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San Carlos High School students participate in state science fair at Phoenix Convention Center

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Pictured (l-r): Caleb Seletstewa, Edward Lara, Laurina Pina and Aneisha Reede.

Lara/Seletstewa team awarded second place in senior division

Four students from San Carlos High School joined more than 1,000 students from across the state of Arizona to compete in the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair April 4-5 at the Phoenix Convention Center.

The students made up two separate teams: The first team was Edward Lara and Caleb Seletstewa, and the second team was Laurina Pina and Aneisha Reede.

The Lara-Seletstewa team placed second in the senior division with their entry, “Utilization of Coleus (Plectranthus scutellarioides) Anthocyanin Extract as pH Indicator.” The Pina-Reede team, both ninth-graders, did not place but they had a strong showing with their entry, “Igáyè (Yucca) Root Extract: Foaming and Hair Strength Capacity.”

It has been a journey for the two teams. The high school entered the competition with the two science projects and they both placed first in the 2019 Gila County Science Fair March 7 and they both advanced to the state science fair.

According to Jeniffer Madrid, physics and science research teacher at San Carlos High School, the state science fair included 20 categories, 300-plus judges and more than 700 project entries but only 146 students earned first, second and third places. Madrid also mentioned that only 15 projects advanced to the International Science and Engineering Fair scheduled May 14-15.

The highly competitive two-day event, managed by the Arizona Science Center, brings together the first-place winners from regional science fairs from across the state to compete for prizes. Prizes included educational scholarships, cash, summer internships, scientific field trips and equipment grants.

The mission of the science fair is to support and provide guidance to students and teachers throughout Arizona to ensure the continued availability and vitality of this statewide celebration of scientific inquiry.

The science fair was certainly an experience for the students.

“I feel so much fatigue and anxiety, and yet I am dead-set on competing again next year,” said Pina. “I will never forget my pride and joy seeing Edward and Caleb win. I’ll never forget getting interviewed by three judges. Responding [to the judges’] questions felt like endless hours of squeezing my hippocampus for everything I learned in science research.”

The faculty sponsors were Dr. Navdeep Rajput, qualified scientist and supervisor, and Jeniffer Madrid, research teacher and adult sponsor. This was the sponsors’ first year overseeing the science fair participants and their competitions.

Both Rajput and Madrid were also selected to serve as grand awards judges at the upcoming Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in May. Dr. Rajput will judge chemistry and Madrid will judge physics.

Rajput has 20 years of experience researching and teaching chemistry with expertise in the field of lanthanides and actinides, microwave sintering of ceramics, spectroscopic techniques and all the latest analytical techniques.

Madrid is a seasoned physics teacher with many years teaching allied science subjects, such as comprehensive statistical research, robotics, biomedical and health sciences under Project Lead Way (PLTW), a targeted pre-medical course for Baltimore City Public Schools.

Madrid said one of her goals was to establish science research as a subject in the high school curriculum.

“I am proud to have achieved my goal, this was a dream two years in the making,” she said. “I have been hesitant thinking that students may not be ready [or] mature enough, not to mention the availability [of] materials. In joining the fair, our initial actual goal was participation, and exposure was the only actual goal.”

The sponsors said they are even more determined and motivated to participate in next year’s science fair. Rajput said she is looking forward to involving more students in research endeavors and to help embed a scientific attitude and drive to excel.

“I want students to develop a mindset toward academic awards, merits and scholarships through curriculum programs and science research summer programs,” she said.

Organizers of the state science fair congratulated participants with a post on their social media page, “Congratulations to every student who competed in 2019 AzSEF, you are truly Arizona’s brightest young minds and we can’t wait to see what the future has in store for you all!”