Throughout the halls of Archer, one scientist is presenting on finding a solution to antibiotic resistance while another presents on the accessibility of pharmaceutical care for menopausal women. No, these aren’t professionals scientists — rather they’re high school students who presented at Archer’s annual STEM Symposium.
The STEM Symposium took place Saturday, May 17, and featured scientific research projects by Archer and non-Archer high school students in the greater Los Angeles area. The projects included topics such as engineering, molecular biology and health sciences. Sophomore Gaia Bhavsar was a presenter at this year’s Symposium after joining a science fair FLX block in middle school. Bhavsar presented on finding solutions to antibiotic resistance and said the experience participating was exciting.
“The Symposium has so many different possibilities, and it’s just so exciting to create your own thing to learn every year,” Bhavsar said. “It’s just such an amazing opportunity Archer has to offer.”
The STEM Symposium included two poster sessions and formal presentations that attendees had the opportunity to visit. The event also featured keynote speaker Danielle Marsh, a senior systems engineer at NASA, and the recognition of Research in Science and Engineering Scholars. Twelve projects, amounting to 17 students, were recognized as RISE Scholars for their commitment to innovative scientific research, and each student was awarded $500. Of the 17 students, four were Archer students Callie Roth (’26), Finley Vincent (’26), Caroline Collis (’26) and Sophia Shin (’25).
This year was senior Cezanne Silverton’s first and last year participating in the Symposium. Silverton researched accessibility of pharmaceutical care for menopausal women and said participating in the Symposium through the Advanced Study Eve’s Odyssey class gave her more knowledge about herself and her body.
“My class requires participation in the STEM Symposium, and I think I know a lot more about my body coming out of it,” Silverton said. “A lot of this is a really cool bridge between humanities and science, and I think [the Symposium] is really well done. It’s a benefit for the Archer community and women in STEM.”
Sophomore Katia Thomas participated in the Los Angeles County Science Fair, as well as the STEM Symposium. Thomas said this year her project differs from the past because it has a personal aspect, and she was excited to share it with the community. Thomas researched herbal medicine that could prevent the development of autoimmune diseases.
“I have an autoimmune disease, and I wanted to see if there were any natural herbs that could prevent that from developing,” Thomas said. “I’m excited to share my research and get to know other people’s research of like minded people in the science field.”
Bhavsar said the journey through researching the project inspires her in science and beyond.
“The STEM Symposium allows anyone to go and follow their dreams through research,” Bhavsar said. “Everyone is so supportive and it makes everyone so much more independent. You learn how to pursue anything you want.”
