Mercy Academy student wins first place recognition at Louisville Regional Science & Engineering Fair

Mercy Academy's commitment to excellence in STEM was proudly showcased at the Louisville Regional Science & Engineering Fair at the University of Louisville on Marcy 1, where Mercy Academy student Izzie Yadon earned a first-place award. A junior at Mercy, Yadon won top honors in the Biomedical & Health Sciences category for her research project, A Model of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome: Chicken Embryos and Ethanol.

Yadon began her research as part of the Mercy Scholar program, an extracurricular initiative designed for gifted students eager to go beyond their regular coursework. She spent the first semester of this school year conducting her experiment, which involved obtaining fertilized chicken eggs from a friend of her family, injecting them with alcohol, and then dissecting them to examine the effects.

Dr. Eric Wong, a teacher at Mercy Academy who instructs biology, engineering design, and computer programming, praised Yadon for her meticulous approach and well-executed presentation.

"From my perspective, her project topic is timely and of current medical research interest, and it was carried out in a very well-planned and meticulous manner," he said. "All that makes this an excellent project, but I think what got her the first place award is probably her ability to speak to the judges clearly and knowledgeably, with a sense of confidence that comes from really immersing herself in the topic."

Building on her success, Yadon will present her project at the Kentucky State Science and Engineering Fair at Eastern Kentucky University on March 29. Dr. Wong said he is proud of Yadon's accomplishment and the inspiration she brings to her peers.

"I have a long research background, and for almost my entire time here at Mercy, I've been working to build up student interest and confidence to the point that they would independently think to do an original research project, and to submit to a science fair for evaluation," Dr. Wong said. "I am so proud of Izzie for having the courage to take the initiative, be the first to do this, and set such a great example for her younger Mercy sisters."

Click to learn more about Mercy's STEM Program and Mercy Scholar Program.