Rachel Cardiel, an eighth grader at Shepherdstown Middle School has been accepted into the United States Naval Academy Summer STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Program.

This competitive summer program accepts applications from all over the United States and only accepts 10 percent of students.

Attendees must demonstrate superior academic performance including GPA, class standing and leadership skills, and participation sports.

The Summer STEM program is an overnight academic program designed for rising eighth grade to eleventh grade students in good academic standing who have a keen interest in math and science.

Through the STEM Program, Cardiel will have the opportunity to experience real-life applications of math and science principles through hands-on practical learning.

This program will bring the latest in technological advances to the classroom and lab sessions with such topics as: Energy and Light, Infrastructure, Transportation and Cybersecurity, Simulation and Modeling, Flight and Fluids, Biometrics, Robotics and Automation.

She will have the opportunity to learn from distinguished Naval Academy professors in world-class lab facilities that provide a unique learning environment outside the traditional classroom.