PMHS students have always been high achievers, and senior Mateo Rivera is no exception. This December, Mateo received the Acorda Scientific Excellence Award. Mateo was honored for his research on native and invasive leaves and how the waste created by them affects water quality. This was completed as a summer project for Mateo’s Science Research class.

The award was created to encourage students to follow a career in science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM). Any high school student in Westchester, Putnam, or Fairfield County doing research in one of the STEM categories is eligible to enter. A winner is chosen each week, and each honoree is interviewed on the Lisa Wexler Radio Show, which is featured on AM 1490 WGCH.

In his interview with Ms. Wexler, Rivera credited the Pelham Science Research Program with teaching him how to conduct an experiment properly. When he conducted independent experimentation in previous years, he found that there was always a critical flaw in his methodology.

“What it’s taught me,” Mateo told Wexler, “is how to plug up the holes in logic so that you don’t repeat the mistakes you’ve already made in the past.”

To hear Mateo’s complete radio interview, please go to: http://www.lisawexler.com/acorda.html.