LAKELAND, Fla. (May 6, 2005) — The Florida Southern College chemistry department, in cooperation with the Florida Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), hosted the annual high school Chemathon on April 29. Seventy-three students from Bartow High School IB program, Manatee High School, Lake Wales High School, George Jenkins High School, Winter Haven High School, and Palm Bay High School participated.

Chemathon is a written and oral competition among students divided into two categories: advanced placement and honors chemistry. Prizes were furnished by the ACS. Winners are listed below.

Written Exam:
    AP Exams Category:
        First place: Yash Avashia (Winter Haven High School)
        Second place: Dan Rood (Palm Bay High School)
        Third place (tie): Jessica Tan (Winter Haven High School)
                                Heather Shetler (Winter Haven High School)
                                Erica Rugay (Winter Haven High School)
    Honors Category:
        First place: Becca Love (Palm Bay High School)
        Second place: Rashon Hogan (Palm Bay High School)
        Third place: Kevin Kong (Bartow High IB Program)

Quiz Bowl winners:
    Advanced Placement Category:
        Winter Haven High School (Team 2)
        Bartow High-IB Program (Orange and Jackets teams)
    Honors category:
        George Jenkins (Silicon team)
        Palm Bay High School (Black and Silver teams)

Overall Winners:
    Advanced:
        Bartow High IB Program: David Loaring, Ravi Patel, Eric Taylor, and Michelle Valderrama
    Honors:
        Palm Bay High School: Rashon Hogan, Becca Love, Rene Reuter, and Jennifer Vajanyi


About Florida Southern College
Founded in 1885, Florida Southern College is a private, comprehensive, United Methodist college with a liberal arts core. The college maintains its commitment to academic excellence through 38 undergraduate majors and distinctive graduate programs in business administration, education, and nursing. Florida Southern has a 14:1 student/faculty ratio, provides strong student/faculty mentorship programs, boasts 24 NCAA Division II national championships, and is ranked by U. S. News and World Report as one of the top ten Southern Comprehensive Colleges-Bachelors. Located on scenic Lake Hollingsworth, Florida Southern is the home of the world’s largest single-site collection of Frank Lloyd Wright architecture.