Westlake Students Earn Spots In Statewide Chemist Competition

WESTLAKE, OH — Lee Burneson Middle School student Alicia Ge won the Greater Cleveland "You Be The Chemist" Challenge and will now take part in the Ohio State Challenge. Ge's classmate, Yikun Zhou, took second place and also qualified for state competition.

Both Ge and Zhou are eighth graders and are in Daniel Berkheimer's Honors Physical Science class. Both students have the chance to move on to the National Challenge. Ge answered dozens of chemistry and general science questions over multiple rounds of competition. She bested a field of 29 students to earn the title of Champion.

The winner of the Ohio State Challenge, held April 27 at the Great Lakes Science Center, will get an expenses-paid trip to Washington, D.C. to compete in the National Challenge in June.

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The "You Be The Chemist" Challenge is open to students in grades 5 through 8. Students compete as individuals, answering multiple-choice questions to advance through a series of competition levels.

The competition starts at the school level and concludes on the national stage. During June's National Challenge, state champions from across the nation will be able to compete for college scholarships.