Tamari Bailey (left) and Dominick Dos Santos (right) returned to the Appalachian STEM Academy in 2026 as near-peer mentors to current high school students.
While most students spend their summers taking a break from classes and homework, a select group travels to Oak Ridge to deepen their STEM knowledge through the Appalachian STEM Academy, or ASA. Since 1990, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) has offered the all-expenses-paid residential enrichment program to students and teachers across Appalachia. Participants with a strong interest in science, technology, engineering and math take part in hands-on learning experiences designed to spark curiosity, encourage innovation and strengthen their passion for STEM. Learn more about ARC’s vision for expanding opportunity in Appalachia through this program in a previous blog post.
In partnership with ORAU, ARC welcomes middle school students, high school students and high school teachers each summer for an immersive educational experience aimed at expanding future academic and career opportunities. The 2026 program, held July 11-24, also marked a first for ASA: Two program alumni returned to serve as mentors for participating students.
Dominick Dos Santos is pictured in the foreground in 2023 when he was a high school participant of the Appalachian STEM Academy.
As part of an intentional effort to strengthen the academy’s STEM pipeline, Tamari Bailey and Dominick Dos Santos, returned as “near-peer” mentors after participating in ASA as high school students in 2023. The pair encouraged students to dive deeper into research and shared lessons from their own experiences since attending the program three years ago. This fall, Bailey will begin his sophomore year at Vanderbilt University on the pre-med track, while Dos Santos will start his freshman year at Harvard University studying developing economics.
“I felt like this academy is where a bunch of my ideas were born,” Dos Santos said, explaining why he wanted to return. “It really unlocked my trajectory, accelerated my capabilities and changed my whole understanding of the world.”
Bailey agreed. “When I got the offer [to come back], I said yes immediately because this program really opened my eyes to the things I’m capable of, and I would love to come back and help catalyze that for the students here.”
Both alumni are from rural Kentucky communities. Bailey is from Richmond, and Dos Santos’ is from Russell. They said those shared experiences helped them connect quickly with the younger students.
“Where we’re from is under-served in terms of scientific, STEM education opportunities,” Dos Santos said. “The amount of momentum you have to generate on your own to find programs like the Appalachian STEM Academy is significant, but opportunities like this can accelerate your trajectory.”
Tamari Bailey is pictured in 2023 working on a circuit board during the Appalachian STEM Academy.
Dos Santos said he related to some of the high schoolers he met. He described the experience as reaching “terminal velocity” at home, only to arrive in Oak Ridge and encounter cutting-edge research and historic scientific achievements that renewed students’ excitement and expanded their expectations for the future.
Bailey said he also encouraged students not to become discouraged if their ASA research group assignments did not align perfectly with their interests. His own experience, he said, prepared him for an unexpected opportunity later. Baily unknowingly benefited from one of the program goals of showing students the multidisciplinary nature of many future careers.
“I applied to this program as someone who is super interested in biology,” Bailey said. “My project here was more related to computer science and engineering with circuit boards and things like that, but I was actually able to use some of that knowledge I gained here when I went back home to an internship doing computational biology.”
Conversations with students often turned to college plans and future goals, and both alumni said they felt they could offer valuable perspective.
“We were talking about what colleges they want to attend, and I told them that when I was their age – just three years ago – I would never have said Harvard,” Dos Santos said. “I was going to be more ‘realistic.’ Where I’m from, you don’t really see kids going to schools like that.”
Bailey shared a similar experience. “If people asked where I wanted to go or where I was applying, I wasn’t going to say Vanderbilt or UCLA or any other places I really wanted to apply,” he said. “Where I’m from, it’s kind of ingrained that local schools are our only option.”
A 2026 Appalachian STEM Academy research group gathers to work on their project with a subject matter expert.
Both alumni said ASA was the first place where they seriously considered applying to prestigious universities. After learning about scholarship opportunities, they decided to pursue those goals.
“I knew I could give them that inside perspective from someone who’s done this before,” Bailey said. “I wanted to show them that there’s not one path to take to achieve your goals.”
Dos Santos said he also wanted students to fully engage in the experience, so he created a challenge to encourage note-taking.
“I noticed that some participants weren’t writing notes, while others were,” he said. “I thought maybe some students wanted to take notes but weren’t in the habit yet. So, I challenged them: Whoever uses the most ink in their pen wins a prize.”
As part of the Appalachian STEM Academy experience, students gain access to labs in unique settings such as at the University of Tennessee and the Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
Reflecting on advice that shaped his own path in high school, Dos Santos shared the same message with students this summer: “Don’t aim for a position. Aim for a purpose.”
Program organizers said they were pleased with the success of the alumni pilot initiative and plan to expand the opportunity next summer to previous ASA participants currently enrolled in college.
ASA serves middle school students, high school students and STEM educators. The program also offers a bridge option for students who complete the middle school program before becoming eligible for the high school experience. Each group follows a specialized track and learns alongside subject matter experts. The free program includes travel, housing, meals, educational experiences – such as access to laboratories at the University of Tennessee and Oak Ridge National Laboratory – and resources including computers that participants can keep.
If you are interested in applying to the Appalachian STEM Academy, visit ARC’s website to sign up to be notified when applications open: Appalachian STEM Academy at Oak Ridge - Appalachian Regional Commission.