All Five Honors Scientific Research Students Selected for Competition
All five students enrolled in Worthington Christian’s Honors Scientific Research Class were among 98 students/student groups from around Ohio whose STEM research project submissions were selected for the Ohio Academy of Science 2024 STEP Competition.
Of the five students selected, Anjali Paul, Ava Lammers, and Trina So were selected as 2024 Ohio STEP Awardees for their Plan Competition submissions and received scholarships from the Ohio Academy of Science during an award ceremony held at Kent State University’s Design Innovation Hub on April 27.
Trina was awarded an Honorable Mention for her STEM Commercialization Plan, “Allersense, the Environmental Allergen-Sensing Wearable Device.”
Ava was awarded third place for her Summary Plan, “UV-C Sanitation Puck Light.“
Anjali was awarded second place for her Summary Plan, “Hybrid Spinal Cord Stimulator for Chronic Pain Treatment.”
Anjali and Ava were among the eleven students selected to advance to the Pitch Competition. Students gave live pitch presentations promoting their products in front of a panel of three judges and a student audience, much like the pitches presented on ABC’s long-running “Shark Tank” business competition reality series.
Ohio STEP (Science, Technology, Entrepreneurship Program) is a STEM innovation and entrepreneurship program of the Ohio Academy of Science (OAS). The experiential and project-based curriculum is designed to develop problem-solving, critical thinking, technical writing, collaboration, and high-tech skills and promote innovative and entrepreneurial mindsets to inspire student interest in STEM careers. Student projects involve identifying a problem or need in society, generating a well-thought-out STEM product or service solution, and conducting STEM and market research to assess the feasibility and viability of their prototypes. The competition incentivizes high school students with the chance to win state-wide recognition and scholarships for post-secondary education.
The independent research project component of the Honors Scientific Research course taught by Ms. Hartman is designed to align with the Ohio STEP program. Students complete their projects over the second and third quarters of the school year. While each student is required to complete an individual project, collaboration is fostered through an iterative process of presenting and reviewing work as a class at each project stage. This approach enables students to further refine and improve their products based on team feedback and encourages a cohesive, creative environment.
Grant Carter, Isabelle Jarvis, Ava Lammers, Anjali Paul, and Trina So will give their live pitch presentations “Shark Tank” style to their families and WC community on Thursday, May 16, from 5:30 to 6:30 PM in the Media Center of the Upper School. In addition to supporting these students’ hard work, it is a great way for those who may be interested in the class to learn more—it’s not too late to register for next year!
Pictured Top Left: Anjali Paul with Mike Woytek, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science.
Pictured Top Right: Ava Lammers with Mike Woytek, CEO of the Ohio Academy of Science
Pictured Bottom, Left to Right: Ms. Hartman, Ava Lammers, Anjali Paul, Trina So, Isabelle Jarvis