Student Standouts for May 12, 2023

Student Standouts: Zlatic ’24, Gelven ’25, Middle School Squash, and Mock Trial

Congratulations to this week’s standouts below. Way to go #RamNation! And as always, if you have a story to share, please email weeklynews@micds.org.

 

Junior Earns NASA Summer Internship

Congratulations to Zoe Zlatic ’24 for earning an in-person summer internship with the STEM Enhancement in Earth Science (SEES) joint program between the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the University of Texas at Austin Center for Space Research, and the Texas Space Grant Consortium. This program offers high school students summer internships to study a variety of earth- and space-related science topics funded by NASA and draws participants from across the U.S. Zlatic will spend the month of June working online with her team and NASA mentor before traveling to Austin for the two-week onsite portion of the program. She is part of the Engineer Your World Team that will deliver its final presentation to administrators in late July.

This is the second year in a row that Zlatic has earned a summer internship as a part of this program. In 2022, she participated in a remote project on the Asteroid Photometry team. Then, in December, Zlatic and members of her team traveled to Chicago to present their research at the American Geophysical Union conference.

Keep shooting for the stars, Zoe!

Sophomore Golfs his Way to State

In MSHSAA District Golf play, Ben Gelven ’25 shot a one under, 70, taking 3rd place overall in the District on May 8. He will advance to the State Championship Round next week!

Middle Schoolers Shine at 10th Annual Middle School Squash Tournament

The 10th annual Middle School Squash Tournament brought together 31 players from the seventh and eighth-grade groups for two days of intense competition on Monday, May 8 and Tuesday, May 9. Spectators were treated to some exhilarating matches throughout the tournament, with players showcasing their skills and sportsmanship in each game.

The tournament was a chance for middle school students to gain valuable match experience in a competitive setting. It provided an excellent opportunity for players to hone their skills and test their abilities against their peers. The coaches were impressed with the growth and improvement of all the players this season, and the tournament was an excellent showcase for their development.

After two days of intense competition, Bruce Elvin ’28 and Piper Summers ’28 emerged as the winners of the 10th annual Middle School Squash Championships. Congratulations to all the players who participated and made this year’s tournament a success!

Tournament Results:

  • 2023 Middle School Champions – Piper Summers and Bruce Elvin
  • 2023 Runners Up – Elizabeth Woltz ’28 and Cam Cozad ’27
  • 3rd Place – Audrey Taves ’28 and Matthew Hardin ’27

Mock Trial 2022-23 Season Wrap-Up

By Aanya Tiwari ’23

In the words of Theodore Roosevelt, “No man is above the law and no man is below it: nor do we ask any man’s permission when we ask him to obey it.” The same applies to Defendant Wynne D. Byrd in the 2022-2023 Missouri High School Mock Trial Competition organized by the Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis. As Wynne D. Byrd was tried for Arson in the First Degree, the MICDS Mock Trial team tackled the prosecution and defense of the case through a series of trials. The team members began preparing last October, meeting six hours a week and working on their own time to form their arguments for both sides of the case through witness depositions, objections, stipulations, rules, exhibits, and more. Each teammate worked exceedingly hard, assimilating into the team and honing skills as witnesses, attorneys, and individuals as a whole. Here is this season’s recap:

In January and February’s preliminary competition rounds, MICDS’ two Mock Trial teams performed well, advancing them to Regionals. At Regionals in March, the team once again emerged victorious in their two challenging rounds. At Regionals, MICDS secured the sixth seat in the set of 10 qualifying teams. With high spirits, they moved forward into the State competition and fiercely competed against the most polished teams in Missouri. Successfully, they qualified up to the quarter-finals, ranking in the top eight teams in the entire state. The quarter-final loss was by a single ballot and a matter of a minor point differential. Nevertheless, the team is extremely happy  and is grateful for their dedicated and selfless coaches: Upper School History Teachers Dr. Tanya Roth and Mr. Jason Asher along with Mrs. Rebecca Nickelson, attorney and partner at Sinars Slowikowksi Tomaska.

Shoutout to the State team:

Freshman (Class of 2026)

  • Narya Phatak ’26: Witness 
  • Harrison Foster ’26: Witness 
  • Ava Casillas ’26: Witness 
  • Meredith Mack ’26: Timekeeper 
  • Prakul Bhattarai ’26: Role Back-up

Sophomores (Class of 2025)

  • Claire Giokas ’25: Role Back-up

Juniors (Class of 2024) 

  • Safi Junejo ’24: Attorney 

Seniors (Class of 2023)

  • Aanya Tiwari ’23: Attorney
  • Nikitha Ada ’23: Attorney 
  • Ashley Benoist ’23: Witness & Attorney 
  • Isaac Bierman ’23: Witness 
  • Quinn Autry ’23: Attorney 
  • Sanchi Vishwakarma ’23: Role Back-up