Socorro ISD Students Garner Top Honors at Sun Country Regional Science Fair

The annual contest had some 650 participants presenting more than 500 projects in categories such as microbiology, behavioral and social sciences, mathematics, systems software and more.

SISD students in 58 teams garnered top honors earning first, second and third place in their projects. The students are now headed to the Texas Science and Engineering Fair where they will present their findings and work on March 23-24.

SISD also won nine sweepstakes awards (seven individual and two teams) which automatically qualified the students to compete at the 2018 International Science and Engineering Fair May 13 –18 in Pittsburgh.

In addition, students took home 18 special awards such as Broadcom, the Naval Science Award Sr. and the Stockholm Junior Water Prize.

“I am very proud of our students,” said Stephanie Carrasco, advanced academics coordinator. “The quality of their work is outstanding and I hear from other districts that they are impressed with our students and they want to know how we get there.”

This year, SISD had the highest number of students and projects (152) in the event overall. The regional contest was the culmination of long hours of research, group work and independent study that began since September.

Ilana Romero and Yanet Meshirer, sophomores at Mission Early College High School, researched statin drugs and the effect they have on people’s memory.

“I’m so happy to be here because we worked really hard to prepare for this event,” Meshirer said. “We came prepared and we know all the information. We’re excited for people to approach us.”

Team SISD consistently promotes science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the classroom for future readiness, Carrasco said.

“Our learners need problem solving skills, they need tenacity and they need to learn how to research” Carrasco said. “We practice these skills in science but we know that these are abilities they will use throughout their life.”

Sweepstakes Awards
Annai Cuvelier Alexa Hernandez Jenny Cha	El Dorado High School	1st place	Engineering	Robotics and intelligent machines
Samuel Fierro	Col. John O. Ensor MS	2nd place	Physical Sciences	Materials science
Sarahi Bracamontes	Mission Early College HS	2nd place	Physical Sciences	Energy: chemical
Derek Hernandez	Mission Early College HS	2nd place	Engineering	Mathematics
John Legaspi	John Drugan School	3rd place	Life Sciences	Cellular and molecular biology
Demetreal Green	John Drugan School	3rd place	Physical Sciences	Chemistry
Alyssa Soto	John Drugan School	1st place	Engineering	Systems software
Ilana Romero Yanet Meshirer	Mission Early College HS	2nd place	Life Sciences	Translational medical science
Hannah Romero	Mission Early College HS	2nd place	Engineering	Environmental engineering

 

Special Awards
Caitlyn Pena	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Behavioral and Social Sciences	The Power of Braille that the Sighted Will Never Know
Mylene Salazar	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Biochemistry	A Better Substitute Refreshment for People with Chronic Kidney Disease
John Legaspi	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Cellular and Molecular Biology	keeping yeast cells under uv light, alive
Demetreal Green	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Chemistry	Alkaline….A New Way to Dine
Celine Orozco	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics	Oil Spill Remedies
Jayden Arellano	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Embedded Systems	Parabola on the Wall, Who’s the Strongest of Them All?
Samuel Fierro	Col. John O. Ensor MS	Broadcom	Materials Science	ECOnest
Riddhi Patel	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Mathematics	Tennis Ball Extravaganza
Alyssa Soto	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Systems Software	Phishing Has The Bait to Reel You In
Ariana Hernandez	John Drugan School	Broadcom	Translational Medical Science	Growing With “Care”: Can Beta-Carotene be a Preventative Treatment?
Madison Poppe Vanessa Pacheco	El Dorado High School	Mu Alpha Theta	Mathematics	Get Diffracted
Trinity Erales Iliana Sapien	El Dorado High School	National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	Biochemistry	Survival of Bioluminescent Algae in a Challenged Environment
John Legaspi	John Drugan School	Naval Science Award Jr	Cellular and Molecular Biology	keeping yeast cells under uv light, alive
Isaiah Mitchell	Montwood High School	Naval Science Award Sr	Embedded Systems	deLIGHTed
Abraham Martinez	Americas High School	Naval Science Award Sr	Energy: Physical	Facing the uncertain; Solutions confronting natural disasters
Christopher Nunez	Montwood High School	Naval Science Award Sr	Systems Software	Blind Trust = Real Threat
Sarahi Bracamontes	Mission Early College HS	Ricoh	Energy: Chemical	Comparing Energy Storing in Organic Material
Hector Olave	Americas High School	Stockholm Junior Water Prize	Chemistry	Water to Fuel to Water

