Elena Klopfenstein

Living in an extremely rural area as an indigenous person had taught me to be scrappy when it came to academic opportunities, but without the Fellowship I would not have been exposed to new worlds of possibilities. I know that connections I have built, the skills I have gained, and the confidence I have developed as a Fellow will serve me throughout not only my college career but life. I have always wanted to make an impact with my passion for STEM, but did not know where to start. The Fellowship does an excellent job of showing you role models and giving opportunities for you to share your works and knowledge. Thank you for showing me that a career in STEM can go in so many different directions!!!! The only limit is your creativity!

Elena Klopfenstein is a high school student and incoming undergraduate at Stanford University from the Navajo Nation reservation in Arizona, passionate about robotics and uplifting her community. She founded Rezbotics, an organization dedicated to bringing robotics and STEM education to indigenous youth. She has formed over 20 robotics teams on the reservation and organized the first ever all-indigenous FIRST Robotics tournament, uniting over 150 students. This year, one of her teams reached the world championships, while her own team received the Impact Award at the FIRST Robotics World Championship!

In addition to her work in robotics, Elena is a strong advocate for STEM policy. She played a key role in passing the CHIPS Act, organized the Arizona Advocacy Conference, and traveled to the Pentagon to promote STEM opportunities for indigenous youth. Outside of STEM, Elena has a deep love for nature and serves as a cultural specialist with the Grand Canyon Trust, where she leads environmental education trips and addresses issues impacting the Colorado Plateau. Read on to learn more about Elena’s inspiring journey, her dedication to her community, and her aspirations in STEM!

Meet Elena!

How did you initially become interested in STEM, and what subjects are you most interested in?

Honestly, it took me a while to believe I could actually pursue STEM. My journey really started when I was a freshman in high school, though it was kind of by accident! I ended up in a physics class completely by a scheduling mistake—I actually planned to change classes afterward. But then my teacher walked in wearing a cloak and holding a lightsaber, and I thought, "Okay, I guess I’m here to stay!" She made the class so engaging, and her enthusiasm drew me in. Eventually, she even invited me to join the robotics team, which opened up a whole new world of STEM for me.

I’m particularly interested in physics and chemistry—those are definitely my favorite subjects. In college, I plan to major in chemical engineering. I love how both physics and chemistry involve hands-on applications, especially in areas like fluid mechanics and thermodynamics. There’s something so exciting about making tangible things happen with these subjects.

What extracurricular activities are you involved in?

Robotics is definitely my favorite extracurricular. I love that I get to build things and make robots, but there’s more to it than just that. I live on the Navajo Reservation, where kids don’t usually have opportunities to engage with STEM. I didn’t get the chance myself until high school, so I wanted to change that for others.

I founded an organization called "Rezbotics" bring robotics directly to the Navajo Reservation. We've started over 20 robotics teams here, and rganized the first-ever all-indigenous FIRST Robotics tournament, which brought together over 150 students from the reservation. This year, we had a team that made it to the world championships, which was amazing, and my team won the Impact Award at the FIRST Robotics World Championship! We also advocated to have the Navajo Nation officially recognized as a region within FIRST Robotics. This ensures that from now on, there will always a Navajo team represented at the FIRST World Championship.

I envision a future where every kid, no matter where they come from, has access to STEM opportunities. Beyond Rezbotics, I’m also deeply passionate about STEM policy because I believe it’s a powerful way to make a lasting impact.

Can you tell us more about your STEM Policy work?

I’m passionate about making an impact through outreach, and I realized early on that advocacy is a powerful way to do that. I attended the National Advocacy Conference in Washington, DC, where I spoke with senators and legislators about STEM policy. It was an amazing experience—I even got to contribute to the passing of the CHIPS Act and advocate for fully funding the Every Student Succeeds Act.

At the conference, I noticed Arizona had only three delegates, limiting our impact compared to states with larger representation. To address this, I founded the Arizona Advocacy Conference in Phoenix, gathering ten teams to speak with eighteen legislators and even demo robots on the Capitol lawn. Representative Cook allocated $30,000 to support our efforts, which was amazing.

