The Westchester Science and Engineering Fair (WESEF) is one of the most well-known science fair competitions in New York. Months of preparation go into competing at WESEF, with some incredibly gifted students being able to showcase their hard work.

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For students at Westlake, projects typically start sophomore year after the student has landed a mentor. Once the brainstorming has been worked out by the student and the mentor, the project officially gets off the ground and the data collection process takes place over the summer of sophomore year into junior year. By around October of junior year, students will have started to complete a first draft of their research paper so that they can send it to the WESEF committee by December to get it approved for presenting at the fair. 

 

Once all projects have been completed, posters must be created so that the students are able to practice their presentation skills; in order to build a solid oral presentation, 15 practice presentations are required by our Science Research class. 

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The competition takes place on a Saturday in mid-March from 9:00am - 4:30pm. During this time, students stand by their posters and wait for judges to score them on their project and oral presentation. Students get around 5-6 judges total during the time they are at the fair, with the last hour being dedicated to public viewing.

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In my personal experience, WESEF has been an amazing opportunity that introduced me to friends, scientists, and outstanding research conducted by my peers. Through this competition, I was able to connect with people from other schools in my category, creating strong bonds that persisted, though we spent months away from each other. 

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It is also through WESEF where some students are fortunate enough to advance to other international science fairs, such as Genius Olympiad and Regeneron’s International Science and Engineering Fair, ISEF. In fact, last year, I was fortunate enough to compete at Genius, and just this year, one of our juniors, Giana Marchese, is able to present her research at ISEF this year.

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Through our Science Research program, students have been able to make a lasting and notable impact on the scientific field, and I am sure that our success will only continue to grow.