The Nation’s Premier Middle School STEM Competition

Elias Braun and Elizabeth Nayder, both 8th grade students at Holy Ghost Catholic School, earned an invitation to the 2021 Broadcom MASTERS® (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars), a program of Society for Science. Only the top 10% of middle school projects nationwide are invited to apply online for the national competition..

To earn the honor, they participated in the Central New Mexico STEM Research Challenge the week of March 22-27, 2021. Elias’ project is “ Modeling the Effectiveness of COVID-19 Screening Methods." In this experiment, making use of a C program, the researcher will attempt to simulate the spread of COVID-19 and the effectiveness of certain screening methods in an office setting.This project earned Elias 2nd place in the Junior Computer & Mathematical Sciences Division. Elizabeth’s project is “The Endangered Holy Ghost." The Holy Ghost Ipomopsis is an endangered species that grows naturally only in the Holy Ghost Canyon, Santa Fe, New Mexico. This is a follow on experiment to see if the Holy Ghost Catholic School and Parish campus could be an Ex Situ Conservation Site. Seeds used were of similar species which grow in the same habitat: the Skyrocket-Standing Cypress and the Long-Flowered Gilly. This project earned Elizabeth 3rd place in the Junior Plant Sciences.

Both students also received numerous “Special Awards.” Elias received the Broadcom Coding with Commitment Award, Broadcom Masters Certificate of Recognition, Explora Science Center and Children’s Museum Award, International Test Evaluation Association Award, Regional Research Challenge Junior Encouragement Award and the Sun Vista Enterprises, Inc Award. Elizabeth received the American Association of University Women Young Scientist Award and the Regional Research Challenge Junior Encouragement Award.
After earning “Top of Category” Winner status in the Junior Division, both students were invited to the New Mexico Science and Engineering Fair, a state level competition, sponsored by New Mexico Tech. This fair was held virtually on April 17, 2021. Elias earned 2nd place in the Junior Computer & Mathematical Sciences category and Elizabeth earned 3rd place in the Junior Plant Sciences category. Now they prepare to compete against other middle school students nationally.

They are two of the first students at Holy Ghost to participate in the STEM Fair, a new program. In 2019, Holy Ghost Catholic School was the first school in New Mexico, and the first Catholic school in the nation, to earn the National Certificate for STEM Excellence, a certification from the National Institute for STEM Education (NISE) in Houston.