Thomas County Central sent six students to the International Youth Symposium hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Juniors Jordan Bush, Anna Jense, Logan Herring, and Tyler Williamson, along with sophomores Haley Ferrell and C’lee Kornegay traveled to Atlanta with their teacher Laura Kornegay for the symposium.

The group attended the conference to gain a better insight on their upcoming science fair projects, all relating to environmental science.

“We got to see what other research students are doing, both at the high school and college levels,” teacher Laura Kornegay said. “We also learned about other areas in which we can compete in addition to the traditional science fair.”

The symposium was held earlier this month at the Sam Nunn Atlanta Federal Building. Students could participate in a poster contest, essay contest, a series of interactive panels, and listen to numerous speakers.

This was the first year the conference was not only open to high school students, but also international students. The six students got the chance to interact with students from not only the United States, but as well as some from Germany and Brazil. They got to talk to them about different environmental issues occurring in today’s world, as well as listen to a student-based panel addressing issues such as climate change, pollution, fuel alternatives, and incorporating environmental awareness into elementary education.     

Each speaker had a different environmental topic which benefitted each of the girls due to the variety of environmental problems they will be addressing in their projects. Among the speakers was Ms. Gina McCarthy, the executive director of EPA. She discussed how “every person in this room will be affected by climate change” and how the time to address it is today.

“It was a fantastic opportunity to be able to listen to such inspirational people speak about the growing problem that is climate change,” attendee Anna Jense said. “I was introduced to key ideas that I hadn’t even thought about!”

While there, students also got to attend an extracurricular activity: they took in a baseball game as the Atlanta Braves played the Washington Nationals.

Students say not only was the trip a fun time, but also a very educational learning opportunity that exposed them to information that should help them tremendously with their projects.

“Seeing the research of students from across the world has inspired me to work so that I can compete at this level next year,” student Hailey Ferrel said.