By Kelsie Teves
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On Dec. 1, 14 selected MHS students competed against 50 to 60 other high school students from across the Pacific Region in the 2012 Pacific Symposium of Science and Sustainability at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Out of these 14 students, Juniors Glenn Galvizo Jr., April-Joy McCann and Viola Mocz were chosen from the competition as three out of the top 12 semifinalists for their experimental research papers. These three, if they won a spot in the top five finalists, have the opportunity to compete in the 51st National Junior Science and Humanities Symposium in May.
“It’s really great that MHS is getting better and that weíre representing. It’s great that public schools are doing really well,” explained Mocz, who has been in the symposium for the past three years.
In order to become a semifinalist, 20-page research papers were written by the students involved in the symposium. These papers were sent to the Hawaii Academy of Science and from there were narrowed down to the best 12 entries written. The rest of the students who did not qualify but whose papers were reviewed will represent their work in a concurrent session competing for the Best Speaker Award. “It’s not about the competition but rather sharing your own science experiment so it can be peer reviewed and so you can become a better scientist yourself and become a better critical thinker,” expressed Mocz.
The symposium, to some students, is looked at as an opportunity to innovate ways to help people more than it is a competition. With this intention, Galvizo thought of a way to help the blind by creating a sensor stick. “One day back in sophomore year (my thought) was, ‘What am I going to do to help people? Or what will I do for science fair?’ So I thought lets help people,”explained Galvizo. Others, like Mocz and McCann are motivated by desire to discover revolutionary things. Mocz developed a new particle model to calculate the mass range to those of elementary particles, while McCann used algae to make fuel and compared it to other commercial sources for biodiesel.
Unlike a science fair where there are usually display boards, the symposium is different in that the students must create a PowerPoint and orally present their work to an audience. “This is another outlet similar to science fair where I can speak with experts about science projects, receive feedback and share my experience with others. Although it’s different from science fair, this is more similar to a seminar rather than having just a board by you,” stated Mocz.
Over the past four years, participation in the symposium has grown at MHS. Not only are students becoming more aware of the competition through the bulletin and field trips, but through word of mouth by the students who have come to value the importance of the symposium. “The majority of (students who competed this year) are returnees. With these guys, once they go they come back because they know the value of it,” explained MHS symposium coordinator Nel Venzon.
The symposium has not only made a major impact upon individuals but the MHS Science Department as well. “It really helps us in the STEM field which is: science, technology, engineering, and math. In my opinion, I believe that is a really important aspect for school since that general field furthers humanity,” explained Galvizo.
Having students accomplish great things through this competition, MHS hopes to have more students get involved with the opportunities it offers in the following years.
