On Thursday, March 27, some of Monroe-Woodbury’s science research students awoke before daybreak to get on a small bus and go to Albany.

Science research is a course where students choose a topic of interest, get a mentor, design and perform an experiment, and present their results at various symposia and competitions. The course spans three years and is taught by Ms. Flanagan and Ms. LaCondi.

The brisk March air and early time were not deterrents for the eleven students, mostly sophomores and juniors, who had signed up weeks ago to support senior Sophia Maier at the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium (JSHS).

Maier’s presentation of her research came in third place at the regional JSHS in Ballston Spa in January, which meant that she would be moving on to present a poster at the state competition in Albany.

The 11 students arrived at the University of Albany at 7:45 a.m., where they proceeded to the campus center to watch the presentations of the top 12 student researchers from around the state, all of whom had varied topics.

After the two and a half hours of presenting some of the visiting Monroe-Woodbury students received a brief tour of the campus center from M-W alumnus Zachary Morganstein, who graduated in 2017.

Once the short, unofficial tour was finished, the students went to the poster session, where students who came in second place at regional competitions were displaying their research. There stood the poster of Sophia Maier, the only Monroe-Woodbury student to place in the state-wide JSHS.

The poster session was followed by an official tour of the core labs by Dr. Kim DeWeerd, a lab technician at the life sciences building on campus.

The core labs, Dr. DeWeerd said, contained the basic equipment used by scientists in different fields, from chemistry to biology. The purpose of the core labs is to provide any researcher with access to general equipment so that each lab does not need to buy their own.

At the end of the trip, attendees had access to a buffet, during which the winners were announced.