Three Middletown Area High School students took top honors in the 2023 Capital Area Science and Engineering Fair (CASEF).
Seniors, Tristan Handley and Ashley Rusnov, placed 1st in the Social and Behavioral Science Category with their project, "The Stress of Junior Year: Is Junior Year of High School Truly the Hardest Year?" They also received three additional awards: the Farzin Charitable Fund of PA Bright Mind Award (outstanding projects in medical and health category); PSEA Award in support of STEM Education; and Senior Scholarship (3-year participants).
Middletown also took top honors in the Life Sciences Category. Rashi Patel, freshman, captured 1st place with her project, "Can Plants Have a Drinking Problem? Effectiveness of Water Hardness on the Growth of Plants." She also received additional honors: The Botany Award; Outstanding Achievement Award, which earned her the opportunity to present her project at a meeting at the Dauphin County Conservation District; and the BioGENEius Award. She was selected to present her project in the state BioGENEius fair.
So if you want to know if junior year of high school is truly the hardest year or if plants can have a drinking problem, simply ask the experts!
Middletown's CASEF advisors are Mr. Trevor Davis and Mrs. Terri O'Neil. Congratulations to the students and teachers for their excellent representation of MASD in this very competitive event!