Hopkinton Middle School’s TechRise Student Challenge team consists of (from left) Sahasra Ramabhotla, Aditi Khiste, Sanya Bhagat and Dharshna Karthick.

A team from Hopkinton Middle School was selected as one of 60 winners in the NASA TechRise Student Challenge. Members of the team are Aditi Khiste, Dharshna Karthick, Sahasra Ramabhotla and Sanya Bhagat.

The team’s experiment was titled “Corrosion of Metal in Outer Space.” HMS science teacher Lauren Bailey-Jones was the group leader.

“It is thrilling to know that the hard work of the eighth-grade students here at Hopkinton Middle School paid off and they will be able to advance their idea into the prototype phase,” Bailey-Jones shared. “I’m so proud of the way the students worked together to problem solve to submit their proposal. They encountered several bumps along the way, and they rose to the challenge by furthering their research or steering their research in a different direction. That perseverance paid off and will help them in many other facets in their academic and personal pursuits in the future.”

Bailey-Jones explained that the students worked on an idea connecting the evolutionary history of Mars and how Earth’s atmosphere may play a role in either preventing or furthering a similar outcome.

“They were curious about how corrosion happens, how Mars became red in the first place, and then used what they learned about corrosion in seventh-grade science to explore the implications on Earth further,” Bailey-Jones stated.

The students’ project idea includes the use of a high-altitude balloon, and now they’ll get a chance to make it a reality.

“Science is so cool for students often because they can see it in action,” Bailey-Jones said. “Sometimes in the classroom we don’t get to experience larger scale science unless we watch a video about other scientists doing the project. In this case, the students will be in charge of designing their experiment, and I know that our entire school community will be looking forward to seeing the results of flying a high-altitude balloon.”

TEC internship program open

Registration for The Education Cooperative’s 2023 Summer Internship & Career Exploration Program opens Jan. 25. Applications will be accepted through April, with internship placements distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. The summer program placed nearly 100 students in career internships last summer, with both in-person and remote placements available.

Open to those who have completed at least two years of high school as of summer 2023, the program is ideal for students looking for an opportunity to explore a career while considering their post secondary education options (though not required). Students are required to complete 60 hours of work, typically over four consecutive weeks during the summer.

Interested students and families are encouraged to attend one of The Education Cooperative’s virtual information sessions scheduled for: Jan. 24, Feb. 16, March 10 and April 6. All information sessions are held via Zoom from 7-8 p.m. Interested students and/or family members are welcome to attend one of these free sessions. Registration is required in order to receive the meeting link and may be completed here: tec-coop.org/career-exploration/internships/information-sessions.

For more information, contact Emily Manz at emanz@tec-coop.org.

Local collegians shine

Abi Brown, a Lasell University student from Hopkinton, presented at the institution’s annual Career Readiness Symposium this past fall.

Brown shared updates from the Lasell University student newspaper, the 1851 Chronicle. The presentation incorporated the NACE competencies of professionalism, leadership and career/self-development.

Brown is arts editor for the 1851 Chronicle. Brown also presented a fashion industry capstone project, “Uncommon Threads, Uncommon Closet,” with the Lawrence nonprofit of the same name. The presentation recapped a semester-long collaboration with the company, during which student teams researched a set of challenges and produced deliverables in response at the conclusion of the project. …

A quartet of Hopkinton residents earned dean’s list honors at Stonehill University for the fall semester: Brendan Kelly, Lydia Rudden, Ian Cann and Brooklyn McDermott-Hyland. …

Mikayla Cappetta, a junior majoring in middle child education, was named to the dean’s list at Cedarville University in Ohio. …

Dylan Goodman was named to the dean’s list at Springfield College, where he is majoring in health science/pre-physician’s assistant. …

At the University of New Hampshire, Helen Aghababian graduated in December with a B.A. in history, while Jonathan Wolf graduated with a MBA in business administration.

Louis Dentiste graduated with a B.S. in finance from the College of Charleston. …

Nia Alvarado-Rodriguez, Taneja Forero, Rebecca Gallant, Addy Hodson and Courtney Olafsen were named to the dean’s list at Bridgewater State.

Adam MacLeod was named to the dean’s list at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland. …

At Assumption University, junior Madison Kenney and freshman Nick Paharik were named to the dean’s list. …

Aidan Sullivan, a sophomore majoring in aerospace engineering, was named to the dean’s list at Clarkson University. …

Pat Crantz was named to the dean’s list at Marquette University, where he is studying innovation and entrepreneurship. …

At Southern New Hampshire University, Kyle Hall was named to the president’s list, while John Allen and Katya Markovich were named to the dean’s list.