Sun Country Winners
Megan Mack	Americas High School	2	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Abraham Martinez	Americas High School	2	Energy: Physical
Gustavo Ramirez	Americas High School	1	Biomedical Engineering
Alondra Sanchez Alexia Vazquez	Americas High School	1	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Ryan Olivas	Col. John O. Ensor MS	3	Materials Science
Samuel Fierro	Col. John O. Ensor MS	1	Materials Science
Gabriela Fernandez	Desert Wind School MS	2	Biomedical and Health Sciences
Daisy Villalobos	Eastlake High School	3	Animal Sciences
Darien Booth	Eastlake High School	2	Physics And Astronomy
Trinity Erales Iliana Sapien	El Dorado High School	2	Biochemistry
Mariana Ortega Dina Orozco	El Dorado High School	2	Environmental Engineering
Riley Miner	El Dorado High School	2	Materials Science
Madison Poppe Vanessa Pacheco	El Dorado High School	2	Mathematics
Annai Cuvelier Alexa Hernandez Jenny Cha	El Dorado High School	1	Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Aiden Berrios	John Drugan School	3	Animal Sciences
Juliana Boone	John Drugan School	3	Biomedical Engineering
Jayla Kaminski	John Drugan School	3	Cellular and Molecular Biology
Aaron Saucedo	John Drugan School	3	Energy: Physical
Zven Chavez	John Drugan School	3	Mathematics
Felix Anoveros	John Drugan School	3	Plant Sciences
William Jin	John Drugan School	3	Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Alan Martinez	John Drugan School	3	Systems Software
Sofia Navarro	John Drugan School	2	Animal Sciences
Gabriel Ramirez	John Drugan School	2	Biomedical Engineering
Margaret Muller	John Drugan School	2	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Matthew Hassoun	John Drugan School	2	Embedded Systems
James McDonald	John Drugan School	2	Energy: Physical
Noah Franco	John Drugan School	2	Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Sophia Gomez	John Drugan School	2	Systems Software
Caitlyn Pena	John Drugan School	1	Behavioral and Social Sciences
Mylene Salazar	John Drugan School	1	Biochemistry
John Legaspi	John Drugan School	1	Cellular and Molecular Biology
Demetreal Green	John Drugan School	1	Chemistry
Celine Orozco	John Drugan School	1	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Jayden Arellano	John Drugan School	1	Embedded Systems
Riddhi Patel	John Drugan School	1	Mathematics
Alyssa Soto	John Drugan School	1	Systems Software
Ariana Hernandez	John Drugan School	1	Translational Medical Science
Cryssanti Nwihim	Mission Early College HS	3	Biomedical and Health Sciences
Jonathan Stoddart Fabian Sanchez	Mission Early College HS	3	Chemistry
Emma Carrillo Aimee Cuvelier	Mission Early College HS	3	Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
Andres Carrillo	Mission Early College HS	3	Mathematics
Wonderful Oyebami	Mission Early College HS	3	Plant Sciences
Ruben Reyes	Mission Early College HS	2	Biomedical Engineering
Sarahi Bracamontes	Mission Early College HS	1	Energy: Chemical
Hannah Romero	Mission Early College HS	1	Environmental Engineering
Derek Hernandez	Mission Early College HS	1	Mathematics
Hector Mcdonald	Mission Early College HS	1	Physics and Astronomy
Ilana Romero Yanet Meshirer	Mission Early College HS	1	Translational Medical Science
Isaiah Mitchell	Montwood High School	3	Embedded Systems
Wendy Sandoval Rachel Salcido	Montwood High School	2	Robotics and Intelligent Machines
Eric Medina	Montwood Middle School	2	Energy: Chemical
Matthew Mendoza Michael Dominguez	Montwood Middle School	2	Engineering Mechanics
Graciela Gutierrez Steven Ramirez Jorge Alvidrez	Pebble Hills High School	3	Biochemistry
Juliahna Hayes Brianna Contreras Osman Guevara	Pebble Hills High School	2	Cellular and Molecular Biology
Juan Mata	Socorro High School	1	Microbiology
Isaiah Villarreal	SPC. Rafael Hernando III MS	2	Cellular and Molecular Biology
Loriann Kaudaissy	SSG Manuel Puentes	3	Earth and Environmental Sciences