Bernalillo High Students Meet STEM Challenge

Bernalillo High School was among the winning schools at the 2022 NM Governor’s STEM Challenge, an annual competition that tests students’ skill at applying Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics to real world problems.

The competition is a collaboration between the Office of the Governor, the New Mexico Public Education Department, the New Mexico Department of Workforce Solutions, New Mexico State University and Los Alamos National Laboratory Foundation.

The competition culminated with a STEM showcase at NNSU’s Corbett Center in December.

The 2022 competition challenged students to imagine New Mexico as a state known for sustainable and green manufacturing, then asked, “What innovations or developments could be produced to foster our schools, jobs and communities.

The Bernalillo High School student team came up with a project called “Beta Vulgaris and Fragaria Amamassa as Alternatives to Hair Dye.” The students found a way to convert waste beets and strawberries into sage, organic, temporary hair dye.

Each school had a sponsor. BHS was sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory.

“All of us at LANL Foundation are delighted to again have been involved with the New Mexico Governor’s STEM Challenge, “Jenny Parks, LANL Foundation’s chief executive officer, said in a news release. “We know that by working together with students and businesses, we can ignite opportunities previously unimagined. And yet again this year, the projects of the students were amazon and we look forward to continuing this event for years to come.”

The BHS team was coached by teachers Melba Acantilado and Roberta Jones. Team members were Clovis Barbour, Alena Grife, Sujey Legarda, Marluz Angel Malabanan, Alexis Prairie, Erika Griego Ramirez, Fatima Ramirez, Alexander Vigil and Olivia Tsabetsaye.