the fifth grade, maintaining exceptional grades and scoring several notable wins along the way. Trinity added another accolade to her roster in receiving the CenturyLink STEM Excellence Award at halftime during the Utah Jazz’s April 9, 2019, game against the Denver Nuggets at Vivint Smart Home Arena in downtown Salt Lake City, to cap this season’s STEM Excellence Award program.
Trinity’s hard work has resulted in several awards outside of the classroom, says Hanifi Oguz, Executive Director of the Beehive Science and Technology Academy in Sandy, Utah. In March 2018, she won the National Center for Women and Information & Technology’s Aspirations in Computing Award. According to the organization’s website, “Award recipients are selected based on their aptitude and aspirations in technology and computing; leadership ability; academic history; and plans for post-secondary education.” Trinity has also caught the eye of the Congressional Award committee, earning a Bronze Medal Level Award in April 2018.
Trinity has also been active in FIRST Robotics (FIRST is an acronym for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). In April 2017, at an award ceremony held in Houston at the world competition, Trinity was named to the FIRST Dean’s List — an honor reserved for only 200 students worldwide each year.
Trinity also serves as a strong voice and proponent of STEM-related activities. She has represented Beehive Science and Technology Academy for the past four years at the Utah State Capitol, where she spoke with the governor, state legislators and school board members about the importance of teaching STEM at Utah’s schools, and funding robotics programs in elementary and middle schools.
As an intern at the University of Utah’s Great Camps program through the Engineering Department, Trinity taught programming to younger students from across the state for six weeks in the summer of 2018. As the creator of the Sandy City Outreach Association, a group that utilizes and demonstrates all levels of robotics, Trinity oversaw demonstrations at the Hill Air Force Air Show and Utah STEM Fest.
So, what’s it all about for Trinity? She says she is passionate about fusing creativity with applied math and physics to engineer outside-of-the-box solutions to complex problems.
“I enjoy trying to think of a way to build a robot to accomplish something, knowing ‘this won’t work mathematically, or that won’t work because of physics.’ But I still try to figure it out — like walking around a puzzle maze in my mind until you find a way in,” Trinity says.
It’s no wonder, then, that Trinity will find herself in another major competitive arena just days after her win on the Jazz’s home court. Having earned her way to the FIRST Robotics World Championships for the fourth year in a row, Trinity’s off to Houston from April 17-20 to take on some of the world’s best young roboticians amid the world’s largest celebration of STEM for students!
Congratulations, Trinity, on achieving such outstanding honors and bearing the torch of our state’s STEM successes on the world stage. And above all, thank you for serving as a standout STEM role model for Utah’s young learners…especially Utah girls.
And special thanks to our loyal STEM supporters CenturyLink, together with the Utah Jazz and NBA, for front-line and behind-the-scenes support, helping us continue our mission to spark students’ interests in STEM through engaging, hands-on best practices in education and equitable opportunities for all Utah students.
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