Flat Rock Middle School eighth grader Kaelyn Frazier has been selected for an honor few receive. She will give a keynote address Oct. 25 at the Georgia STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Forum in Athens.
When students were invited by the Georgia Science Teachers Association to participate in STEMtalk, a video competition for elementary, middle and high school students across the state to share how STEM is shaping their futures, Kaelyn Frazier was eager to share her story, said Fayette County School System spokesperson Melinda Berry-Dreisbach.
“Kaelyn, an eighth grader at Flat Rock Middle, has been selected as the middle school winner for Georgia, and will give a keynote address at the GA STEM Forum in front of approximately 1,200 Georgia educators who are expected to attend,” Berry-Dreisbach said.
Kaelyn has been involved in the STEM program at Flat Rock for over a year, and will share how she is using STEM to research mental illnesses, and hopefully, some day, use what she is learning to help develop a vaccine to eradicate them. In her video, she talks about how a family member with schizophrenia is her inspiration behind trying to find a cure for mental disorders, said Berry-Dreisbach.
“Over the years, I’ve watched as this illness has taken over her life, and prevented her from doing the things she wants to do,” Kaelyn said of her family member. “Schizophrenia is just one disorder, there’s also autism, bipolar disorder, OCD and PTSD. If we start working now, we might be able to save children from getting these illnesses, and also save lives that might be sacrificed by these diseases. I’ve been researching this in the STEM program because I hope to one day be a physiologist. The only way I would be able to research these topics is by STEM. That’s what STEM means to me, opportunity.”
Kaelyn will deliver her message during lunch on the first day of the Georgia STEM Forum, which will be held in Athens, Georgia on Oct. 25.
