(February 23, 2004) –Just imagine: you and three of your friends have the opportunity to travel out of state with free food, free transportation and free lodging all for your disposal. To top it all off, all the days you’ll be out of school will be excused. Four hardworking EAST students got to experience this dream just recently as they took a sojourn to Little Rock, Arkansas to present a project on the effects of metals in the ocean. Seniors Areni Mahdessian and Vista Ezzati and juniors Katherine and Christine Gharibian got the chance to travel to Arkansas to present their prize-winning project on offshore metals and how they affect the environment. The group was chaperoned by science teacher Dominique Evans-Bye and Assistant Principal Dr. Joan Shoff. “The entire trip was such an awesome experience, said Katherine Gharibian. “The actual convention wasn’t the only highlight; everything we did seemed to be a highlight.” Aside from presenting their project, the students got to inhale a whole cultural experience in Little Rock. According to Mahdessian, with the assistance of a Hilton transportation’s driver known simply as “Larry,” they got to travel to many historical and educational places such as the Arkansas Museum, the Old State House Building, which houses former Governor Bill Clinton’s desk, and Little Rock Central High School, one of the first non-segregated schools in the south. President Eisenhower had to send military personnel to escort the first nine black students that attended LRCHS, previously an all-white school. At the actual convention about 200 schools, mostly from Arkansas, Louisiana and Illinois, participated in a science fair atmosphere where booths were set up and judges were walking around. “We set up our booth with the two Hawaiian schools that won at last years convention: Maui High and Baldwin High School,” said Mahdessian. According to Katherine Gharibian, the group just sat in their booth and answered questions that guests and judges asked. The Clark EAST team only presented their project, rather than having it judged, because they already won first place in a previous presentation. The next convention EAST will be participating in will be held on Mar. 18 in Sacramento, California where they will be presenting a project on swift-water rescue in the Los Angeles River.