By Olga M. Martinez - Our Lady of Lourdes Academy
Lourdes Academy's regional winners in this year's ExploraVision competition pose with their certificates alongside the school's principal, Sister Kathryn Donze of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, far left; team mentor Veronica Barba, second from left; Susan Fleming, science department chair and team coach, second from right; and Gary Miller, Toshiba representative, far right. The winning team members are, from left, Diana Bunge, Maria Mendoza, Adriana Trueba and Nicole Barba.
MIAMI | With a freshman team as regional winner and 16 other teams earning honorable mentions, Our Lady of Lourdes Academy became the most awarded school at this year’s ExploraVision, the world’s largest K-12 science competition.
The all-girls high school also was the only school in Florida to have a regional winner in the grades 7-12 category. Lourdes has participated in the competition for the past five years, and has had regional winners in four of those five years. It is the only school in the nation to have three consecutive regional wins.
Sponsored jointly by Toshiba and the National Science Teachers Association, ExploraVision encourages students to look 20 years into the future and devise a solution to an existing problem that is not feasible at present, due to limitations in today’s society.
Lourdes Academy freshmen, from left, Nicole Barba, Adriana Trueba, Maria Mendoza and Diana Bunge pose with their ExploraVision regional winners certificates. Their project, “Baby Bangle,” created a body temperature monitoring/notification device for infants who are at risk or have suffered from febrile seizures.
Toshiba Representative Gary Miller poses with Lourdes Academy's 2013, 2014 and 2015 ExploraVision regional winners. The 2013 team went on to win second place in the national competition that year. Lourdes Academy also is the only school in the nation to have three consecutive regional wins.
The structure of the competition helps students expand their imagination and have fun while developing an interest in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at an early age.
Founded in 1963, Lourdes is the only all-female high school in the Archdiocese of Miami. Its educational program is specifically designed to meet the needs of female learners, resulting in focused and assertive students who possess a greater interest in math and science.
The girls’ success at ExploraVision for the last five years proves the benefits of that education, as Lourdes students have been recognized for their stellar problem-solving, critical thinking and collaboration skills.
This year’s regional winners were freshmen Diana Bunge, Nicole Barba, Adriana Trueba and Maria Mendoza. Their project, “Baby Bangle,” created a body temperature monitoring/notification device for infants who are at risk or have suffered from febrile seizures.
The team will now advance to the national competition where the prize is a $10,000 U.S. Series EE Savings Bond for each as well as an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.C. in June.
Past regional winners and their projects have been:
- Lauren Lopez, Diana Lopez and Christina Gutierrez, graduates of the Class of 2014, who won when they were freshmen in 2011, for a project which developed a cure for vocal cord paralysis. It was Lourdes’ first time competing in ExploraVision.
- Emily Pendas, Gaby Clossick and Ashley Lopez, current seniors, who won second place in the nation as sophomores in 2013, after having been named regional winners. Their project developed an innovative treatment for scoliosis — the abnormal curving of the spine.
- Karina Fernandez, Emily del Valle and Nicole Garcia-Rivera, now juniors, who were named regional winners as sophomores for a project that used DNA recombinant techniques to preserve coral reefs — the nursery for all sea and marine life.
“Our Lady of Lourdes Academy’s commitment to STEM education, by way of the school’s participation in ExploraVision, varied course offerings and extracurricular opportunities, is one of the assets of the school’s educational program,” said the school’s principal, Sister Kathryn Donzé of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. “In this day and age, it is imperative for female students to study and excel in STEM, to not only drive innovation, but to also close the gender gap and secure their personal future.”
Lourdes recognized this year’s ExploraVision winners during a school-wide assembly April 1.
Picture of all the honorable mention winners from Our Lady of Lourdes Academy at this year's ExploraVision competition. The school's 16 honorable mentions made it the most awarded school at the world's largest K-12 science competition.
