Accidents Waiting to Happen – it’s not a rock band, it’s a team of rockstar engineers who attend Folly Quarter Middle School.  The boys, members of the same Boy Scout troop, are Griffin Holt, Zack Gronlund, Justin Argauer, Mac Smith Devin Geibel and Eric Frank. They went through six rounds of competitions Saturday at the First Tech Challenge (FTC), held Saturday at Marriotts Ridge High School.  During the competition, according to the FTC website, the teams built a remote-controlled robot using the LEGO Mindstorms controller and metal parts. Accidents Waiting to Happen swept a host of awards …

Name: Clara H. Age: 7 Why She's a Whiz: After having to spend time there herself, Clara has been making bracelets to raise money for the Johns Hopkins Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. In her own words:  I've been there before. I know how scary it can feel. I want to help other kids like me by raising money for the PICU. I hope the money I raise can go towards providing things to make the children feel more at home. When I was there I felt scared. I didn't know what was happening. But the nurses and doctors were really nice. At first I didn't like it but then I began to feel at home because of …

Name: Elizabeth Watson School: University of Delaware, Class of 2013 Key to Awesomeness: Autism Delaware awarded the Daniel and Lois Gray Memorial Scholarship to Elizabeth Watson. The Ellicott City native is majoring in cognitive science and psychology. She's minoring in disability studies too. All while working her way through school. The scholarship was created in memory of Daniel and Lois Gray to help support students who are planning a career working with children who have autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). Scholarship applicants must be full time undergraduate or graduate students at the …

Name: Eleni Paraskevopoulos School/Grade: St. Louis School/Sixth grade Key to Awesomeness: This is really awesome. Eleni has been accepted into NASA -- the NASA SISTER program. SISTER stands for Summer Institute in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Research), and the program is a way to introduce middle school girls to learn about careers in science engineering and math.  Eleni's smarts won her the opportunity to meet research scientists and engineers and pick their brains about their jobs this summer. Congratulations to Eleni from Patch and her classmates and teachers at St. Louis School!

Names: Edgar Bonilla, Julen Rodriguez and Zachary Bowers Schools: Edgar attends Mt. Hebron High School, Julen attends Howard High School and Zachary, who lives in Ellicott City, attends Jemicy School in Owings Mills. Key to Awesomeness: These three high school seniors were awarded $1,000 scholarships through the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Scholarship Program. The award is for students who “strive to achieve their potential, who are catalysts for positive change in their communities, who are involved in their schools and who serve as models for their fellow students.” Phew! One hundred …

Name: Julia Habiger  School: St. Louis School, 7th grade Key to Awesomeness: Julia is a stand-out academic with the awards to prove it. She tied for first place in the 27th Annual Institute of Notre Dame Scholympics academic competition. Beating out more than 100 competitors, her win scored her a scholarship to the Institute of Notre Dame.  Julia excels beyond books -- she's a member of the Student Council, Drama Club and Sports Club at school. And outside of school she volunteers for Children's Liturgy at St. John the Evangelist, she's in the Peabody Children's Chorus; swims on the Atholton …

Name: Kevin Roche School: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, eighth grade Key to Awesomeness: Kevin won the OLPH National Geographic School Bee in January. The school has just found out that Kevin qualified for the state-level bee, where he will represent Our Lady of Perpetual Help on March 13.  Needless to say, OLPH is proud of Kevin and wishing him luck! So is Patch! The National Geographic Bee uses materials prepared by the National Geographic society -- people, places, names, facts about the environment --  to answer a wide array of questions. For example: "The North Atlantic current brings warm…

Names: Ololade Adeoye, Tala Ahmadi, Lanre Faderin, Katie Friedman, Max Godwin, Henry Hyde, Cesar Jove-Vives, JaiRui (Rose) Zhang, Rishab Khatri, and Ajit Gill School: Glenelg Country School, Seniors What they're up to: These Glenelg Country School seniors spent a morning talking with a group of students from the Gurukul School in New Delhi, India. Thanks to Skype, the students were able to have a face-to-face discussion about the current recession and what it means. Students talked about how the recession impacted them personally and studetns in New Delhi and in Howard County.  Both sides …

Names: Mary Kathleen Helm and Emily Horton School: Notre Dame Preparatory School Key to Awesomeness: Mary and Emily are two of four semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship Program. They will go on to compete for two of the 8,300 Scholarship awards. To get this far, the two seniors had to take the 2010 preliminary SAT/National Merit Qualifying Test along with about 1.5 million other students. About 1 percent of seniors across the nation score high enough to make it to the semifinals. Congrats and good luck in the semifinals!

