Two Summit Students Achieve Finalist Standing at Science Fair

Rockwood Summit High School seniors Madeline Driver and Fowzia Osman have achieved finalist standing in the Academy of Science St. Louis Science Fair.

Teacher Tracie Summerville said her students have worked hard to prepare for the science fair. 

“At Rockwood Summit, students spend more than two years preparing, researching, experimenting, analyzing, writing and preparing for presentations in our Authentic Science Research class.  It's a lot of work, but worth the effort,” said Summerville.  “It’s exciting for Madeline and Fowzia to be recognized for their research.”

Madeline's project was titled, "The Physical and Psychological Benefits on Individuals with Physical-Affecting Disabilities Using Equine-Assisted Therapy."  At the conclusion of her research, she said she was surprised by the amount of data she had to collect for the project.  "Since I had no previous statistical knowledge, I had to get a lot of help to figure it all out,” Madeline said.  "I plan to continue my studies by majoring in occupational therapy at Missouri State University.  My dream is to work with disabled children."

Fowzia's project, "The Role of cis-Regulatory Elements in Immunoglobulin Kappa Transcription and Recombination," focused on a mutation that causes cancer.  "The most surprising piece of information I learned through my research is that although the immune system is necessary to protect the body against harmful organisms, there is an extremely low chance that there could be a specific error in the process that can create a mutation that causes cancer," Fowzia said. 

While she hasn’t decided where she would like to study, she plans to major in chemistry or biology and eventually pursue a doctoral degree. 

In recognition of their achievements, the students each received received a $1,000 scholarship.