Socorro Independent School District students won top honors in their research projects at the Sun Country Regional Science and Engineering Fair at Pebble Hills High School.
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 |
