Allendale County senior Joronwanna Elmore earns state STEM Signing Day honor

Allendale-Fairfax High School senior Joronwanna Elmore will carry Allendale County onto a statewide stage when she is honored at the 2026 South Carolina STEM Signing Day on April 29 in Columbia. Allendale County Schools said Elmore was selected from hundreds of students across South Carolina, a distinction that puts one local senior among the state’s next generation of science, technology, engineering and math students.

The recognition is set for the University of South Carolina Alumni Center and will include lunch on the South Carolina State House grounds, along with a special visit with members of the House and Senate. For Elmore, the honor marks a public step toward a future in STEM, and for Allendale County Schools it adds a rare academic spotlight that reaches well beyond the county line.

STEM Signing Day has grown into a major annual event in South Carolina. SC Future Makers said 75 high school seniors were honored at the 9th annual ceremony in 2025, also held at the University of South Carolina Alumni Center, with recognition from Governor Henry McMaster, the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate. The program itself began in 2017 and has now expanded beyond South Carolina, with Boeing South Carolina saying the event has grown to 14 states and recognized more than 2,000 students nationwide. In South Carolina alone, more than 700 students have taken part.

The 2025 event also showed how the ceremony has become a pipeline between schools, industry and public leaders. That year’s program was hosted by Boeing in partnership with BMW Manufacturing Co., Michelin North America, Nucor Corporation, SC Future Makers and the South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance, and SC Future Makers awarded $12,000 in scholarships to five participating students.

Elmore’s selection arrives as Allendale County Schools is also promoting a College and Career Fair at Allendale-Fairfax High School, underscoring the district’s push to connect students with postsecondary options. For a small rural system, the honor carries more than personal significance. It gives younger students a local example of a pathway into a high-demand field and shows that Allendale County students can compete for recognition on a statewide stage that is closely tied to South Carolina’s workforce future.