By Sam Funk
DODEA-Europe School News
From April 26th to the 30th in San Diego, California, hundreds of students arrived at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS) National Competition to present their hard work and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) research projects. Stuttgart High School (Germany) was proud to see two students advance to nationals: Rachael Dickenson (SHS ’18) and Jimmy Lynch (SHS ’17) were both selected to attend the JSHS National Competition due to their placements in JSHS Europe, second and fourth place respectively. Hours of work went into their projects. Not a moment of effort was wasted because whether the students experienced failure or success, they learned from the process and will only become stronger and more intelligent.
Dickenson was chosen to participate as an oral presenter; she delivered a twelve-minute presentation on her project entitled: The Evolution of an Invasive Species: Solidago candensis in Europe and the Americas: A comparison using ribosomal ITS and 5S-NTS DNA. Lynch was selected to attend as a poster presenter where he provided a three-minute presentation about his project called: Towards a Sustainable Oxygen Supply for Martian Colonies: Design and Testing of an Oxygen Producing Solar Panel Bioreactor for Spirulina Algae. Both students were extremely excited to participate in the event, especially Lynch, as this was his final opportunity to take part in JSHS.
Dickenson was awarded second place at the JSHS National Competition and in turn received an $8,000 scholarship. Her placement proves that hard work always ends with a sufficient and justified reward. When asked about her experience she states: “JSHS was a great experience that allowed me to discuss my research project with other like-minded students as well as learn more about STEM-oriented careers. I received great feedback from judges who are professionals in STEM fields as well as attended seminars about their experiences and current cutting-edge technology they work to develop on a daily basis.”
