The Botetourt County School Board recognized students Kierstyn Stanley and Sydney Vokus of Lord Botetourt High School at its meeting last week. The students won Grand Awards for the International Science & Engineering Fair, earning third place in the Engineering Mechanics category. Stanley and Vokus won first place in the Roanoke Valley Governor’s School project forum last April.
The students were introduced to the board and citizens in attendance by Lord Botetourt Assistant Principal Debbie Harris.
Vokus is a rising senior at Lord Botetourt and has attended the Governor’s School since her freshman year. She’s a member of the National Honor Society, was secretary of the Key Club, and a team captain on the Lord Botetourt track and cross country team. She plans to pursue a career in Aerospace Engineering.
Stanley is a four-year Governor’s School student and a 2021 honor graduate who finished up at Lord Botetourt with a GPA of over 4.6. She will attend Virginia Tech for Mechanical Engineering and be a part of the school’s Honors College. In addition, Stanley continues to play soccer and plans to play for the club at Tech.
Mark Levy, Director of Roanoke Valley Governor’s School, said a few words regarding Stanley and Vokus’s science fair project.
“It’s very rare for students to attend the International Science & Engineering Fair,” Levy explained.
School Board member Michelle Austin mentioned that no Botetourt County students had received this recognition since 1994.
Stanley and Vokus’s project focused on producing a rotating weekly pill dispenser entirely designed by the duo.
