SOPHOMORE/JUNIOR STORIES
Ijeoma Asonye
Advaith Bantval
Page 20
Sophomore Ijeoma Asonye, mechanical engineering ’23 (Cohort 35), has creatively translated her STEM and art backgrounds into a new book titled, The Beautiful Math of Coral: A Novel. Asonye described her book as “a luminous, coming of age novel, moving through the love, heartbreak, and humorous banter of finding one’s place in the world.” Through her main characters, Coral and Fernando, Asonye was able to demonstrate the intricate relationship between STEM and art and share the unconventional beauty of STEM. When asked what propelled her to create this novel, Asonye shared that she drew inspiration from a movie about architecture, where she saw conventional objects like buildings relate to universal intangibles including love and friendship. Beyond her book, Asonye is incredibly passionate about her campus involvements. She spends her free time serving as a project engineer in the Center for Minorities in Science and Engineering, where she is working this summer, and maintaining her connection to the arts through dancing and songwriting.
Advaith Bantval, mechanical engineering ’22 (Cohort 34), is passionate about making a social impact. Last June, in the midst of the global pandemic and national civil unrest, Bantval participated in the University of Maryland’s Shell Makeathon. With his teammates, Bantval went on to win first place in the social impact track for the creation of their socially-conscious platform Verse, a sustainable solution towards productive activism that focuses on three pillars: learning, serving, and engaging. Bantval described, “Myself and my teammates are incredibly passionate about issues surrounding diversity and inclusion, particularly with an emphasis on college campuses.” The social impact track of the Makeathon allowed his team to brainstorm what could and should be done on university campuses to encourage diversity and inclusion education. Since creating this product, Bantval has worked with the Do Good Accelerator and added a related minor: nonprofit leadership and social innovation. Although some of Bantval’s teammates have graduated, they all still believe in the importance of this project and are continuing development.
QUEST Honors Program
