Sophomore Nirva Vassa continues to expand on a science fair project that won her an opportunity to attend ISEF, the world’s largest international pre-college science competition, last year in Phoenix, Arizona. Vassa was the only freshman from Seminole County to participate in the prestigious competition, which allows more than 1,600 high school students to participate, but only a handful of students from each county qualify to attend.

“ISEF is a very prestigious accomplishment,” said experimental science teacher Ms. Heather Clayton.

This year, Vassa continues her previous experiment: determining factors that will minimize the vitamin C degradation and she hopes to reach the ultimate goal of 0% vitamin C degradation.

Vassa said, “The overall purpose of the project is to identify factors that limit the vitamin C degradation in orange juice.The objective is also to create a public awareness message based on the results”

Vassa has won numerous awards in science fair, including first place at States for three consecutive years. She said she’s been serious about this competition since sixth grade.

Ms. Clayton said, “[It] was a creative approach to solving real world problems.”

Vassa said she was originally inspired to compete seriously in science fair after watching her older sister, Nirali Vassa, perform at competitions. When Vassa was only in elementary school, she’d take note of how her older sister competed, and won prizes, at the county and state levels. After years of observing her sibling, Vassa felt ready to begin her own adventure.

“I was excited and could not wait to do experiments,” she said.

As a student in the IB program, Vassa admitted, “It is easy to get stressed when doing science fair. Managing time was the key.”

Junior Nikita Patel said, “Nirva is a very diligent student who can conquer these challenges.”

Along with Science Fair, Vassa is also a part of a high school Bollywood dance group. This group, which is primarily made up of high school students, competes annually at the Orlando India Fest.

Bollywood dancing has been a big part of Vassa’s life since she was a child. Vassa expressed, “It helps me stay connected with my heritage and culture.”

This year, Vassa continues to balance IB, Bollywood dance, and science fair.