Area Students Pick Up Dozens of Awards At Regional STEM Fair

Clark Elementary fourth grader Harrison Shirey (left) and Chiles Elementary third grader Rohan Apte both earned Best of Fair at the February Hillsborough County Regional STEM Fair.

New Tampa’s elementary and middle schools once again had a strong showing at the 38th Annual Hillsborough County Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematic (STEM) Fair on March 6.

In fact, more than 50 students in New Tampa were recognized for their projects, including a pair of Best of Fair awards.

All students in Hillsborough County were allowed to submit a qualifying project in 13 major STEM subject areas. The top 27 winners advanced to the State STEM Fair, and the two best projects from Hillsborough County also will go on to compete in the International STEM Fair.

The Best of Fair winners were Chiles Elementary third-grader Rohan Apte and Clark Elementary fourth-grader Harrison Shirey.

Rohan won for his project entitled “Crash! Did it Break?: Do Seat Belts Matter?” His project involved crashing a LEGO car with eggs inside wearing (and some not wearing) rubber band seat belts.

It’s not the first Best of Fair aware for the Apte household — Rohan’s sister Ria also won the award, in 2016, also when she was in the third grade.

Harrison won his Best of Fair award for his project “What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through?”

Heritage Elementary (l.-r.) third grader Logan Jones, fourth grader Isabella Pappalardo and third graders Emily Lara, Isabella Santiago and Dylan Farner all earned medals.

Local elementary schools earned 15 Superior scores, including four each by Clark and Turner/Bartels K-8 and three by Chiles and Tampa Palms.

In the older division, Liberty Middle School’s Uma Panchal (“The Vitamin C Integrity Project”), Ellie and Olivia Pliska (“The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to Algae Growth?”) won first-place awards, while Wharton High took home seven top-3 finishes, including a first-place by Kylie Orihuela and Mackenzie Schaecher for “Copper Heals.”

The complete list of local winners are:

ELEMENTARY DIVISION GROUP PROJECTS 3rd GRADE
Superior
Magnetic Magic — Joel Madadha, Miles Shi, and Lucas Aguerreberry, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Time for Dissolving Fun — Jeshwitha Avula and Pranjal Kot, Pride Elementary

Excellent
Which bubble gum blows the biggest bubble: Super Bubble or Double Bubble? — Emily Lara and Isabella Santiago, Heritage Elementary

Superior
How Does the Brand of Nail Polish affect How Long it Lasts? Isabella Baez and Sophia Sauer, Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Excellent
Cookie’s Maze — Alexa Gonzalez and Luciana Guaman, Chiles Elementary

Superior
How Does Brain Dominance Affect Hand-Eye — Gal Lawrental Schori and Linney Kim, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Excellent
Lightning Magnets — Archith Gaddam and Saisharat Yenka, Pride Elementary

Superior
Energy From Garbage: How Much Methane Do Different Types of Food Scraps Produce? — Aayush Mehta and Anjali Mehta, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Dissolve the Bomb! — Ana Clara DeJesus, Zeina Mughrabi, and Madison Long, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Superior
Feeling Salty — Ethan Bahs and Morgan Aulet, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE LIFE SCIENCE
Outstanding
Fantastic Fertilizer — Logan Andress and Chase Andress, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Superior
Harnessing The Heat — Aditya Shukla and Aditi Shukla, Tampa Palms Elementary

Superior
Flying Trains — Dev Parikh and Evan Stepanek, Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • GROUP PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Excellent
Fear of Water: How Do Materials Stay Dry And Clean? — Eesha Venkatesh and Harini Iyer, Tampa Palms Elementary

Superior
An Apple a Day…Keeps the Spoils Away — Danai Bernard, Anu Badiger, Jayone Heo, and Kanishka Mittal, Chiles Elementary

****INDIVIDUALS****

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Superior
Looking to Kill an Oil Spill? — Ani Marsland-Pettit, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE
Superior
Which Truss to Trust? — Nathaniel Bostic Jr., Turner/Bartels K-8

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY
Excellent
Dear Dad, Don’t Drive Distracted! — Rex Knuckles, Chiles Elementary

Superior
Crash! Did it Break? : Do Seatbelts Matter? — Rohan Apte, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • THIRD GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER
Outstanding
Spoiler Alert — Logan Jones, Heritage Elementary

