Melanie M.

Hi Everyone! I’m Melanie McNair, a Senior at Acceleration Academy in Las Vegas, NV, and I’m set to graduate in May 2025. I’m really proud to be in the top 1% of my class (rank 5 out of 1,425 students) with a NSHE Core GPA of 4.210. Juggling multiple honors courses has helped me achieve a weighted GPA of 3.9 and an unweighted GPA of 3.5, all while keeping a perfect attendance record with no absences or tardies! I’ve been recognized for my passion for technology, receiving awards like the National Center for Women & Information Technology’s (NCWIT) Aspirations Award and a National Honorable Mention. I also participated in the National Summer Transportation Institute at UNLV, where I earned the Popular Choice Award and Best Group Project Award. Winning 3rd Place at the UNLV Girls in Ubiquitous Computing and Intelligence (GUCI) competition taught me how to tackle real-world problems with engineering solutions. I’m super excited about my future, especially my goal to create an app that helps people with speech challenges and brain injuries communicate better. I want to develop a Picture Communication System app that makes it easy for users to express themselves using visual aids. I’m on the lookout for mentors and opportunities within the tech community to help bring this vision to life. Outside of school, I volunteer as a board member for the Youth Neighborhood Association Partnership Program (YNAPP) and with Hero and Hearts, which fuels my passion for creating technology that empowers others. Being a part of The National Society of High School Scholars inspires me to keep pushing forward, and I can’t wait to see where my journey in tech takes me!