On Mar. 30, 13 students attended the 2026 Montana Science Fair (MSF), hosted by the University of Montana. These were sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have been in the Advanced Problems in Science (APS) class. APS is a research-based class taught by Willow Affleck.
This year, continuing the run, Hellgate won 1st place overall for the Large High School section. Almost every student in APS was awarded a Gold Ribbon for their poster and presentation (the highest participation award), and 8 students achieved more specific awards as well, including several UM department awards, American Association for Laboratory Animal Science Award (Solen Duwell-Le Bihan, Jr.), Best Project by a Junior (Maia Fishman-Miller, Jr.), the Marie Wallace Scholarship (Clara Woodbridge, Sr.), and the Regeneron Biomedical Science Award (Flynn Kier, Jr.).
Two students from Hellgate qualified for the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF), which means they won the state science fair overall. Senior Ella Stone was awarded the highest award at MSF, the MSF Larry Fauque Grand Award for 1st place overall (as well as the UM College of Health, 1st place), and junior Camille Cellier won the MSF Grand Award for 2nd place overall (as well as the UM College of Forestry and Conservation Award, 1st place).
Stone and Cellier both completed projects with impressive real-world implications. When asked to explain their projects in layperson’s terms, these were their summaries:
Stone studied “[a] type of therapy program called an intensive comprehensive aphasia program, or an ICAP. This is for people with aphasia, which is the really common communication disorder following a stroke—when individuals can’t talk or write or understand language.”
Meanwhile, Cellier explained that she “looked at the different bird communities existing in various forest structures that are a result of different forest treatments…that we use to mitigate wildfires.”
APS is a very interesting and almost completely student-led class. All of the APS students have been working all year on collegiate-level science projects with both local mentors as well as mentors from around the country. In fact, it’s been more than a calendar year. APS students begin the process by reaching out to professors and grad students in March of the school year prior to when they’ll enroll in the class.
“You can study anything you want, anything you’re interested in,” explained Cellier. After choosing a field of study, students will read papers from prospective mentors to try and familiarize themselves with the research. “For me,” Cellier continued, “the process of finding a mentor was just sending out lots and lots of emails and getting no response. I think that happens for a lot of people… I was super fortunate to be accepted.”
Once they have a mentor and a project, the students’ goal is to finish all their data and work during the summer. That way, they’re able to work on papers, conclusions, and presentations during the school year to prepare for the science fairs they’ll attend in the spring.
While APS is not technically a college-level course, like APs and IBs, the science fairs and the research itself prepares students for science at a higher level. “It has taught me so many skills and things that I’ll take with me beyond [high school],” said Stone. “I’ve become a much better public speaker, along with actually knowing how to go about a research project, and what conducting research at that higher level looks like,” she added.
Cellier agreed, but also emphasized a skill she learned: communication. “It’s kind of scary to be a high school student reaching out to grad students and professors and people with doctorates, but it’s such an important thing to know how to do… it’s a super important skill that I now have that I wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been for this class.”
One of the most important things that Stone and Cellier agreed on was, as Stone put it, learning “how important research is to the scientific community.”
Stone and Cellier will continue this learning alongside the nation’s best science projects in Phoenix, Arizona on May 9-15 when they attend ISEF.
