Why is STEM important to YOU? Or who is your STEM hero and why? These were the questions answered by over 100 students in grades 5-12 who entered the Coalition of State Bioscience Institutes (CSBI) STEM Voice Video Competition. The CSBI collaborated with the MdBio Foundation, EDUCATE Center of the iBIO Institute and the Biocom Institute to award cash prizes middle and high school students with a passion for STEM.
“CSBI is proud to produce this competition for the second year in a row,” stated Liisa Bozinovic, CSBI Co-Chair and Director of the Biocom Institute. “Watching all of the creative videos showing how students reflect on how STEM plays a role in their lives and their futures, is one of the highlights for myself and the other judges. It’s inspiring to get a glimpse of our nation’s future STEM heroes.”
After being selected from more than 100 one-minute video submissions, the national middle and high school winners of this online video competition were Demetri Sedita, homeschooled in Tampa, FL, and Sarah Beiber from Berne Union Local Schools in Sugar Grove, OH. Sedita is the winner of the East Regional and the National Middle School Competitions, while Bieber won the Central Regional and the National High School Competitions.
The remaining Regional Middle School winners for Central and West are: Alexis Lemire of Oakwood Middle School in Canton, Ohio and Briann Jones of Solana Santa fe Elementary School in rancho Santa Fe, California. The Regional High School Winners for east and West are: Linda Xiong of Dorman High School in Roebuck, SC and Ivy Gong of Torrey Pines High School in San Diego, California. All Regional STEM Voice winners were awarded a $500 cash award and the National winners received an additional $1,000 cash prize.
To view all video submissions, visit csbiinstitute.org or check out the exhibit hall at the 2015 BIO International Convention in Philadelphia from June 15-18.
