Student Standouts: Oliver ’22, Anderson ’23, Kanumury ’23, Petersen ’23, MICDS Best Buddies, Boys Tennis, Track & Field, and Middle School Squash
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.
Kate Oliver '22 Dubbed a 2022 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete
Senior Kate Oliver ’22 has been selected as a 2022 Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete! The St. Louis Post-Dispatch Scholar Athlete program honors one student from each area school. It recognizes and celebrates “high school seniors whose success [is] not only on the field, court or ice rink — but students who [excel] in the classroom as well.” As a Scholar Athlete, Kate is being celebrated for her field hockey, lacrosse, and track & field successes as well as her academic feats including being a member of the Cum Laude Society. She will be attending college at Harvard University, striving to be part of a national championship-winning team and wants to find a cure for pancreatic cancer. Check out her Scholar Athlete profile here. Congratulations, Kate!
Track & Field Star Maya Anderson '23 is an Athlete of the Week
Congratulations to Maya Anderson ’23 who is an athlete of the week according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch! Maya has been dominating her track & field events, winning three events at the recent Lutheran South Invitational (triple jump, 100 hurdles, and 300 hurdles). She has been a key student-athlete for the Rams all season and even competed at the AAU Junior Olympics last summer. Keep it up, Maya!
Junior's Science Fair Project of Developing Bio-Based Plastic Gains International Recognition
MICDS junior Kareena Kanumury ’23 is on a mission to rid the world of its plastics crisis. For the past two and a half years, she has conducted cycles of research and trials from home to develop a bio-based plastic. “It all started with one documentary, The Story of Plastic, by National Geographic in ninth grade,” she said. “After seeing so many innocent ecosystems destroyed over one material [plastic], I decided to keep pursuing the topic.” Kanumury, a lover of the outdoors and the environment, wondered how we could all be surrounded by so many solutions to this new modern crisis yet still be battling this issue. Even with biodegradable plastics, there are many issues caused: “As we use biodegradable plastics to substitute everyday plastics, toxic chemicals are released and cause more pollution,” she explained. They are also less available and more costly when compared to other plastic brands. “I realized I needed to look into why all the solutions to the plastic crisis are ineffective.”
Inspired to try to solve this issue, Kanumury created her science fair project called The Ripe Type of Plastic: Developing Bio-based Plastics from Food Waste. She realized that with the population’s overconsumption tendency, she wanted to use top food waste items (milk, bread, potatoes, and avocados) to create a bio-based plastic from all organic materials that one can buy at the store. “Ultimately, the final product I created, a bread bio-based plastic, was a success!” she said. “This plastic is more durable, water-absorbent, and can help promote more plant growth since it can be used as a natural fertilizer. Additionally, this bread bio-based plastic is more affordable and can be more accessible to consumers if put on the market through cost analysis.”
“Kareena’s project is a proud example of a student who is using her love and knowledge of science to influence positive change in our world,” shares Paul Zahller, JK-12 Science Department Chair & Upper School Science Teacher. Kanumury’s science fair project gained regional recognition from Bayer, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, and the American Association of the University of Women. Nationally, it got recognized by a sustainability engineering company called Ricoh Sustainability. Finally, it has been recognized by the international competition Genius Olympiad. “I am currently a finalist and will be presenting more about my project in the coming months,” she said.
“It’s such an honor to receive recognition and awards from these companies. It means a lot to me and all of the effort I put in.” Regardless, Kanumury hopes to get her project developed and on the market to create a positive impact in such a deadly crisis we are facing as humanity. Amazing work, Kareena!
Want to learn more about Kareena’s project? View her PowerPoint slides and read her research paper.
Golfing his Way to State
Will Petersen ’23 shot a 74 at the May 9 District Golf Match and advanced to the State Tournament. Let’s go, Will!
MICDS Best Buddies Walks and Shops with Compassion
It’s been a busy few weeks for the MICDS chapter of Best Buddies! Best Buddies is an international organization that strives to normalize friendships between people with disabilities and people without. MICDS Upper School students act as peer buddies, students who commit to one-to-one friendships with a person with a disability, or as associate members, students who are not matched with buddies but participate in meetings, go on group outings, and support the MICDS peer buddies. All members help increase awareness about disabilities in the St. Louis area, and they plan events to make these kids feel included in society.