Excellent
The Race To The Fizz Line: How Does The Temperature Of Water Affect How Fast A Bathbomb Dissolves? — Maanini Kuruganti, Tampa Palms Elementary

Excellent
Stain, Stain, Go Away! — Dylan Farner, Heritage Elementary

Superior
Absorbing Socks — Advay Joshi, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Superior
Right Vs Left — Rhea Varma, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE
Excellent
Which is Better: Tap Vs Fountain Water? — Madison Fang, Chiles Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FOURTH GRADE PHYSICAL
Outstanding
Tooth Decay — Isabella Pappalardo, Heritage Elementary

Outstanding
Chocolate Geodes — Jared Creel, Hunters Green Elementary

Superior
Which Substance Will Cause Soap Bubbles to Last Longer? — Jhanvi Anand, Turner/Bartels K-8

Superior
What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through? — Harrison Shirey, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE EARTH/SPACE SCIENCE

Outstanding
Oil Clean Up — Sofia Rojas, Tampa Palms Elementary

Excellent
Slowing the Landslide — Radha Panchal, Clark Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE

Superior
London Bridge is Falling Down! — Aryan Sriram, Pride Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/ENERGY

Outstanding
Does a magnet’s shape affect the height it levitates? — Mohnish Satheesh Kumar, Chiles Elementary

Excellent
There’s No Debate, Properly Inflate: How the Amount of Air in Tires Affects Bike Riding — Allison Wells, Chiles Elementary

Superior
Solar Powered Car (Next Generation Car) — Raj Guntuku, Tampa Palms Elementary

ELEMENTARY DIVISION • INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS • FIFTH GRADE PHYSICAL SCIENCE/MATTER

Outstanding
Alka-Seltzer Action — Frances McKoen, Hunters Green Elementary

Excellent
Nail Nonsense! How Does the Brand of Nail Polish Affect How Long the Paint Takes to Dry? — Kacy Hauck, Turner/Bartels K-8

Superior
Don’t Underestimate the Insulate — Andrew Feaster, Clark Elementary

3rd Grade Best of Fair
Crash! Did it Break? : Do Seatbelts Matter? — Rohan Apte, Chiles Elementary

4th Grade Best of Fair
What Material Does Wi-Fi Travel Through? Harrison Shirey, Clark Elementary

SECONDARY AWARDS

Elaine Feaster, Liberty Middle
Title: Naturally Cool
Memorial Award: Helen Johnson’s Award

Sarrah Abdulai & Olivia Giraldo, Wharton High
Title: How Effectively Oysters Filter Different Types of Water
Award(s): Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration

Alisha Bhatia, Freedom High
Title: Similarities Between Humans and Animals in The Huntingtin (HTT) Gene
Award(s): Big Cat Rescue

Elaine Feaster Liberty
Title: Naturally Cool
Award(s): Cardinal Roofing Broadcom

Zion Flavien, Wharton
Title: Global Warming: The relation between chlorophyll production and a healthy Earth
Award(s): American Meteorological Society

Uma Patel, Liberty
Title: The Vitamin C Integrity Project.
Award(s): Broadcom

Ellie & Olivia Pliska, Liberty
Title: The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to
Award(s): Broadcom

Junior Animal Sciences Awards
3rd: Lisa Maeda, Benito: Which Length of Electromagnetic Waves Repels Mosquitoes the Most?

Junior Biomedical and Health Sciences Awards
1st: Uma Panchal, Liberty: The Vitamin C Integrity Project

Junior Earth and Environmental Sciences Awards
1st: Ellie and Olivia Pliska, Liberty: The Algae is Blooming: Does Synthetic or Organic Fertilizer Contribute more to Algae Growth?

Junior Environmental Engineering Awards
2nd: Elaine Feaster, Liberty: Naturally Cool

Junior Mathematics and Computational Sciences Awards
3rd: Osman Eksioglu, Liberty: Machine Learning and how it adapts

Senior Behavioral and Social Sciences Awards
2nd: Nicole Carlin, Genesis Dalcourt, & Maria Pinilla-Baquero, Freedom: How Does Music Impact Test Taking?

Senior Chemistry Awards
3rd: Yash Patel, Wharton: Using Banana Peels as Eco-friendly Supplements to Livestock feed

Senior Cellular/Molecular Biology and Biochemistry Awards
1st: Kylie Orihuela & Mackenzie Schaecher, Wharton: Copper Heals
2nd: Aaron Ha & Clyddyll Uyan, Wharton: Chlorophyll Extraction/Chromatography

Senior Earth and Environmental Sciences Awards
2nd: Sarrah Abdulai & Olivia Giraldo, Wharton: How Effectively Oysters Filter Different Types of Water
3rd: Meghna Desai & Neelam Patel, Wharton: Is it Worth Paying for Water Bottles?

