Sparkman students win NASA science fair

Science Fair winners: (FIRST ROW L-R) Kareem Garriga, Ricardo Gutierrez and teacher Karl Fernandez (SECOND ROW L-R) Xochitl Ramirez, Jewels Rodríguez, Mabel Guzman, Monica Guerrero, Yasmeen Luna, Rosalinda Martinez (THIRD ROW L-R) Spanish teacher Carla Terry and Senator director for NASA Robert Lightfoot PHOTO: NASA/E. Given

When Sparkman High School Spanish teacher Carla Terry saw an application for a NASA science fair, she wanted her students to enter, one problem stood in her way: the school didn’t have a science team.

So, Terry, along with school Principal Manuel Wallace, decided to gather a team together to compete in 9th Annual Hispanic Youth Conference & Space Science Fair, which took place on Sept. 23, in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month.

In just one week, Terry and Wallace managed to organize a team that created a concept, model and abstract to contribute to the science fair. The eight-student team ended up winning Best in Show and Best Prepared, over the 10 other schools that competed from Madison, Morgan and Limestone Counties.

“It was a rollercoaster getting everything together because of the time frame,” Terry said. “They are very intricate with everything.  They didn’t want to turn in just anything, they wanted to win.”

In that time frame, the students prepared a 14-step proposal called “Reach for the Stars: Land on Mars.” The plan detailed everything from how to transport materials from earth, to establishing a livable environment on the planet.

“I am personally grateful for the opportunity of being able to participate,” said Kareem J. Garriga, team leader and senior design engineer. “Perseverance and constant innovation enabled us to achieve our goal. It was a colossal team effort that required extensive research to be done. I can speak for my team when I say we were relieved after winning first place—our average hour-per-night sleeping pattern had finally paid off.”

Terry said this project was one of the students’ biggest accomplishments, and while projects like this may be a little sparkle in some people’s lives, she said for others, it could change lives forever.

She said the success and experience the science fair provided the kids made people see they were intelligent and had potential.

Although the project was designed for educational purposes, Terry said it did much more for the students in terms of pride and accomplishments.

“I can’t word it,” she said when describing how she felt when her team won. “Seeing how much growth these kids showed us, not just academic and intellectual, but the social aspect and the overall character building process we witnessed. When they walked in, they walked in. They weren’t students, they were ambassadors of Sparkman.”

But, Terry wasn’t quick to take all the credit. She said if not for Wallace, assistant principal Tandy Raby and science teacher Karl Fernandez, it could have not been possible.

“I’m just very proud to be part of this faculty because it was an amazing opportunity,” she said. “It was a true learning and growing experience for us all. The students completely exceeded our expectations.”