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State-winning student presents egg-coating study; WVU OT student offers transition modules to board
Summary
A Pendleton County student described a state-winning science-fair project showing olive oil coatings reduced eggshell weight loss over 42 days; the board also heard a WVU occupational therapy student outline a five-module transition program for juniors and seniors that produced statistically significant gains in student confidence.
Ross, a Pendleton County student, told the school board his state-winning science-fair project tested four food-safe eggshell coatings and found olive oil reduced weight loss and preserved egg quality over a 42-day storage period. "Olive oil was the best coating that you could do on the egg," Ross said during the meeting.
The presentation described the experiment design (coatings: olive oil, coconut oil, gelatin and lard; two unwashed and two washed eggs; refrigerated and countertop storage), measurement method (percent change in weight over 42 days) and quality checks using USDA-style candling and an egg-quality gauge. Ross said refrigerated eggs showed markedly better retention, and that one unrefrigerated egg in the trial experienced severe spoilage.
The board then heard Kelsey Arman Trout, a third-year occupational therapy student at West Virginia University and a 2019 graduate of PCHS, summarize a 14-week capstone project on junior and senior transition planning. Kelsey said she delivered five modules—career exploration; communication and organization; interviewing and resume building; financial management; and an "adulting 101" session—and measured outcomes with pre- and post-module surveys. She said the group-level data showed growth across all modules and that a Wilcoxon signed-rank test indicated statistical significance across the measured outcomes. "Helped me have more of an understanding about adulthood," one student wrote on a post-module survey, Kelsey said when sharing student feedback.
Kelsey described how she tailored activities for college-bound and career-technical students, ran in-class simulations (including an "Uber game" to illustrate budgeting and trade-offs), and used faculty reviews and social-media posts to track community engagement—two school Facebook posts on the project drew more than 3,000 views each, she said. She recommended the district consider continuing the modules either through curriculum inclusion or weekly presentations and asked for ongoing student feedback to refine content.
Board members praised both presentations and asked clarifying questions during Q&A. The meeting record shows no formal board action on curriculum adoption; Kelsey and Ross were acknowledged and thanked for their work, and Kelsey said she would include faculty and administrative collaborators in any plans to expand the program.