Senior Engineering and Materials Sciences Awards
2nd: Jaclyn Saldana, Wharton: Bridge Breaking

Senior Physics and Astronomy Awards
2nd: Laura Deloso, Wharton: Proving Acceleration Due to Gravity

Senior Plant Sciences Awards
2nd: Crystal Castro & Isabella Kim, Wharton: The Effects of Different Concentrations of IAA on Root Initiation
3rd: Sarah McInvale, Wharton: Radiation on Germination

New Tampa Teen Wins Community Hero Award From The Lightning!

Harsh Bagdy (right) with 9-year-old Sabian, who was the first to receive a donation from Harsh’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Charity Health Resources.

When New Tampa resident Harsh Bagdy was in the fifth grade at Montessori Preparatory School, the place he loved the most was the soccer field — and it was in bad shape. More rocks and dirt than grass, it was too dangerous to play on.

So Harsh, whose father Ash had instilled in him a passion for giving back, decided to do something about it. Together, they rallied people in the community to raise $40,000 for a brand new field.

That was only the beginning. In seventh grade, Harsh secured enough money to build a new computer lab at Terrace Community Middle School. By his sophomore year at King High, he had founded his own nonprofit, Charity Health Resources, a 501(c)(3) that raises money to purchase quality wheelchairs, walkers, shower chairs and other devices for people without adequate health insurance.

“I see mobility as something we all take for granted,” said Harsh, whose mother Kavita Jain works as a physical therapist. He said she often tells him about the great need for mobility equipment she sees. 

“It’s impossible to go out, have a job or do really anything if you aren’t mobile, and if you’re worried about paying for food or housing, you can’t do anything about it,” he said.

Harsh, 17, a first-generation American whose parents moved to Tampa from India 25 years ago and now a junior in high school, was honored by the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 19 as this season’s 25th Lightning Community Hero.

He received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program. Half of the money will go towards his own education. He gave the other half to Metropolitan Ministries, an organization he’s been volunteering with since the sixth grade, and the one he turned to when establishing Charity Health Resources. 

“I instantly connected with Metro’s outreach team, because we had something they couldn’t easily provide and they could find people who needed it,” said Harsh. 

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Alex Killorn (left) and CEO Steve Griggs present Harsh Bagdy, the 25th Lightning Community Hero this season, with a check for $50,000.

A new partnership between Metropolitan Ministries and Charity Health Resources, made possible by Harsh’s winnings, will put more members of the outreach team further into the community, allowing them to find mobility-challenged clients who are unable to travel to the main outreach center in Tampa Heights. 

“Because of Harsh, when our team meets someone in the community with a handicap or mobility challenge, we can just call him up and he’ll fulfill the need,” said Metropolitan Ministries’ president and CEO Tim Marks. “That’s something we never could have done without him.”

Charity Health Resources, said Harsh, has made between 15-20 donations in its first year. Their first donation was a new wheelchair for a 9-year-old boy named Sabian with spina bifida. He was growing too big for his chair and too heavy for his mother and grandfather to carry around, but his insurance wouldn’t pay for another wheelchair for two more years. 

The chair that Charity Health Resources donated to him enabled him to return to riding around in his grandfather’s car, spending time with his cousins and other family.

“I really enjoy hockey,” said Harsh, who attended the January 19 Lightning game against the San Jose Sharks as the team’s guest of honor. “I see it as a faster-paced soccer game.”

When Harsh — who is enrolled in demanding International Baccalaureate (IB) classes at King and travels multiple weekends a month for debate competitions, and also is a Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) member — isn’t at school or doing charity work, he still loves playing soccer and occasionally goes out for movies or dinner with his friends.

He’s hoping for admission into a prestigious business school to pursue his interests in business.

“Being chosen for this award felt amazing, both for me and for the work I’m doing,” Harsh said. “I may get the recognition for it, but the best part is that it allows me to spread my branches further and help people in areas I couldn’t reach before.”

For more information about Charity Health Resources, visit charityhealthresources.org. For additional information  about the Lightning Community Hero award, visit NHL.com/lightning/community/community-heroes.