Ossining High School Students Earn Gold at Regional NAACP ACT-SO Competition

Three seniors from Ossining High School earned top honors in STEM at the ACT-SO Awards Ceremony held at SUNY Westchester Community College on April 19. They advance to nationals with all-expenses-paid trips to Chicago in July.

Gold Awards

• Tyrzah Mkandawire – Earth & Space Science
• Frank Murphy II – Chemistry
• Olivia Wallace – Biological & Medical Sciences

Bronze Award

• Ty’Asia Carver – Biological & Medical Sciences

All four students are part of Ossining’s nationally recognized Science Research Program, a three-year endeavor that offers students the opportunity to conduct novel, independent research at the graduate level.

“These students represent the very best of what happens when bright minds, curiosity and perseverance meet opportunity,” said Ossining High School’s Science Research teachers Valerie Holmes and Ariadne Prior-Grosch. “Congratulations! We couldn’t be prouder!”

The ACT-SO program, organized by the NAACP, is called the “Olympics of the Mind.” The yearlong initiative celebrates and supports academic and artistic achievement among high school students of African descent across multiple disciplines.

Students compete at the regional level in categories including STEM, humanities, entrepreneurship, performing arts, visual arts, and culinary arts. Winners from the local competitions compete at the National Competition and Ceremonies, held every July in conjunction with the NAACP National Convention.