Twenty-three MMI Preparatory School students participated in the Pennsylvania Junior Academy of Science (PJAS) state competition in May on the Penn State Main Campus. Ten earned first awards (one earned two), twelve won second awards, one earned a third award, one earned the 2023 Oerlein Senior High Excellence Award and one earned an Excellence Award. Three students received perseverance awards.

Jessica Zheng (Jim Thorpe) earned a first in Math and Science and an Excellence Award.  Brenna Eckhart (Lehighton) earned a first award and the 2023 Oerlein Senior High Excellence Award. Other first award winners were Adam Frask (Drums), Rishi Patel (Drums), Arushi Solgama (Mountain Top), David Yamulla (Sugarloaf), Kendall Orozco (Zion Grove), Kiyan Paknezhad (Mountain Top), Nathaniel Neidlinger (Weatherly), and Jillian McGeehin (Sugarloaf).

MMI’s Second Award winners were Gabriella Carsia (Sugarloaf), Maia Laverty (Mountain Top), Marissa Yamulla (Sugarloaf), Cedrah Abdulrahman (Hazleton), Gabriel Horvath (Conyngham), Caleb Skuba (Drums), Corey Buchman (Freeland), Ian Composto (Freeland), Daniel Griffith (Hazleton), Thomas Horvat (Drums), Jagjit Gondara (Hazle Township), and Joseph Mayernik (Freeland).

Evan Pedri (Drums) earned a third award and McGeehin, Eckhart, and Zheng received perseverance awards for six years of participation.

The PJAS competition is open to students in grades 7-12. During the PJAS state competition, students present their first award winning research projects from the regional competition to a varied pane of judges in one of the 13 Scientific Categories of Research identified by PJAS. The categories are: Behavioral Psychology, Biology, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Computer Science, Earth and Space, Ecology, Engineering, Mathematics, Microbiology, Physics, and Zoology.