Name: Andrew Sylvia School: Centennial High School, Class of 2011 Key to Awesomeness: Andrew is an Ellicott City resident co-founder of the Horizon Club. The community service club organized a Student vs. Faculty basketball game – Hoops for Haiti – and sold 350 tickets, raising $2,600 for the Red Cross Earthquake relief program in Haiti. In addition to being Horizon Club president, Andrew was an intern with the League of United Latin American Citizens, volunteered at the Arc of Howard County, and is vice president of Best Buddies. Name: Adriana Vitagliano School: Altholton High School, Class …

Names: Cara Caccamisi, Katherine Chiu, Brittany Davis, Victoria Stroud School/Grade: The girls were at Burleigh Manor Middle School and just graduated eight grade. They will all be attending Centennial High School in the fall. Key to Awesomeness:  As part of Girl Scout Troop 1018, these four young women are coordinating the design and construction of a Children’s Garden at The Samaritan Women (TSW) in Baltimore.  The garden will be a fenced-in area approximately 15 by 40 feet where children can safely play while their parents volunteer or visit with residents.  The girls were searching for a …

Name: Andrew Pontius School: Glenelg High School, recent grad. Congrats! Key to awesomeness: Where to begin? Andrew just won Northrop Grumman's  Engineering Scholars Award which comes with a $10,000 scholarship and lots of praise.  He graduated at the top of his class plans to study engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Andrew was also a National Merit finalist, a Maryland Distinguished Scholar and an AP Scholar (with honors!). And he likes to let loose. Andrew  plays trombone and other musical instruments and builds robots. He's on two teams, and competed in the FIRST Robotics …

Name: Claire Sinnott School: McDonogh School in Owings Mills Key to awesomeness: Claire is an Ellicott City resident and a superstar. But don’t take our word for it—take Sam Donaldson’s. The famous newscaster hosted the 2011 Carson Scholar awards banquet, where Claire was recognized for her outstanding academic achievement, school leadership and humanitarian qualities. She was honored alongside 500 scholars from 45 states and received a medal, certificate of achievement and a $1,000 scholarship that will be invested until she goes to college. Sounds like she’s financially savvy, too. The …

Names: Sunny Zhou, Centennial High School; Devonte Quasie-Wood, Bowie High School; Vladimir DeRose, Montgomery High School Key to Awesomenes: These three took part at the UMBC Splash on Saturday, April 19, a one-day program in which UMBC students taught high school students about subjects ranging from chemistry to car maintenance. In a class called "The Incredible Useless Machine," Zjou, Quasie-Wood and DeRose taught studenst about engineering. Looks like in addition, they had some fun, too.   .

Name: Lauren Twele School: Our Lady of Perpetual Help, 8th grade Key to Awesomeness: Lauren was selected for Archbishop Spalding's Pathway to Engineering program. She's going to solve real-world problems using her math, science and technology skills. Lauren will get to do some hands-on engineering work and share what she learns with the public -- all while earning college credit. Her coursework will go beyond the traditional classroom setting, allowing her to take her studies further. Congrats, Lauren!

Name: Samuel Osheroff School/Grade: Clarksville Middle School/7th grade Key to his success: One word: "deleterious." That's the word that Samuel spelled to win the Howard County Library Spelling Bee. He now moves on to the National Spelling Bee in Washington, D.C. Samuel also won a $1,000 scholarship, a trophy, and a copy of Mirriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary. What really makes Samuel a Whiz Kid, though, is the fact that he's the first two-time winner. Last year's word? "Pugilant." If you missed it -- or just want to watch it again -- the Howard County Spelling Bee will be broadcast …

Name:  Wyatt Olson School:  St. John’s Parish Day School Why Wyatt’s Wonderful:  Wyatt, a 7-year-old first grader, is the brains behind the "Warm A Heart” campaign, which is currently collecting gently used blankets for the homeless of Baltimore.  It all started over the Christmas holiday when Wyatt, his family and a group of older friends drove into the city and delivered blankets to the homeless.  The parents in the group were interested in teaching their children about the plight of the homeless, how lucky their own families were, and how to treat all of our fellow human beings – no matter…

Name: Madeleine Bennett School: Ellicott Mills Middle School Key to Awesomeness: Madeleine is the middle school winner for the 2010 - 2011 Students for Safe Schools Poster Contest. She designed a poster touting the theme "Choose Civility in Cyberspace." She and her family met winners from across Howard County at a luncheon with Mamie Perkins, deputy superintendent of Howard County Schools. Madeleine was also awarded a medal and will have her picture in next year's school calendar. She was  recognized, with her fellow winners, at a Board of Education meeting. Also, I really love her pants. …