After winning the region science fair, Etowah sophomore, Gwenevere Wrye, is headed to the state level to compete over spring break.

“I’m excited to represent Etowah at state,” Wrye said.

Wrye’s project is about taboo words, words that evoke emotion, and how they effect the memory of adolescents. She performed a series of statistical analysis tests and looked for connections in the data.

Wrye created a Power Point with a series of 20 word pairs with a corresponding picture. She then had 70 high school subjects read the words for two seconds, and look at the picture for 45 seconds. Once the Power Point was complete, the students had to record all the words they remembered into a Google Form.

“I realized that a lot of what we read in school and a lot of what I read outside of class contains taboo words and scenes,” Wrye said.

Wrye won first place in the region competition.  Before representing Etowah at state, she will fine tune her project, adding her final touches before the competition that runs March 30 through April 1 at the University of Georgia.

“I was in complete shock,” Wrye said.

The state event has a higher level of competition than the regions because these projects have already won.  Competitors have a  chance to win a scholarship along with the state title.