OSSM student Zhao from Lawton wins third place at TEAM+S with peers

OKLAHOMA CITY — Billy Zhao, a Lawton student at the Oklahoma School of Science and Mathematics (OSSM), and his peers recently won third place in the presentation category of the national TEAM+S competition.

Together with Krish Mody, Aaron Pan and Andrew Zheng, all from Edmond, Zhao went to Louisville, Ky., from June 29 to July 2, to compete against teams from across the United States that had previously scored in the top 20 percent of the regional competitions in February.

TEAM+S stands for Tests of Engineering Aptitude, Mathematics, and Science and is designed to help middle and high school students discover their STEM potential. It challenges the students to collaborate and to apply their math and science knowledge in practical, creative ways, in order to solve real-world engineering challenges. There are different competition categories, with one of them being presentation, where Zhao and his team won third place.

“TEAM+S has served students in STEM for more than 30 years, and OSSM has participated since the beginning,” OSSM President Tony Cornforth said. “Placing third against the best teams in the country is outstanding, and we are extremely proud of our team’s accomplishments.”

OSSM in Oklahoma City is a nationally-ranked top public high school, providing college-level curriculum in science and mathematics to juniors and seniors.