The 2026 Socorro Independent School District’s high school science fair allowed hundreds of students, including Frida Perez, to showcase their innovative research and exceptional problem‑solving skills through projects that tackled real-world challenges.
Perez, a senior at Mission Early College High School, won first place in the competition’s translational medical science category for her project examining the effects of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) on an athlete's muscle strength and range of motion. A TENS unit is a small, battery‑powered device that provides temporary pain relief by interrupting pain signals sent to the brain.
She was inspired by her experiences as a dancer and flag football player and often used home remedies to relieve sore joints.
“I think knowledge is one of the best things a person can have. And I think there's never a stop where you can get too much knowledge. And I think there's so many different categories here. There's so many different things that you can expand your knowledge in”, said Perez, who placed first in last year’s science fair in the plant sciences category.
This year’s science fair on Jan. 31 featured 218 projects from students in grades nine through 12 across 22 categories in three main areas: life sciences, engineering and physical sciences. Winners were announced for first, second and third place in each category, along with three individual sweepstakes winners and one campus sweepstakes winner.
Cindy Apodaca, the secondary science instructional officer for SISD, said that students worked hard to create excellent science projects, many at a college level. She also emphasized that this experience prepared seniors for their next chapter after high school.
“So, there are many reasons why we offer this opportunity. Again, a lot of these students, they're very into the science. They want to answer questions that they have, right? They want to do the research. It's also important because it prepares students for life, for college,” Apodaca said.
The first and second place winners of the competition advanced to the 2026 Insights Sun Country Regional Science and Engineering Fair (SCRSEF) on Feb. 14.
They included Isabella Barraza and Leyah Ford, both seniors at Pebble Hills High School, who secured first place in the behavioral and social sciences category. Their project examined the nutritional needs of the school's student-athletes by surveying students who bring lunch from home and those who eat cafeteria lunches.
Ford has been participating in science fairs since fifth grade. As an aspiring teacher, she appreciated the challenge of creating an engaging science project and enjoyed sharing her research with the community.
“I love that I'm able to research my community and share my results with my classmates and then build posters like this,” Ford said while pointing to their colorful display board, which included the project's introduction, procedures and results.
“I feel like it's a great experience and especially a learning experience because I learned a lot just about my high school from surveying my peers,” Ford added.
Barraza, who plans to pursue a legal career, said the science fair allowed her to practice her presentation and networking skills. She said collaborating with a partner enhanced the quality of their work.
“I just think it's a lot easier to have another researcher because you can check, you know, for more evidence, or she has different knowledge than I do. If you collaborate, you know, you get two different perspectives on one project,” Barraza said.
2026 SISD High School Science Fair Winners
Life Science
Animal Sciences
1st place – Bella Vargas & Marina Lares-Garcia, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Nadelyn Belmontes & Anissa Alvarado, Mission Early College High School
3rd place – Ashely Jefferson & Olivia Aleman, El Dorado High School
Behavioral and Social Sciences
1st place – Leyah Ford & Isabella Barraza, Pebble Hills High School
2nd place – Samantha Prieto & Jocelyn Melendez, Socorro High School
3rd place – Lilian Harman, Socorro High School
Biomedical and Health Sciences
1st place – Natalie Hernandez, El Dorado High School
2nd place – Andrea Romo, Pebble Hills High School
3rd place – Victoria Cisneros, Eastlake High School
Cellular and Molecular Biology
1st place – Gabriela Martinez, Eastlake High School
2nd place – Diego Barron, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Ivory Ramirez & Jimena Ochoa & Orion Matthes, Pebble Hills High School
Computational Biology and Bioinformatics
1st place – Alexa Verdugo, Mission Early College High School*
2nd place – Sophia Vasquez & Genesis Saucedo, Americas High School
3rd place – Genessy Gutierrez, Eastlake High School
Microbiology
1st place – Jazlynn Zambrano, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Nathaly Riojas, Americas High School
3rd place – Jadah Generlette, Eastlake High School
Plant Sciences
1st place – Demetrius Valdon & Benjamin Avenenti & Nathan Santana, Pebble Hills High School
2nd place – Jayleen Espinoza & Illiana Ratliff, Mission Early College High School
3rd place – Camila Arrieta & Kaylee Martin, Pebble Hills High School
Translational Medical Science
1st place – Frida Perez, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Divinity Castillo & Jazlynn Quiroz, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Vaeda Smith, Mission Early College High School
Engineering
Biomedical Engineering
1st place – Logan Bishop & Gavin Giersdorf, Americas High School
2nd place – Payton Alanis-Tejeda, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Amari Allen & Natalie Guerra & Joshua Reyes, Montwood High School
Embedded Systems
1st place – Danna Hernandez, Mission Early College High School*
2nd place – Daniel Dominguez & Ian Vasquez, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Alexander Enriquez & Angelina Gonzalez, Americas High School
Engineering Technology: Statistics and Dynamics
1st place – Brisa Sanchez, Socorro High School
2nd place – Adryel Grijalva, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Julian Valenzuela & Zane Munoz & Salvador Espinoza, El Dorado High School
Environmental Engineering
1st place – Francis Repato, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Alejandro Rodriguez & Sydney Sneller, Pebble Hills High School
3rd place – Christian Calleros, Eastlake High School
Mathematics
1st place – Diego Sifuentes, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Daniel Tomlinson, El Dorado High School
3rd place – Maite Zapata & Jacob Alvarez, Americas High School
Robotics and Intelligent Machines
1st place – Adriana Alston, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Cristian Zamora-Robledo, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Malachi Valenzuela, Eastlake High School
Systems Software
1st place – Anthony Russell, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Daniela Chacon, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Gabriel Yanez-Duron, Americas High School
Technology Enhances the Arts
1st place – Jayden Mendivil, Americas High School
2nd place – Braxton King, Eastlake High School
3rd place – Isis Remes, Americas High School
Physical Science
Biochemistry
1st place – Victoria Delgado, Montwood High School
2nd place – Aliyah Castro, Mission Early College High School
3rd place – Ava Ballesteros, Montwood High School
Chemistry
1st place – Jose De La Rosa, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Landon Miller, El Dorado High School
3rd place – Melissa Thornell & Jiselle Montes & Aader Windham, Pebble Hills High School
Earth and Environment Sciences
1st place – Itzel Gonzalez, Eastlake High School*
2nd place – Shalom Colmenero, Mission Early College High School
3rd place – Evan Hernandez, Mission Early College High School
Energy: Sustainable Materials and Design
1st place – Danna Gutierrez, Mission Early College High School
2nd place – Isabella Padilla & Teresa Rivera & Issabella Soper, Pebble Hills High School
3rd place – Frida Garcia, Mission Early College High School
Materials Science
1st place – Kara Duncan, El Dorado High School
2nd place – Diego Velasco, Americas High School
3rd place – Lyam Guadian, Mission Early College High School
Physics and Astronomy
1st place – Camila Arreola, Americas High School
2nd place – Alejandro Fernandez, Montwood High School
3rd place – Daniel Flores, Eastlake High School
Campus Sweepstakes
Mission Early College High School
*Sweepstakes Winners