Ten students represented Monroe County at the recent State Science and Engineering Fair in Lakeland. All seven projects won awards at the state level.
In the senior division, Violet Matthews of Coral Shores High School, won Outstanding Project. Teagan Eriksen of Coral Shores won the Regional Water Prize. Coral Shores students Gabby Thomas and Rachel Rusch won special recognition.
In the junior division, Taylor Thomason of Sugarloaf School won first in the state and the ThermoFisher nomination in the Earth and Environmental Sciences category. Ainsley Golden and Mikaela Aguirre — the first team ever to compete from Ocean Studies Charter School — won third in the state in the Environmental Engineering category.
Collin Palomino of Sugarloaf won the Thomas Edison Award and Outstanding Project. Charlie Smith and Jacobo Gutierrez of Treasure Village Montessori won special recognition. Winners were joined by Monroe County School District STEM coordinator Donna Tedesco and Sugarloaf School teacher Alena Ellerbee.
