By Leoonard Gray / L’Observateur / May 20, 1998

LAPLACE – The 28th annual River Parishes Chemical Industry Council student awards luncheon honored outstanding science students in the region last Wednesday at the Holiday Inn.

Representatives from member companies Chevron Chemical, Cytec Industries, DuPont Dow Elastomers, E.I. DuPont deNemours, IMC-Agrico,Kaiser Aluminum, LaRoche Industries, Monsanto, Nalco Chemical, Occidental Chemical, Shell Chemical, Stockhausen Louisiana, Union Carbide and Witco Corp. participated in the awards ceremonies.Guest speaker for the event was Tulane Athletic Director Sandy Barbour.

She told the award winners, “I laud achievement, no matter what it is.”She related the time she was denied participation in Little League at age 8 was “the last time I walked away.” Now, as one of seven female athleticdirectors in Division I universities, she said, “All kinds of doors are opening to all kinds of people.”Essay contest winners, with the topic “Chemicals – The Building Blocks to the New Millennium,” out of 791 entries, were: * Grades 7-8 first place Ryan Berni of Harry Hurst Middle School, runners- up Lauren Roussel of St. Peter Chanel and John Cambre of St. Peter School;* Grades 9-10 first place Tatum Mitchell of Lutcher High School, runners- up George Gaudet II of Hahnville High School and Jill Scioneaux of Riverside Academy.

* Grades 11-12 first place My Dang of West Jefferson High School, runners-up Robert Osborne of Hahnville High School, Shameka Jeffery of St. James High School and Michelle Dunn of East St. John High School.State Science Fair winners in junior division for the region included Raeanna Poplus of Schoeffner Elementary and Gary Boe of Ascension of Our Lord with second place prizes; Emile Albrecht of Harry Hurst Middle School, Jezreel Charles and Adrienne Washington of Harry Hurst Middle School, Chase Ganier of St. Charles Borromeo Elementary and RandyWaguespack of Lutcher Junior High School with third places.

State Science Fair winners in senior division for the region included Altreca Stark of Lutcher High School in first place; Darian Blanchard of Ecole Classique and Amy Waguespack of Lutcher High School with second places; and Ljubomir Kocic of J.D. Meisler, Lindsay Louque of Lutcher HighSchool and Syrita Steib of St. James High School with third places.Unable to attend, as they were participating in the International Science Fair in Fort Worth, Texas, were Amy Waguespack and Rikki Louque of Lutcher High School.

The Chemistry Contest had 655 participants in 15 schools. Winnersincluded Nicole Robichaux of St. Charles Catholic High in first place,Bradley LeBlanc of St. Charles Catholic and Steven Cavella in second place,and runners-up Michael Ebeling of Hahnville High School and Lane Zimmer Jr. of Lutcher High School.Science Olympiad winners for the region included the following students: * Middle School Division – First place to the St. Martin’s Episcopal team ofHeather Boos, James Crouch, Rebecca Harrison, Naveen Kailas, Praveen Kailas, Sarah Moore, B.J. Mulfrey Jr., Karla Perez, Becky Quintel, MatthewResignola, Walker Saik, Jonathan Schoen, Jared Spencer, David Svec, Ashley Tufts and Brett Vogt. The team also won third in state competition.* High School Division – Third place to the St. Martin’s Episcopal team ofIshwaria Chandramoban, Scott Felter, Vijay Kailas, Josh Kuston, Jonathan Mendez, Justin Molaison, Jonathan Perret, Adam Smith, Kevin Solis, Akila Subranamian, Justin Svec, Trey Thompson, Sarah Tuuri, Adam Voth, Carol Wang and Nathaniel Woltering. The team also won second in statecompetition.

Winners in the Industrial Technology Education Rally for Region IV were: advance wood technology – first place Paul Mills, second place Michelle Boudreaux; architectural/drafting – first place Marc Bourgeois, second place Justin Allesandro; welding technology – first place Troy Masceralla; base metal technology – second place Seth Tartaglia; basic technical drafting – first place Paul Murray, Lloyd Sheon; basic wood technology – first place Nicholas Hebert, second place John Crabtree; computer-aided drafting – first place Eugene Lacarmie, second place Justin Allesandro; general technical education – first place Jason Wagner and second place William Thompson. All these winners are Destrehan High School students. Anthony Monica Scholarship winners were Valencia Robertson of St. JamesHigh School (vocational/technical) and Kristin Wellmeyer of Archbishop Blank (college/university).

Officers of the River Parishes Chemical Industry Council are chairman Rodie Martin of IMC-Agrico, vice-chairman Monk Ordeneaux of E.I. duPontde Nemours, treasurer Maryellen Steele of Chevron and secretary Charise Poche of Shell Chemical.

Return To News Stories