Special to the Lake Okeechobee News/C. Letcher
These Okeechobee students were selected to represent the Heartland Region at the State Science Fair. Front row, left to right, Alize Merchant, Janessa Whidden, Jordan Robbins and Amairani Hernandez; (back row) Chris Cobb, Ayan Desai, Adam Moore and John Williamson II.

During the final week of March, eight Okeechobee students traveled to Lakelend to compete in the State Science and Engineering Fair. Our students were part of the Heartland Region, which also included 16 students from Highlands and Hardee Counties.

The State Science and Engineering Fair is the largest academic competition in the State of Florida and, this year, included over 850 projects.

During the three days in Lakeland, the students were able to set up their projects, go to the opening ceremonies, attend all-day judging, go to a mixer at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, spend some time at a fun center, and attend the awards ceremony.

Several of our Okeechobee students received awards. These included Janessa Whidden from Osceola Middle School, who received a $50 cash award from the Hernando Region and a Special Recognition Award in the category of Biomedical and Health Sciences; Adam Moore from Yearling Middle School, who received a Special Recognition Award in the category of Intelligent Machines, Robotics and Systems Software; and John Williamson II from Yearling Middle School, who received a third place award in the category of Animal Sciences.

We are really proud of all of our students who participated and cannot wait to see their projects next year!