Seven to present distinction projects

Seven seniors will present their Graduation with Distinction projects as a part of Blue and Gold Week activities to be held April 24-29 at LSMSA.

Graduation with Distinction is one of the school’s highest honors. Each student has met strict grade point average requirements and successfully completed higher level course work in the area of distinction and completed individual and scholarly work.

The presentation during Blue and Gold Week is the final step, a public presentation of the student’s work with an opportunity for questions from the audience.

Parker Felterman, of Patterson, will present at 4:15 p.m. on Monday, April 24, in the Recital Hall located in the Center for Performance and Technology. He will also present at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in room 234 of the CPT.

Felterman’s project is “Shades of Shadowlawn: Writing, Producing, Directing and Acting in Full-Length 2-Act Play” and explores the various aspects of a theatrical production from conception to actualization, including a large cast, budgeting issues and a harrowing time constraint.

Bethany Jenkins, of Ville Platte, will present at 6 p.m. on Monday, April 24, in the Recital Hall of the CPT. She will present again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in the boardroom located in the High School Building.

Her project is “The Evolution of Dystopian Literature: Defining a Moving Target” and it offers an analysis of “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury, “The Giver” by Lois Lowry” and “The Hunger Games” by Suzanne Collins to better understand the major changes in American dystopian literature.

MyChel Robinson, of Mansura, will present at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 24, in the Recital Hall. She will present again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in the Recital Hall.

Robinson’s project is “Testing for antimicrobial Properties of various Spider Silks,” and the objective is to test the various types of silk against antimicrobial properties against Escherichia coli and Bacillus thuringiensis.

Gwyneth Engeron, of Houma, will present at 4:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, in the Recital Hall. She will present again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in room 234 of the CPT.

Her project is “Water Quality and Bacteria Flora of the Alimentary Canal of the Red Swamp Crayfish, Procambarus clarkia.” Engeron did research on the type of bacteria that grew in the alimentary canal of the red swamp crayfish.

Marcos Cecchini, of Denham Springs, will present at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, in the Recital Hall. He will present again at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in room 231 in the CPT.

His project is “Spain: the Land of Music” and analyzes the origin of the different styles of folk music in a handful of the many autonomous communities of Spain.

Joshua Ballagh, of Leesville, will present at 4:15 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, in the Recital Hall. He will present again at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in the Recital Hall.

His project is “The American Novel of World War II: Pitting Individual against Institution.” The project focuses on three prominent works of fiction and analyzes and compares how authors of this era wrestled with questions of individualism, authority, identity, the power of ideas and human mortality.

Varun Amin, of Lake Charles, will present at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, in the Recital Hall. He will present again at 10 a.m. on Saturday, April 29, in the boardroom of the HSB.

His project is “Analysis of Gene Expression Data from Primary B Cells Infected with Epstein Barr Virus during the Transformation Process.” His project focused on microarray data from the three stages of EBV infection.

Other presentations include a capstone research project by Camille Loy, of Terrytown, at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 25, in the Recital Hall. Her project is “Generation of Cystic Fibrosis Neutrophil Cell Lines for CF Research and Drug Screening.” Her study focused on creating neutrophils that express the CF-causing F508 mutation in order to determine the ways they act differently than healthy neutrophils.

Alexis Cambridge, of Slidell, will present her capstone research project at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 26, in the Recital Hall. Her project is “Using Diatoms as a Bio-Indicator of Water Quality.” It involved the identification of different species of diatoms and how their presence in varying waterways can help to determine the waterway’s health.

The Department of Creative and Performing Arts will present is spring musical, “Little Women: The Musical” at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, April 28-29, in Treen Auditorium located in the High School Building. There will also be a performance at 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 29.

All Graduation with Distinction and capstone research presentations are free and open to the public. There is a $7 charge for “Little Women: The Musical.”