Two years ago County Councilwoman Cathy Bevins was invited to be a judge at a science fair at Hawthorne Elementary School.

The Oliver Beach Democrat thought she would just be there a short time, make a few simple judging decisions and be done. That was anything but the case as Bevins was at the school for hours and took her time examining each project.

“I looked at every project and each one was better than the one before,” Bevins said. “Their hard work really inspired me.”

That inspiration led Bevins to reach out to the elementary schools in the Sixth District and find a way to recognize the winners of the science fairs at their respective schools.

On Thursday, those students gathered at Chesapeake High School in Essex on as Bevins awarded a county citation to each student who placed first or second in their respective science fairs.

Bevins said she chose Chesapeake for the awards event because it is the county’s lone STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) magnet school.

Chesapeake High Principal Maria Lowry said she hopes many of the students at the awards ceremony will consider her school in a few years as more and more employers are looking to fill vacancies in STEM fields.

“By the time you graduate high school, there are going to be so many more STEM opportunities in Baltimore County,” Lowry told the students. “I hope you seek out STEM opportunities like science fairs and visiting places like the Maryland Science Center in hopes of expanding your minds.”

Those students recognized by Bevins included:

Carney Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Mason Pilon and Lexi Marmion

Fifth Grade: Arason Anbazhagan and Dylan Gouin

Chase Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Autumn Blackwell and Austin Dorn

Fifth Grade:  India Patton and Jacob Brinkman

Elmwood Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Ignatius Nwanko and Logan Ryan

Fifth Grade: Manhoor Khan and Katie Dennis

Hawthorne Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Victory Reilley and Blake Krause

Fifth Grade: Krystyn Waskiewicz and Isabel Tharp

Middleborough Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Dylan Sloan and Luke Hoenig

Fifth Grade: Brian Bailey and Vanessa Hutson

Oliver Beach Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Kyle Comegna and Garrett Butt

Fifth Grade: Robert Dohler and Gillian Wright

Seneca Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Matthew Tydings and Maggie Foor

Fifth Grade: Hana Harwood and Erik Roese

Vincent Farm Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Sahithi Buddula and Tyler Keller

Fifth Grade: Angela-Marie Boeren and Izabella Busch

Fullerton Elementary School

Fourth Grade: Elayne Kuczmynda and Emily O’Haire

Fifth Grade: Blanca Ralph and Madden O’Neill

Victory Villa Elementary School

Fourth Grade: James Gollsbee and Madison Ramondi

Fifth Grade: Hien Cayas and Lucy Saenz