Tesla STEM student earns prestigious National Science Olympiad scholarship

Tesla STEM High School senior Sree Sarvepalli is a recipient of a 2026 Science Olympiad Founders’ Scholarship, a national honor awarded to just five students across the country.

The $10,000 scholarship, announced in early May by the Science Olympiad USA Foundation, recognizes students for their outstanding academic achievement, leadership and commitment to Science Olympiad.

Here is the bio for Sarvepalli from the press release for the award: Sree Sarvepalli of Tesla STEM High School turned seven years in Science Olympiad into a tradition of leadership and community. A Team President, he earned nationals pins and dozens of medals, but is most proud of building a team culture rooted in friendship and collaboration. From designing Hovercrafts to directing his school’s first in-person invitational, Sree focuses on giving back and expanding access to STEM, using his skill of jugaad, a Hindi word loosely translating to “creative, scrappy problem-solving”. Sree will attend University of Pennsylvania to study Bioengineering, a path inspired by his passion for combining biology with an engineer’s mindset. “My biggest accomplishment is building a club that will thrive long after I graduate.”

Science Olympiad, a national nonprofit founded in 1984, engages more than 210,000 students annually in rigorous STEM competitions across all 50 states. The Founders’ Scholarship program honors students who exemplify excellence both academically and within their communities, reflecting the organization’s mission to expand access to science education and inspire future STEM leaders.