Lexington School for the Deaf tenth grader Jacquelyn Laescu of The Bronx brought home the bronze at a national science competition for deaf students held annually at the Rochester Institute for Technology (RIT). Her project, Healthiest Ground Meat: Which One? proved her hypothesis that ground turkey contains the lowest percentage of fat as compared to ground beef and ground pork.
 “I was extremely excited to go to the Rochester science fair and I am very proud of myself. I think it would be very interesting to be a scientist or a researcher, especially someone who knows a lot about the environment,” Laescu said after the competition.
 In addition to her third-place win out of 74 budding scientists from 20 states, Laescu was also judged Most Passionate, based on her enthusiastic presentation to the panel of eight judges. Laescu was selected to represent Lexington at the national competition after taking first place in Lexington’s annual science fair.
“Jackie really delved into the scientific process to explore deeper scientific principles. She developed a fine understanding of the science behind the experiment,” Grace Ann Ashley, Laescu’s science teacher at Lexington, said.
 Lexington has been competing at the RIT National Technical Institute for the Deaf annual science fair since 2008 and last year placed first overall. The fair promotes interest in technology, science, engineering and math among students who are deaf or hard of hearing.
  “Science fair is the highlight of the year for our students. It lets them experience science out of a vacuum by incorporating many different skills, including math, English, logic and public presentation. We are extremely proud of all the students,” Ashley said.