Davidson Seniors Impress at Shark Tank Engineering Showcase

The Shark Tank engineering event, provided Hilliard Davidson senior engineering students with a platform to present their capstone projects to industry professionals, engineers, consumers, and business leaders. Held at Hilliard Davidson High School, the event simulated a real-world boardroom experience, allowing students to showcase their problem-solving skills and innovative solutions. Industry experts offered valuable feedback, helping students refine their projects and gain insights into practical applications. The event emphasized professional growth, fostering skills like public speaking, teamwork, and critical thinking.

Each senior engineering team spent months developing their capstone project, addressing real-world challenges through innovative solutions. Some projects tackled innovations to current products, others were completely new ideas. These projects showcased not only technical skill but also a deep sense of social responsibility. One of the most significant takeaways from this event was the professional growth of the students involved. By presenting in a boardroom-style setting, they honed essential skills such as; public speaking and professional communication, problem solving and critical thinking.  The student-led engineering event was a resounding success, demonstrating the power of collaboration between students and industry leaders. It provided a platform for young engineers to showcase their creativity, receive valuable feedback, and build professional relationships. Looking ahead, we hope to take the feedback given to better our products and create prototypes to show at our district end of year poster show on Friday May 2nd at Hilliard Davidson High School.



Celebrating Our Talented Student Artists!

Hilliard had 48 incredible art pieces selected for the Regional Governor’s Youth Art Show at the McConnell Arts Center! The exhibit opens Thursday, March 27, 2025, showcasing the creativity of students from Bradley, Darby, and Davidson.

A huge congratulations to Hanna Hammond, Penelope Mathews, and Matt Sapp, who advanced to the State Governor’s Youth Art Show! Their work will be displayed at the Rhodes Tower with an opening and awards ceremony on Sunday, May 4, 2025.

We’re so proud of all our student artists!

📍 Hilliard Bradley Artists:
Sydney Thress, Adrianna Merriman, Meagan Kraft, Emily Kabalan, Justin Sasaki, Sara Ahmed, Hanna Hammond, Hailey Potts, Lucy Buscher, Adrianna McClung, Allison Mayberry, Faith Michel, Kaitlyn Alig, Lulu Muamar, Kat Oakley, Abigail George, Gracyn Hansley, Matt Sapp, Jaycie Scorese

📍 Hilliard Darby Artists:
Noelle Hampton, Luke Imwalle, Brynn Schaaf, Mars Harmon, Marz Bezuhlyy, Lily Bratka

📍 Hilliard Davidson Artists:
Nicolo Rossi, AJ Slough, Tyler Jelen, Lakelan Harris, Brooklyn Murlin, Elyse Vitanovic, Greta Bordjadze, Kayla Shields, Penelope Mathews, Daphne Liddil, Abigiayle Burroughs



Celebrating Our National Merit Finalists

We are proud to recognize Hilliard’s outstanding students who have been named National Merit Finalists! This prestigious honor is a testament to their dedication, hard work, and academic excellence.

The National Merit Scholarship Program is a highly competitive academic competition that begins with more than 1.5 million students entering by taking the PSAT/NMSQT. Of those, only about 15,000 students nationwide advance to Finalist standing, making this an incredible achievement.

Congratulations to our 2025 National Merit Finalists:
📍 Darby High School – Carson Yoder & Yashvi Pathrai
📍 Bradley High School – Alexander Diaz, Charles Pforsich & Nicholas Woodham (not pictured)
📍 Davidson High School – Joshua Lance & Leah Pfefferle

We are incredibly proud of these students and all they have accomplished. Their hard work, perseverance, and commitment to academic excellence set a wonderful example for our entire district. We look forward to seeing all they achieve in the future!



Alumni Spotlight – Brandon Long

Detective Brandon Long of the Hilliard Police Department is a familiar face in the community; and what many would call a hometown hero thanks to his passion projects. 

After graduating from Hilliard Davidson High School in 1998, he served in security and policing in the military for six years before attending Ohio University where he got a bachelor’s in criminology and a master’s in sociology. 

During his undergrad experience, Long participated in the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. Classes are held in a prison which gives students the chance to see crime and social justice issues from a different perspective. This piqued his interest in the incarceration aspect of criminology and sociology and landed him an internship in a Mexican prison for three months. 

From there, he worked for the Athens County Prosecutor in their Victim Advocacy and Diversion Program where he served as the primary counselor to 20+ incarcerated individuals at the SEPTA Correctional Facility. He joined the Hilliard Police Department as a police officer in 2011 and has since served in various roles with the division, including as a member of the crash investigation team, traffic safety officer, and criminal investigator. He has also helped with Safety Town, a program that teaches area kindergarteners important safety lessons.  

What he’s most known for, however, is his advocacy and coaching role with the Hilliard Bobcats Special Olympics. He currently serves as the State Director of the Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Ohio which raises awareness and support for the Special Olympics. 

Long said his understanding of the special needs community has helped not only fellow Hilliard police officers but law enforcement personnel across Ohio have better outcomes when interacting with those who have special needs. “It keeps our officers and our entire community safer,” he said. 

Thank you, Detective Long, for your dedication and commitment to serving our community. Your efforts make a meaningful impact, ensuring safer and more positive interactions for everyone. We appreciate your service!

If you have an alumni you would like to see spotlighted, click here to send us an email!



Beacon STEM Team Named Finalists for AI Innovation

Beacon Elementary and their 5th grade STEM team competed in the OSLN (Ohio STEM Learning Network) Statewide Design Challenge as a selected finalist in this year’s competition. They qualified as a finalist because they had been among one of the top 20 teams in the state, K-12th grade, with a qualifying score. The statewide design challenge is a partnership with Battelle, NASA, OSU, and Starlab. Students worked to problem solve and use design thinking to solve this year’s challenge: How do we improve the sustainability of life in low-Earth orbit, such as living aboard the Starlab space station? 

Beacon’s STEM team approached this problem with a focus in mental health and wellbeing by designing an AI companion bot named Sylis. Since October, students got to work with science experts from the aerospace and engineering community of NASA as they worked on their design project and prototypes. Their one-of-a-kind solution addressed the loneliness and mental health struggles that astronauts might struggle with when away from home on missions. Another part of this project was for students to transfer their design into the real world, and the Beacon STEM team provided an amazing translation of their solution. Sylis could be an AI companion bot that can help students at school. Students can use Sylis right before a test, if they get nervous and our bot can help with stress relief. Or if a student is having a medical emergency and needs an epi pen, it can inject the lifesaving medicine. Or, if a student has a disability like dyslexia, it can read books or test questions to them.

We are proud of the Beacon STEM team and all of their accomplishments. Way to go Beacon!



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