Lower Dauphin High School (LDHS) students Maddie Turjan, Jared Keaton, Benelli Risser, Jackson Burger, and Emmy McCauley earned an honorable mention in the eighth annual Pennsylvania Governor's STEM Competition.

The LDHS team competed against 56 teams in Division I, moving up to the most difficult division after having competed at the state level in the last five years. In the virtual competition, Lower Dauphin debuted the Women in STEM Education (W.I.S.E.) app.

Through their research, the STEM team members found that only 24% of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) jobs in Pennsylvania were held by women. Because students often form a career identity by the end of middle school, that became the STEM team's target audience. The goal of W.I.S.E. is to have students receive a notification each day of an important contribution, an award, a fun fact, an event, and links about women in STEM fields in an attempt to normalize women in STEM fields. The team designed and built the W.I.S.E. app on the Appy Pie platform.

Led by STEM coach and teacher Elizabeth Kirman, LDHS has a six-year history competing in the Pennsylvania Governor's STEM Competition. At the regional level (Dauphin, Cumberland, Perry, and northern York counties), LDHS STEM teams have earned one first-place title, two second-place honors, and one fourth-place finish. At the state level, LDHS STEM teams have placed third overall, first in both the people's choice and sustainability categories, and an honorable mention.