Next week, Noor Haideri will start her final year of high school on a high note.
At the end of last school year, the Blue Valley High student earned first place in the Breakthrough Junior Challenge — a science-centered global competition for middle and high school students.
She walked away with a $250,000 college scholarship to a school of her choosing.
Blue Valley High staff say the achievement meant not only a title and a scholarship for Haideri, but it will also impact her soon-to-be alma mater in the years to come.
Haideri first entered the contest in 2020
Her first entry in the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, which scored in the top 10% of entries, overviewed how the human immune system works.
In 2021, she followed that up with a video about how allergies work — which scored in the top 5% of entries.
Over the years, Haideri said she kept a running list of potential entries based on scientific topics that sparked her curiosity — which was fun in and of itself.
“The reason I kept doing it was because of how much I enjoyed the process,” she said. “Learning about the topic again, making the video and animating it was so educational and so much fun — even if I wasn’t going to win, I was going to make a video anyways because of how much I loved it.”
Her school surprised her with the news
Blue Valley High and Breakthrough officials teamed up to organize to surprise Haideri with the announcement that she had finally won the competition with an assembly in February which, in hindsight, she said she was not expecting at all.
“I could feel my fingers shaking and my toes shaking — I was so surprised,” she said.
In the following months, a series of events followed — including media interviews and an awards ceremony in Los Angeles where Haideri got to meet a number of scientists and celebrities.
“The (Breakthrough) challenge has definitely opened a lot of doors for me,” she said. “It’s showed me how much there is to learn, and it has truly been an inspiration seeing all of those other scientists and doctors and researchers. Looking at them, you really think that maybe one day you can also make a difference.”
The victory meant a win for her teacher, too
Haideri’s victory also came with a $50,000 cash prize for a teacher of her choice.
Her pick: science teacher Dianne Dunn, who had worked with her on refining her previous Breakthrough Junior Challenge entries.
Dunn said the award, which she has put towards studying for a master’s degree in administration and educational leadership, felt “unreal” to receive from Haideri.
“(Noor) is hard to describe,” Dunn said. “She’s extraordinary. She’s bright, she’s inquisitive, she’s kind, she’s driven — she’s all the things that you would want to have in a student.”
The victory also earned her school a new science lab
With the prize, Blue Valley High also received $100,000 for a new science lab, for which Principal Charles Golden said plans have yet to be outlined.
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a nonprofit specializing in research programs involving genetics, neuroscience and biology, will sponsor the lab.
Ultimately, Golden said he hopes other Blue Valley High students see Haideri’s achievement and feel motivated to pursue success in their own areas of interest.
“There’s no learning like the learning we chase down ourselves,” he said. “That’s the stuff that sticks with you for years and years, and it changes the way you think.”
Go deeper: Blue Valley junior wins $250K scholarship in science contest
