Page 13 - CH Spring17 Flipbook

FUNDING SCIENCE LEARNING
Founding members of OSASS, Erika Ravitch, Braden Milford, and Minna Apostolova met with Superintendent of Education, Joy Hofmeister, at the capital to advocate for the continuation of the State Science Fair.
for Statewide Science
BY KATHLEEN HUNT
Oklahoma would be the only state in the nation not to host a statewide science and engineering fair . . . Cascia Hall students refuse to see this happen.
say I have learned more from our Science Research Team in the past few months than they have learned from me as I have watched them develop their projects.”Yet, the exploratory aspect of science and engineering education in Oklahoma could be coming to a close if something is not done soon. Fortunately, Cascia Hall’s science and research team experience has motivated its members to do something about this oncoming tragedy.
Re ecting on their inspiration to create OSASS, Minna Apostolova ’17 explains,“After state science fair last year, my teammates and I learned from our teacher and mentor, Ms. Sally Fenska, that the future of science fairs was in jeopardy. Naturally, we were all stunned to hear that such a crucial and valuable part of our high school experience might be unavailable to us and future students. I began exploring options for addressing that problem. I asked two of my teammates, Braden and Erika, if they were interested in joining me.This is how the Oklahoma Students Advocating for Statewide Science was born.”Apostolova received second
place in her category at the State Science and Engineering Fair, the Oklahoma Junior Academy of Science Delegate Award, the Health Sciences Award, and the American Junior Academy of Science Award. In addition to her numerous awards and scholarships,Apostolova has also been presented with opportunities to publish her work and meet with some of the brightest minds at the forefront of environmental and biological sciences.
Through the student’s effort and the campaign’s GoFundMe page, OSSAS raised $2,695, but they are now shifting gears. Instead of focusing on fundraising at this time, Braden Milford ’19 says that OSASS wants to readjust its agenda in a way that most effectively bene ts Oklahoma students and the potential for the continuation of Oklahoma’s State Science and Engineering Fair.
At State, Milford received second place in his category, the University of Oklahoma Biological Society Field Biology Award, Outstanding Ecology or Biological Sciences Project Award, and the Oklahoma Junior Academy of Science Award and Delegate Award for his project that evaluates the effects of wild re retardants on the environment and the development of bioremediation of damaged stream ecosystems. Milford explains,“We met with State Superintendent of Education Joy Hofmeister and Director of Science Education Dr.Tiffany Neill, and the message was pretty clear from both of them: the state has no money whatsoever.They have both worked tirelessly to keep the program running as long as it has; however, it should be noted that funding was insecure for this program even before the budget cuts. It is only now that they
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