A Legacy of Science: From Mia to Mollie

There's a moment every science teacher lives for — when a student stops doing an experiment for a grade and starts doing it because they can't not know the answer. At LHSSA, that moment has a way of becoming a legacy. This summer, we got to see it stretch across four remarkable young women: Mia, Lexi, Sierra, and Mollie.

Mia was one of the first LHSSA students to make our science fair program something to watch. That early curiosity carried on to her college career. Now continuing her research at Trinity University, Mia recently presented at the Trinity Summer Research Symposium, and by every account, she crushed it. Her research examined clinical wound wash and its effects on cell proliferation — the kind of work that sits right at the intersection of rigorous science and real human healing.

It's hard to overstate what it means to watch a student go from a science fair table in our own halls to a research symposium podium. Mia didn't just learn science at LHS, she learned to think like a scientist, and she's been building on that foundation ever since.

Between Mia and the next generation stand two more Voelcker Fellows who've kept the momentum going.

Sierra, heading into her junior year at LHSSA, is currently deep in her Voelcker research this very summer — putting in the lab hours that will one day be somebody else's "remember when" story.

Lexi just wrapped up her time at LHSSA and is headed to UTSA this fall on a full-ride scholarship from the Terry Foundation. From Voelcker research to a fully-funded college launchpad, Lexi's trajectory is exactly the kind of impact we pray for over every student who walks through our science labs.

And now the torch passes again. Mollie, our newest Voelcker Fellow, just finished her freshman year at LHSSA — and she's already presenting research posters most upperclassmen would find intimidating. Mollie shared her poster on the research she'll begin next summer: working alongside her mentor to study prostate cancer, specifically how to determine whether a cancer has a high likelihood of recurrence, and what can be done to prevent it.

Think about that for a second. A freshman, planning cancer research a full year out, with a level of clarity and purpose that would be impressive at any age.

Mia, Lexi, Sierra, and Mollie aren't an anomaly — they're evidence of what happens when serious science education is paired with mentors who believe students are capable of more than they think. Mrs. Rikard and Mr. Schuetze have poured years into building a science program at LHSSA that doesn't just teach content; it forms scientists — and more than that, it forms young men and women who see their gifts as something to steward for the good of others.

These students are pursuing excellence not for the trophy or the transcript line, but because they've caught a vision of what it looks like to use their minds well — to the glory of Jesus Christ and for the good of their neighbors, whether that neighbor is a wound-care patient or a family facing a cancer diagnosis.