Three students with Surry County Schools were winners at either this year’s state science fair or NC Student Academy of Science research paper competition.

Klaudia Tucker, a Shoals Elementary School student, finished in the top 12 of the elementary division of the NC Science and Engineering Fair with her project entitled “3-2-1 Blast-off.” In the elementary division, judges choose 12 projects to mark exemplary instead of giving first, second or third place.

For the project, Tucker tested rockets to see whether or not different water temperatures affected the time needed to launch the rocket. Her favorite part of the project was watching the film canister rockets lift off. She found the process nerve-wracking and also exciting.

“I was interviewed seven times. It was a little bit different than the county or regional. They asked you different questions,” she said of the state competition.

She hopes to return next year for the middle school level, but admits to being a little nervous about the competition at that level.

“I was glad I was in the third- through fifth-grade division. I would get really nervous with the older kids probably,” she said.

Tucker received a plaque and $75 as a prize.

Ashley Jessup, an East Surry High School student, and Isabella Gillespie, a North Surry High School student, received honors at the NC Student Academy of Science research paper competition.

Jessup placed second in the senior advanced biological division for her project entitled “What’s In Your Pond?” She tested four ponds in different environments to determine whether or not the pond levels were affected by their environments.

For the competition, she had to create a 10-minute PowerPoint presentation from a 14-page research paper for a panel of judges. The judges then had the opportunity to ask questions about her project for an additional five minutes.

“It was intense,” she said of the judging portion. “This is the first time I’ve ever actually won a science fair. It was a good experience.”

Jessup was selected for the research project competition after an interview at the regional science fair.

Gillespie placed third in the senior advanced two division of math and computer science at the NCSAS research paper competition with her project on the driving reaction time of orthopedic patients after surgery.

For the project, she worked at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center for six weeks under Dr. Martin Tanaka. To get started, they had to do tests to determine a standard for driving reaction time because there is no set scale or chart for when patients can return to driving after surgery. She also tested reaction times while talking on a cell phone or testing. To create a formula, she had to use a math model and calculus.

“My mentor is the head of the orthopedics department and he let me watch a couple of surgeries,” she said. “That was cool because I want to be a neonatal surgeon.”

She attended the research competition last year as well in the biological division. She said this year’s experience was different because she was competing in a new division.

“I was really familiar with the biology department. In the math and computer science division it was amazing to see the projects the other students did,” she said.