At the end of April, MICDS Best Buddies held a fundraiser at Kendra Scott where 20% of all purchases went directly to the Upper School Best Buddies program. A total of $440 was raised and will be used for the monthly events for MICDS students and their buddies or for sending one co-head to the mandatory leadership conference for Best Buddies. Thank you to all who shopped and showed their support!
Around the same time, MICDS Best Buddies participated in the annual Friendship Walk where Rams walked alongside their buddies. What wonderful ways to show compassion for others! Way to go, Rams!
Boys Tennis Earns Second at Districts
The MICDS Boys Tennis team is having an exciting finish to their season. In the Boys Tennis Team District final, the Rams earned second place overall. Justin Jan ’22 won Districts singles over teammate Jai Patel ’25. Both MICDS players are advancing to next week’s Individual State Championship on May 19-20. Louis Niemeyer ’24 and Arjun Puri ’25 finished third place medalist honors with an 8-2 win over Webster Groves. Congratulations, Rams!
Excellent Results at Lutheran South Track & Field Invitational
The MICDS Boys & Girls Track & Field teams had exciting performances at the Lutheran South Track & Field Invitational for which both teams placed second overall. Check out the highlights on the qualifying and final heats below!
- Nicole Green ’25 and Maya Anderson ’23 qualified for the finals of the 100-meter hurdle.
- Winston Moore ’23 qualified for the 100-meter finals with a PR of 11.07.
- Novo Onovwerosuoke ’22 qualified for the 200-meter final with a PR of 21.94.
- Nate Schuckman ’23 and Devyn Rodgers ’23 both qualified for the shot put finals.
- Tony Nunn ’22, Moore, Tristan Williams ’24, and Onovwerosuoke broke the school record in the 4×200 meter relay with a time of 1:27.06 which beats the previous record set by the same group of young men earlier this year at the Ladue Invitational on April 23.
- Skye Brothers ’23 set a PR in the 200-meter dash with a time of 28.41.
- Wyatt Dickherber ’24 and Liam McCarthy ’24 both set significant PRs in the 1600 with both running in a time of 4:53.
- Addison Small ’25 achieved a PR in the 1600 with a time of 6:06.37.
- Lauren Douglas ’22 made it to the finals in the discus.
- Onovwerosuoke broke the school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 49.79 which beats the previous record which was a time of 49.85 run by Amos Bartelsmeyer ’13 in 2012.
- Grace Coppel ’25 ran a new PR in the 800 with a time of 2:25.58.
- Rishi Tarapareddy ’24 and Amir Muhammad ’24 ran new PRs in the 800 with times of 2:11.71 and 2:16.20 respectively.
- Throwers had a great day at Lutheran South. In Boys Shot Put, Schuckman earned second place and Rodgers earned eighth. In Girls Discus, Douglas placed fifth. In Boys Discus, Schuckman placed first and Cole Gipson ’23 placed seventh. In Girls Shot Put, Zoe Carter-Konate ’22 earned second. There were three PRs from our throwers.
Keep it up, Rams!
Middle School Squash Season Finishes with Lively Tournament
The Middle School Spring Squash season started right before spring break and ended this week with a spectacular showing of sportsmanship and skill. Players competed in the optional end-of-season double-elimination squash tournament, providing tournament experience and exciting matches with hard-fought points. Every Middle School squash player improved throughout the season, which was evident during the tournament.
Congratulations to the winners of the boys’ and girls’ divisions and to all the players who competed in the Ninth Annual Middle School Squash Tournament! The two Middle School Squash teams are coached by Lily Childs, Nolan Clarke, Mohammad Tahir, and Robyn Williams.
Tournament Results:
- 2022 Middle School Champions – Aiyla Ahmad ’26 and Cam Cozad ’27
- 2022 Runners Up – Catherine Dawson ’26 and Athreya Arvind ’26
- 3rd Place – Narya Phatak ’26 and Shil Penilla ’26
