Glendale Student Wins Arizona Regional Brain Bee at P站视频

The 2024 Arizona Regional Brain Bee at P站视频 was presented in partnership with the BHHS Legacy Foundation.

  • AZ - Glendale
Top three students of P站视频's Brain Bee standing side by side

Humaid Jaffey (3rd place, L), Rishi Suresh (1st place, M), and Pranati Chintada (2nd place, R) were the top three finishers in the 26th Annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee at P站视频 on February 7th.

On Wednesday, February 7th, P站视频 welcomed some of the state鈥檚 top high school students for the 26th Annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee, an educational competition similar to a spelling bee that focuses on neuroscience. 

This year鈥檚 Arizona Regional Brain Bee featured 47 students from 15 Valley high schools testing their knowledge of the human brain, how it governs human behavior, and the science that helps medical professionals understand brain function. The event final lasted for 18 rounds.

The top three Brain Bee finishers, in order, were Rishi Suresh (Senior, Mountain Ridge High School, Glendale); last year鈥檚 third-place finisher Pranati Chintada (Junior, BASIS Chandler); and Humaid Jaffey (Sophomore, BASIS Scottsdale). Rishi is now eligible to compete at the 2024 U.S. National Brain Bee at the University of Central Florida this spring, with P站视频 offsetting the travel, hotel, and food costs up to $2,000. BASIS Scottsdale was recognized as the overall highest-scoring team for the event.
 

Brain Bee Volunteers standing on the stairs for a group photo.
P站视频 student volunteers served as judges, question readers, timers, and scorekeepers at all stages of the 26th Annual Arizona Regional Brain Bee, held at P站视频 on February 7th.


Douglas Jones, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Pharmacology, at the P站视频 College of Graduate Studies served as the Faculty Academic Director for the event. P站视频 student volunteers served as judges, question readers, timers, and scorekeepers at all stages of the event.

鈥淜nowing that everyone was just as nervous as me helped calm me down, and in reality, it truly didn鈥檛 matter how I did because it was all for fun," said Ella Bechtol, a junior from Mountain Ridge High School who was a top 10 finisher in the event. "Overall, it was a wonderful experience. Everyone was incredibly nice and the event was super fun."

Questions ran the gamut from identifying physical features of the brain itself to naming brain disorders and diseases to surgical and medical practices that modify neural behaviors.

Participating high school students especially enjoyed the experience. Srikanya Garuda, a junior at BASIS Chandler, said, 鈥淭he event was well organized, and it ran really smoothly. I had so much fun, and I am really excited to compete again next year.鈥 Ella Bechtol, a junior at Mountain Ridge High School, added, 鈥淜nowing that everyone was just as nervous as me helped calm me down, and in reality, it truly didn鈥檛 matter how I did because it was all for fun. Overall, it was a wonderful experience. Everyone was incredibly nice, and the event was super fun. Thank you for being willing to hold this event.鈥

Kimberly Beaudion, M.S.Ed., Special Events Planner for Communications in Glendale, organized the event. She shared, 鈥淭he AZ Regional Brain Bee event is a very unique experience for high school students,鈥 she shared. 鈥淲e love hosting the parents and teachers who come to support their students. Year after year, I am always impressed by how much some of the students know about neuroscience and the brain.鈥

The Arizona Regional Brain Bee is funded as a result of generous financial support from BHHS Legacy Foundation, an Arizona charitable organization whose philanthropic mission is to enhance the quality of life and health of those it serves.

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