Charlie Kephart

Success. Students pose at Saint Francis University after their regional competition. Several students placed and were recognized with cash prizes and certificates. (Courtesy of David Borst)

On Feb. 8, students from the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) club traveled to Saint Francis University to compete in the Region 6 meeting. 

The following students won first place, advancing them to states in May: Seniors Hannah Jack, Andrea Slusser, Rachel Kennedy, juniors Melissa Krainer, Caleb Terza, Aly Sipes, Camille Krug, sophomores Lana Luke, Jacob Matosziuk and freshman Diego Gil. 

“For the awards, you get a first award, second award or third award, meaning multiple people can get the first award,” Jack said. “I was really happy to earn first place and get to go onto states. The turnaround for my project was quick, so the fact that the judges liked it was pretty gratifying. I am just really looking forward to going to states and being at Penn State University.” 

“It felt really good to win first place as a sophomore,” Luke said. “This is my second year doing PJAS and even though I didn’t feel as good about my project as I did last year, I think it had some really good points and I am glad to have gotten first.”

Seniors Josh Lang and Rosemary Wei, as well as junior Reyna Ospina received second place awards. Lang was awarded the four year perseverance award for $25, as well. 

“It is always fun getting to make the presentation, but presenting it is pretty nerve-wracking,” Lang said. “Overall, I feel really good about my presentation for my senior year.”

Slusser received the Micky Maholtz award for excellence in physics, earning $50, as well as the four year perseverance award, which was $25. 

“It was such an honor to win the Micky Maholtz award,” Slusser said. “He was described as an amazing physicist and a large supporter of PJAS, and I am truly grateful to be recognized for my efforts in his memory.”

Slusser is grateful for the awards she won, and hopeful for the rest of her senior year. 

“I have dedicated a lot of my time to my PJAS projects and I am glad that it was also recognized in winning a perseverance award,” Slusser said. “My club means so much to me and I am happy to work hard to represent it well. Winning first place really means a lot to me, especially considering the incredibly supportive feedback that I received from the judges. I am glad they appreciated my project and the time that went into creating it.”

Slusser was chosen and will be representing Region 5 at the Pennsylvania Academy of Science Professional Conference during the spring. 

“I am really excited to be representing my region at the 100th Pennsylvania Academy of Science Professional Conference,” Slusser said. “I hope that my presentation will demonstrate my appreciation of my PJAS club and the opportunities it has given me. The scientific community is a wonderful group and I am determined to learn and form beneficial relationships with them.” 

Krug and Gil both received perfect scores, earning them $50 each. It was Krug and Gil’s first time competing. 

“It felt really good to get a perfect score my first year competing,” Gil said. “The night before I was really trying to prepare and I didn’t feel like I was doing too well. But, I got a good night’s sleep and I think I did really well.”

“It was really surprising to receive that, because I was not expecting to get a perfect score,” Krug said. “They announced that I won and I was very happy about that. Then, they announced I had a perfect score and I was ecstatic about that because I was not expecting it at all. I exceeded my expectations.”

Krainer was awarded an $8000 scholarship to Saint Francis, as well as a Judges Excellence award for $50. 

“After we competed on Saturday, I got to go to the scholarship interview and was able to talk to the Dean of STEAM at Saint Francis as well as two other teachers, “ Krainer said. “It was a great experience to get to talk to them. They shared my passion for science, and it was really nice to talk to a like minded individual.”

The 10 students advancing to states will compete in May at Penn State University.