Senior Kaitlyn Arst can still vividly picture the first time she won an award at the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair in the sixth grade, and since then, her awards have continued to pile up.  

“It’s crazy to know that the only reason I participated in this event was because it was mandatory when I was in middle school and now I love participating every year,” Arst said.

Arst has been competing in the Los Angeles County Science and Engineering Fair for over six years. This year, Arst won a total of four awards at the fair. Arst was awarded a second place category award in Earth/Space Science along with a Women Award in Geoscience award. She also received an honorable mention regarding her entry for the Professional Engineers in California Government (PECG) award and first place in Paleontology.

She will go on to represent Daniel Pearl Magnet High School and Los An County at the 68th annual California State Science and Engineering Fair on April 23rd. Students from grades 6th-12th and over 150 schools will be participating in this year’s event. Students will be judged on their investigative skills and creativity.

“Kaitlyn has done very well in these events in previous years and she shows a commitment to advance her own knowledge beyond the classroom, it has been a pleasure getting to know her and her love for science,” said science teacher Stephen Schaffter.

Arst was also recognized as a co-winner in the category Senior Individual Exhibit at the National History Day (NHD) held in Los Angeles on Mar. 17. She will go on to represent the Los Angeles County at the California State NHD in Rocklin, CA on May 5th.

“This is a career (physics) that I plan to pursue in the future because I like to help the environment but I’m not really sure what job I specifically want,” Arst said.