DATE: May 04, 2009

CONTACT: Barbara Speziale, 864 656 1550
bjspz@clemson.edu

WRITER: Susan Benson, 864 656 3869
benson2@clemson.edu


More than 800 middle and high school students take Biology Merit Exam

CLEMSON — More than 800 students from 28 South Carolina middle and high schools recently gathered at Clemson University to take the 30th annual Biology Merit Exam.

Anthony Pometto, chairman of the Clemson department of food science and human nutrition, talks with students at the Career Expo.The event helps teachers prepare their students for academic and career success in the life sciences, including medicine, scientific research, public health, teaching and international business. It is sponsored by the biological sciences department in the College of Agriculture, Forestry and Life Sciences.

Why would a middle or a high school student want to take a test if they don’t have to?

“They are bright, competitive and they love it,” said Robbie Miller, who teaches anatomy and physiology at Marlboro County High School. Miller has been bringing his students to the Biology Merit Exam for 12 years.

More than 200 students from eight economically disadvantaged schools from the lower part of the state also were able to participate in the Clemson's SC LIFE Project, funded by $5.4 million from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Without this funding, students from the schools would not have the opportunity to experience the academic environment of a leading public research university.

Casey Yarborough (center), a rising junior at Clemson University and a former participant in the SC LIFE programs including the Biology Merit Exam, is pleased to meet two students from her former school district. Debbie Whettington (left) is a student at Ronald E. McNair Middle School, and Patsy Williamson (right) is a student at Lake City High School, both in Florence County.The students visited research labs, extracted their own DNA in the DNA Learning Center and participated in a Career Expo to learn about Clemson's science departments. This year students from Lee Central High School in Lee County; Marlboro County High School in Marlboro County; Hanahan High School; St. John’s and West Ashley high schools in Charleston County; and Lake City High School, J.P. Trulock Middle School and Ronald E. McNair Middle School in Florence County participated in the SC LIFE Project.

After they took the Biology Merit Exam at Littlejohn Coliseum, selected students participated in the “Biology Bowl,” a competition styled after “Jeopardy.”

Each year the exam has a theme. This year it was sharks and last year it was gorillas.

Last year’s exam questions and answers are posted at: http://biae.clemson.edu/bme/BMEex08/BME%20Test/MEX08_Exam.html.

For information, contact Ricardo Garcia at ragrc@clemson.edu.

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