TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — A local middle schooler came home with first place in a national STEM competition.
8th grader Leif Speer went to the Thermo Fisher Junior Innovators Challenge, the nation’s premier STEM research competition for middle school students, and came away with first place.
Leif worked his way through the school fair, regional fair, and state fair before receiving an application for the Thermo Fisher.
Only 30 students from across the country were accepted.
Leif’s project was centered around climate data, a real-world issue, and he says that is what he is most proud of.
“I was able to reconstruct climate data that we hadn’t ever had before, which is one of the reasons I wanted to do this project because that is a big issue. Having the climate data would be really important and helpful to scientists, so I’m really proud of being able to do that. Being the first one to do so.”
Congratulations Leif on all your hard work.
A great accomplishment for you and Honey Creek Middle School.
