PVS middle school student in the Top 300

Photo by Samar Al-majaideh

Naisha received a certificate and ribbon when she placed in the Top 300.

Pleasant View School student placed in the Top 300 in the prestigious national science fair competition for her project on wood sealers.

Eighth grader Naisha Chowdhury was among 6000 nominees and 2499 applicants to be selected as a Top 300 Broadcom MASTERS.

“When you go to the store like Lowes or Home Depot, you find these sealers and all of them have hazards,” said Naisha. “ … when you pick up the bottle, on the front you see hazards all over. And the thing is this swing is gonna be used for children and not for display that you can put harmful chemicals on it … and so I decided that I wanted to figure out if there was any alternative.”

Broadcom MASTERS (Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering Rising Stars) is a competition affiliated with science fairs across the country to nominate the top 10 percent of middle school participants.

Naisha was one of five students from PVS invited to apply to Broadcom MASTERS after her win at the Christian Brothers University science fair.

After she filled out a lengthy online application, Naisha was a semifinalist chosen as the Top 300 MASTERS.

Her project “Natural Seal, Better Deal” tried to find a natural sealer for wood experimenting with glycerin, beeswax and olive oil. The project took her a total of five months to complete.

The Top 300 projects are currently being judged for the Top 30 finalists. The Top 30 will be announced Sept. 20. Finalists are awarded with a week-long trip to Washington D.C. In previous years, finalists have been able to meet the president.

“I feel really good about our science department,” said Dr. Farhana Chowdhury, the head of the PVS Science Department. “Our students are encouraged and motivated … I would like to thank Allah (swt) for His blessing and for giving Naisha the ability to work hard to acheive this success.”