Class of 2018

Kierra McCarthy

Kierra is the daughter of Christopher and Beth McCarthy. She took 5 college credit courses including American History, Math, Psychology, Science Research and Spanish along with honors English her Junior/Senior year. She was involved in varsity volleyball, basketball, and softball. She also participated in NHS and was the Secretary of Class of 2018. She hopes to become a pediatrician in the future. She became interested in water pollution after getting sick from drinking unpurified water last summer. This led her to become interested in how contaminated water effects macro invertebrates, such as Cadisfly, Stonefly and Mayfly larvae. Her research is "The Gradient Effect of Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) and Perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS) Using Mayflies (Ephemeroptera), Stoneflies (Plecoptera) and Caddisfly (Trichoptera) as Biological Monitors in the Hoosic River." She received a $5000 grant from the Marjot Foundation that she used send water and tissue samples to the AXYS laboratory in Canada to test for PFOA levels. She placed 2nd at the 2018 Regional JSHS and 2nd Honorable Mention at the 2018 GCRSEF.

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Accolades

Ryan Clouse

Ryan Clouse, son of Ryan and Jodie Clouse. Ryan was a member of National Honors Society, Band, Choir, Jazz Band, Choraliers, and Drama Club and has participated in plays and musicals. He was also a member of the International Thespian Society and on the Hudson Falls Academic Quiz Bowl team and both outdoor and indoor track. In his free time, Ryan enjoys practicing his discus throw, preparing for his next show, or playing his saxophone. Ryan Clouse is currently researching, “The Correlation Between Reading Comprehension and Stress/Anxiety."

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Kayla Denny

Kayla was on the varsity field hockey team and a member of the drama club and a NCBI leader. She took advanced classes such as Social Studies and English, as well as an AP Spanish course. She also participated in National Honor Society. Kayla plans to go to college to double major in Psychiatry and Anthropology. She first became interested in Slime Mold when one of her teachers mentioned its unique properties in class. Kayla is currently researching "The Effect of Size of Environment on Physarum Polycephalum’s Ability to Navigate Complex Environments."

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Danielle Kitchner

Danielle, daughter of Kim and Pete Kitchner, played basketball, volleyball year round. In her free time, Danielle likes to spend time with her family, go hiking, play sports, and spend times with friends. She is interested in studying environmental sciences in the future. Danielle is currently researching her topic “The Quantitative Sampling of Macroplastics and Microplastics in Select Shorelines of Lake George."

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