Mercer Island High School biotechnology students in Jamie Cooke’s class participated in the recent Student BioExpo sponsored by the Northwest Association for Biomedical Research (NWABR).

NWABR’s Student Bio Expo is a year-long program that provides a platform for students to learn about and showcase their knowledge of biotechnology, biomedicine and bioethics, working with professional mentors in these fields.

Nineteen students from the MIHS Biotechnology class competed in eight categories at the BioExpo against over 300 other top science students for the local area. Eleven students were recognized with awards:

Art: Evie Clarke who won first place

Career Pathways: Valentina Muti who won first place and Tory Beutelspacher who won second place

SeaVuria Kenya collaboration: Lilly Evans-Riera and Isabelle Knowles who won first place. SeaVuria is a partnership between the village of Vuria in Kenya and Seattle, teaming Seattle-area students with Kenyan students, challenging them to tackle relevant global issues using science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Molecular Modeling: Collette Li who won second place, Zach Leung who won an Honorable mention

Journalism: Kayla Lee who won third place

Creative Writing: Tess Ritcey who won third place, Shelby Shepherd who won an Honorable Mention

Teaching: Hannah Sidney who won third place