This year, I was invited to the Pentagon to advocate for dedicating at least 1% of the Department of Defense budget to STEM programs. It’s been an incredible journey, and I’m excited to see where it goes!

What do you enjoy doing outside of school?

I absolutely love outdoor activities, especially rock climbing, hiking, and camping with friends and family—those are the highlights of my summers and weekends during the school year. I work with the Grand Canyon Trust as a river trip peer mentor and cultural specialist, which has been an amazing experience. I help guide cultural and science trips, and it’s a great opportunity to connect with both kids and adults, share stories, and work on environmental issues impacting the Colorado Plateau, like uranium mining. Through the Grand Canyon Trust, I’ve even helped organize protests on these issues, which has been incredibly rewarding.

Summer Experience

What was your favorite part of the fellowship?

My favorite part was definitely the fireside chats. It was so inspiring to learn from and speak with mentors who were a bit older than me with real-world experience, especially in areas I’m interested in. I’m considering a law degree or maybe an MBA after earning my engineering degree, so it was amazing to see how people have applied their STEM backgrounds to fields like business or research. Hearing from successful people opened my eyes to so many possibilities I hadn’t thought of before.

One of the mentors, Cierra, really stood out to me. She owns her own instant noodle restaurant in New York City, which I thought was really cool. I admired her entrepreneurial spirit and the passion she put into her graphic designs, and it was fascinating to hear about the challenges she faced and how she overcame them. I just thought she was really cool and inspiring.

What was the most valuable skill or lesson you learned from the summer?

Learning Figma, the graphic design platform, was definitely the most valuable skill! I’ve already used it a lot at school, especially for robotics. It’s been amazing to apply what I learned in a tangible way. For example, I created our new RezBotics logo and helped design our team’s new logo. Every year, our robotics team has a themed game, and we like to put a fun image on the back of our T-shirts to match it—last year’s theme was music, so I designed a singing squirrel! This year, I've been using Figma to work on the design. We’re also working on a unique fundraiser, involving flamingos, and Figma has been great for designing materials for it. It’s been so much fun exploring the creative possibilities!

What advice would you give to future fellows?

My biggest advice is to really take all the lessons you learn to heart, and to continue applying the things you learn even after the program. Everyone is there to help you, and the fellowship provides you with a ton of resources to be successful, so make the most of it. Do as many activities as you can, focus on what interests you, and remember—you’ll get as much out of it as you put in.

The fellowship also made me feel recognized in a way I hadn’t expected. I applied thinking I wouldn’t get in, so being accepted was a really nice shock. It was amazing to have the opportunity to hear from so many accomplished mentors in STEM— seeing their passion, and learning about the diverse paths they took was incredibly inspiring. It was also really inspiring and motivating to hear the challenges they went through as well, and how everyone was able to persevere despite setbacks.

Future Aspirations

What are your career aspirations?

I’m passionate about pursuing chemical engineering because I’m fascinated by the chemical processes that shape everyday life. I’m especially interested in areas like sustainability and water sanitation, where I think chemical engineering can make a real difference. More than just studying these fields, I want to use my knowledge and experience to help people, particularly in tribal reservations and underserved communities.

I’m also considering the possibility of getting a law degree, an MBA, or even starting my own company. One of my big dreams is to become the CEO of an indigenous engineering firm. The fellowship really helped me think deeply about my future and what I truly want to achieve. It pushed me to reflect on my current interests and start shaping a clear path toward my goals.

What have you been up to since the fellowship?

I’ve been really busy with Rezbotics, especially with the new FIRST Tech Challenge season starting. We’ve had a steady increase in teams, so I’m helping with emails, calls, and supporting teams with coding, building, and registration.

Aside from Rezbotics, I’ve been working on a project to address sustainability and water sanitation issues in my community. Due to uncleaned uranium mines, it’s unsafe to drink the local water here. I have to make a three-hour trip to Flagstaff just for safe drinking water. I learned about hydro panels, which use solar energy to capture water vapor and produce fresh water. I presented the science, economics, and benefits of hydropanels to my chapter house, and now, we’ve been working to implement them locally. I’m excited about the impact it will have!