Students receive science awards

PITTSBURGH — Freeport High School, Freeport Middle School and St. Kilian Parish School were represented among the winners at the Carnegie Science Center’s 78th annual Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair. More than 1,000 students representing schools throughout the region competed.

In the Junior Division, Jesse Hilko of Freeport Middle School received a Carnegie Science Award, which recognizes achievement in innovation, education and entrepreneurship. His project was “Does the Amount of Carbon in Steel Affect the Strength of a Magnet?”

The following students were 2017 Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair First Place Category Award winners:

Junior (grade six): in biological sciences, John O’Toole of St. Kilian Parish School and in physical sciences and engineering, Jesse Hilko of Freeport Middle School

Intermediate (grades seven and eight): in medicine/health/microbiology, Maggie Hollobaugh of Freeport Middle School

Senior (grades nine to 12): in engineering/robotics, Isabelle Lindsay of Freeport High School and in physics, Alex Kladny of Freeport High School

The Covestro Pittsburgh Regional Science & Engineering Fair is one of the oldest and largest science fairs in the nation. Awards totaled $1 million in cash and scholarships.

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KENT, Ohio — Latisha Ellison of Butler, a public relations student in the Kent State School of Journalism and Communication was named the 2017 Public Relations Society of America Cleveland Student of the Year.

The award is given to one outstanding public relations student annually by PRSA chapters. With the award, Ellison earned a scholarship and the opportunity to interview for a potential internship with four different organizations.

Kent State School of Journalism and Communication faculty, staff and students noted her leadership skills, can-do attitude and contagious positive energy.

Ellison is a junior at Kent State and a graduate of Butler High School.

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MARS — Natalie Sobel, a sophomore at Mars High School, competed in the United States Figure Skating Academy High School National Final in Dearborn, Mich.

She earned first place in both the Senior Field Moves to Music and Gold Quickstep Dance events.

Natalie’s team, a group of 13 skaters representing eight high schools in southwestern Pennsylvania, took first place overall.

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GREENSBURG — Jennifer Miller was inducted into Phi Eta Sigma National Honor Society at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg.

She is a biochemistry major and 2016 Butler High School graduate.

Phi Eta Sigma is the oldest and largest honor society for first-year college students. It encourages and rewards academic excellence.

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SLIPPERY ROCK — The Society of Professional Journalists recognized The Rocket, the student newspaper of Slippery Rock University, with 2016 Mark of Excellence Awards in region four. The region includes Michigan, Ohio, West Virginia and Western Pennsylvania.

The Rocket was the winner for Feature Photography, Sports Photography and Breaking News Reporting.

The Rocket was a finalist in Breaking News Photography and Best Affiliated Website.

Slippery Rock competed in the group of schools with fewer than 10,000 students.

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MARS — Sophia Arbani, Christa Sauers, Nichole Sommers and Rachel Wawrzynski, juniors at Mars High School, recently participated in the 2017 Muskingum University Biology Scholars Program in Ohio.

They were nominated for the program for their outstanding promise and interest in biology and biomedicine. They were among 13 students from high schools in Ohio and Pennsylvania selected for the program.

The program offered real world experience by conducting a collegiate-level research study, “The Effect of Exercise Drinks on Cardiac Physiology.”

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NATRONA HEIGHTS — Beatrix Stickney, a freshman at St. Joseph High School, recently competed in a forensics competition at North Allegheny High School.

She finished four rounds of speeches and won three first-place awards and one second-place award. Her performance earned her a second-place trophy at the Annual Freshman-Sophomore Speech Contest.

Beatrix is the daughter of Scott and Allison Kliber-Stickney of Butler. She attends Holy Sepulcher Parish.

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JACKSON TWP — Seneca Valley High School seniors Jordan Bender and Urvi Gupta and juniors Alex Garcia and Brandon Garzez, placed second in the recent Westminster High School Programming Contest.

The competition allows students to demonstrate their programming abilities in a competitive environment. This year 18 regional high school teams competed.

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