Zach and Anika are two students who recently graduated from Sonoran Science Academy in Tucson, AZ. Both of them have competed in the SARSEF Fair, and have cited SARSEF as a catalyst in their life to pursue a career in STEM. SARSEF’s Marketing and Communications Coordinator Claire Gibson and Chief Program Officer Dani Wright sat down with Zach and Anika for an interview about how their involvement with STEM and SARSEF has shaped their life. Zach and Anika competed in the 2026 SARSEF Fair on a project titled Redox‐Modulated Speciation and Quantitative Bio-accessibility of Iron in Moringa Oleifera Leaf Extracts for Iron-Deficiency Anemia, which one first place and the top SARSEF Fair Award, the Tom Grogan Award for Scientific Excellence.
Note: this interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.
How has SARSEF impacted you life?
Anika: I have been very interested in science fair for a long time. My first project was on elephant toothpaste. My first project in high school with SARSEF was about finding the natural antioxidants from ingredients like turmeric, garlic, and ginger. I wanted to see how they would affect bacterial and microbial growth, because in my culture they use turmeric as a type of medicine and apply it directly to the skin. I wanted to know how that works. My second big project was this one, on using moringa oleifera leaf for treating iron-deficiency. This one turned out much better and I enjoyed this one more because we spent a long time doing it. We spent eight months working on this, with most of it figuring out the protocol and methods.
Zach: When I started high school, I was not a science oriented kid. I struggled with my freshman and sophomore year grades. My biology mentor sat me down and said “You’re going to do SARSEF” and I was like “what is SARSEF?” My first project in junior year was a coding project where I used AI to classify mechanisms of action of drugs in the human body. I did not place but I won some awards and was kind of like, huh, this science thing is actually pretty cool. I like winning. I then spent my summer doing research. I am still doing research. I owe this inspiration to my mentors. I started pushing myself and I realized I can actually help society move forward in science. SARSEF has been a big thing for me and it has changed my perspective on science.
Anika: SARSEF is a great way to figure out if science is for you. I found out that research is for me. Even though I have an interest in engineering, I know I want to keep doing something in a lab. I like the trial and error.
How has your experience doing science changed your future plans and where you saw yourself as a high schooler?
Anika: When I first started high school, science was my least favorite subject. I would not budge from that until my junior year. Once I took biology and chemistry, I found out there is a different aspect of science I do like, such as lab work. Doing lab work helped me figure out I can do science even if I did not like the conceptual parts. Taking these science classes and doing SARSEF has helped me figure out that I can do better if I put myself to it.
Zach: My first exposure to science was physics, and I really love physics because it’s an application of how the world works mathematically which is super cool. Then I got to biology, and that was so hard. When I first came to this school I was frightened by all the expectations to be good at science. It’s in the name. But then I realized you have to do your own thing, and SARSEF helped me realize that. I found my own thing.
What is currently inspiring you in science and engineering as you head into your next steps with college and your career?
Anika: I am really interested in common diseases such as metabolic disease and help figure out ways to have early detection so we can try and prevent those diseases from developing into later stages.
Zach: As the world progresses more and we do more research, it’s the things that seem unsolvable that inspire me. The things that are herculean, such as cancer. If you google me in 50 years, that is where you will find me working on these problems.
Zach: I want to thank SARSEF for what it is. The things that happen in Southern Arizona in science are just incredible. I hope that SARSEF never stops.
Anika: I hope all students from all over still continue to do science fair and research and hopefully find out what they want to do in life.
SARSEF thanks Zach and Anika for their time in interviewing with SARSEF. This interview was made possible through Sonoran Science Academy in Tucson, a recently designated SARSEF Endorsed School.