State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces 2026 National Youth Science Camp Delegates

SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has named two outstanding students as California’s delegates to the 63rd annual National Youth Science Camp (NYSCamp).

Saisha Pal of San Ramon (Contra Costa County), a junior at Dougherty Valley High School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, and Elena Zhang of Highland (San Bernardino County), a junior at Redlands High in the Redlands Unified School District, were selected for their high achievement and proficiency in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM).

“These two accomplished students are rising leaders in California’s STEAM technology and industry as young researchers and as community leaders. I am confident they will continue innovating solutions to improve the health and safety of all California communities,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “I am immensely proud of them for their achievements and selection as California’s delegates to the National Youth Science Camp.”

The NYSCamp is an annual event hosted by the National Youth Science Academy to bring together top students from nine Western Hemisphere countries to attend lectures and participate in outdoor activities centered on STEAM disciplines. The three weeks of camp takes place in West Virginia and Washington, D.C., from July 11 through August 1, 2026.

Saisha Pal

During her six weeks at the 2025 Engineering and Construction High School Internship Program at the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), Saisha stood out for how actively she engaged with professionals involved in construction project management and infrastructure design, as well as surveyors and construction inspectors working on active capital improvement projects. Saisha worked alongside engineers and infrastructure professionals supporting large-scale public water system projects. The internship exposed her to the disciplines of civil, mechanical, and electrical engineering related to construction project management and infrastructure design. She made a considerable impression by asking thoughtful questions and demonstrating a strong desire to understand the broader impact of engineering decisions.

Saisha has excelled academically, focusing on high-level STEM courses with a desire to do work that matters to her—work that contributes to helping solve problems like youth mental health, scientific research, and innovating solutions to make life better for others. Saisha’s advanced coursework in mathematics and her research experience evaluating large language models on mathematical datasets and analyzing clinical trial data further highlight her strong analytical abilities and commitment to applying quantitative methods to complex problems. At Dougherty Valley High, Saisha has showed her leadership skills in Product Design (President), Science Olympiad (Vice President), and Varsity Public Forum Debate (Public Relations Officer). She says, “I want to learn how I can do work that matters. Work that contributes to helping solve problems like youth mental health, scientific research, and innovating solutions to help make life better for others.”

Elena Zhang

Elena’s acceptance to the Aspiring Scientists Summer Internship Program (ASSIP) at George Mason University showed her resilience as she spent a year making herself a strong candidate for the prestigious and highly competitive program. It was her dream program—free and, most excitingly, focused on environmental forecasting. Showing remarkable determination through extracurricular work, her efforts paid off as Elena focused on STEAM awards and research, taught herself Python through open-source courses, and began building machine learning models.

The professors at ASSIP left Elena with not just a project, but also skills she carried home. In ArcGIS Pro, she overlaid formaldehyde concentration maps and economically disadvantaged communities in San Bernardino County. It proved that forecasting pollution does not guarantee that citizens are prepared, especially if they cannot afford filters. This inspired her science fair project: developing graphitic carbon nitride filters to remove formaldehyde while remaining inexpensive. Elena says: “I might not be a millionaire capable of donating thousands of filters to my county, but as a scientist, I can work toward making them accessible to communities in the first place.”

Elena’s high school accomplishments include Captain of the Debate Team, Co-Founder and Head Coach of Inland Empire STEAM for All, and President of the Science Fair, Math, Environmental, and Economics Clubs.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100