St. Mark Catholic School Alaska trip: Boynton Beach students go on a field trip of a lifetime

Elizabeth Eubanks is taking part this week in a scientific research conference  in Anchorage, Alaska.

Rather than bringing what she learns back to her Boynton Beach classroom, she brought her classroom to tumbling tundra.

"Having my students present at an international professional science conference is above and beyond any experience that i can offer them as a science teacher," she said.

The students from St. Mark Catholic School in Boynton Beach are learning about Alaska's climate change and its impact on marine life, and South Florida."

John Colasacco is an 8th grader and says, "We learned a little about what it's like with the ice melting ... in the different seas in Alaska, and how it's gonna' affect Florida"

The students are the only kids participating in this conference.

The  middle schoolers are getting an up-close look at the way science research works. They are also hoping that the scientists take away a message they've outlined in a poster. That message is to get more kids involved in these types of research conferences.  

"The person who was presenting a poster next to us, he was from Taiwan, and he was looking at our poster and he said, 'wow this is a really cool idea.. I think I'm going to bring it back to me to Taiwan,' so that's really cool," said 8th grade student Anna Severtson.

The parents that came along to chaperone are very proud, and know the value of the trip.

"Even if she does not grow up to be a scientist," George Deeb said of his daughter Shareen, "the experience that she will take from here will help her in her professional life and her personal life going forward."

The kids hopes are high when it comes to the impact they will have. "Maybe we can go down in the science history books," Anna laughs.

With that kind of passion, they just might do it.

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