Purdy student wins at science fairs

Bergren receives recognition from Surgeon General

Paige Richmond

of the Gateway

When third-grader Hailey Bergren puts her mind to something, there’s no limit to her success.

Take this year’s South Sound Regional Science Fair at Pacific Lutheran University as an example: Bergren, who attends Purdy Elementary School, entered the contest as an individual participant. She was not required to create a science project as a class assignment, nor was she offered extra credit for the task.

Instead, it was an interest in science — and inspiration from her grandfather, Ralph Vedros — that led her to enter and to eventually take home first place in her grade level.

“This is something I’m definitely motivated for,” she said about excelling in science.

The 9-year-old had entered the state fair last year, when she was in second grade at Purdy, with a project on sodium polyacrylate, a chemical compound that absorbs water. She had learned about the substance when her grandfather gave a show-and-tell presentation at her elementary school two years earlier, when her family was living in Bend, Ore.

Bergren knew she would enter the fair again this year — she took home awards last year but not first place — although she wasn’t sure what her project would be.

It was her grandfather who again provided the subject matter.

A lifelong athlete, Vedros had a strong heart from years of exercising. When Bergren learned about her grandfather’s past, she got an idea.

“What I was trying to find out was if exercising makes a difference in the cardiovascular system and how it works,” she said about the purpose of her award-winning project.

Bergren started working on the project in January, three months before the competition. She got permission from the Gig Harbor YMCA — with the help of her grandmother, Jill, who works there — to test the heart rates of YMCA members after exercising.

Bergren even put together a release form for all subjects to sign, and she operated a heart rate monitor by herself.

On three consecutive weekends, Bergren and her grandfather took heart rates at the YMCA. Then, for three or four hours a week after school, Bergren worked on compiling the data for her experiment — some nights, she said, she would spend “way more” time on the science project than on homework.

Bergren completed the project almost entirely on her own, with only a little help from her family, who helped decorate the poster board on which her scientific findings were displayed.

Bergren’s hard work paid off.

At the regional science fair earlier this month, Bergren not only took home a first-place award but also a Special Award from the U.S. Surgeon General for having the best project at the fair promoting health and physical fitness.

Bergren said she was surprised by how well she did. She was nervous before the contest, particularly about answering the judges’ questions.

“I didn’t get my hopes up,” she said about the possibility of winning an award. “But I was thinking, I could probably — maybe — get a prize. But I wasn’t expecting what I got.”

Bergren said she was “really, really proud” of her awards. Her father, Tyson, said she fielded the judges’ questions with skill.

“The thing that helps her a lot is her ability to interact with adults or anybody,” he said.

The regional fair wasn’t the only contest Bergren entered this year. She also earned a first-place award at the State Science and Engineering Fair at Olympic College in Bremerton, one week after sweeping the regional awards.

With the science fair season now behind her, the young scientist is looking forward to next year’s project — and a possible career as a wildlife biologist.

But if that falls through, she has a backup plan.

“My chances of becoming a pop star are about 50 percent,” she said.

Regardless of her career choice, her family knows that Bergren will succeed.

“She’ll do well in whatever she does,” Vedros said.

Reach Lifestyles Coordinator Paige Richmond at 853-9243 or by e-mail at paige.richmond@gateline.com.