A 24 - class - old Ph.D. candidate wascrownedMiss Virginia 2019 after she chucked aside pageant norms and or else get into a lab coating and safety meth to execute the “ catalytic decomposition of atomic number 1 hydrogen peroxide ” during the gift portion of the contention .
Camille Schrierhas dual Bachelor of Science degrees from Virginia Tech in Biochemistry and Systems Biology and is currently studying to obtain a Doctor of Pharmacy Degree atVirginia Commonwealth University . turn the gift dower into a science experiment was a way for her to get others aroused about Science , Technology , Engineering , and Math ( STEM ) fields , she said in a university blogpost .
“ The organic evolution of the Miss America competitor , which reflect greater inclusiveness , and an opportunity to make a difference and win scholarships inspired me to pace forward this twelvemonth and contend , ” suppose Schrier in a statement emailed to IFLScience . “ I am more than Miss Virginia . I am Miss Biochemist , Miss Systems Biologist , Miss Future PharmD looking toward a pharmaceutical industry career . Now was the time for me to make a creative thinker shift about the concept of endowment by bringing my mania for STEM to the stage . To me , gift is not a passion alone , but also a acquirement which is perfected over years of learning . ”
The catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide is a science experimentation many grade school youngster might retrieve . elephantine spurts of froth occur when K iodide ( Kl ) is added to a miscellany of hydrogen peroxide and dish max . ( See the instructions for yourselfhere . ) The process is like to the one that takes place when applying H peroxide to a injury and bloodless babble foam spurts out . The process is due to catalase , an enzyme that is found in blood andattacksthe apply H peroxide , putting off oxygen in the form of blank , gurgling bubble .
Schrier was one of 24 contestants at the 2019 statewide competition and won more than $ 21,000 of $ 75,000 in learnedness money . For the next year , she will tour the state and share her chopine of STEM cognizance and drug safety and revilement prevention .
“ Every day , more than 130 Americans die of an opioid overdose and every eight minutes a caregiver constitute a medicament error that impacts a kid . It ’s time to do more about drug safety and abuse prevention , ” she said .
She will now go on to represent the Commonwealth of Virginia at the Miss America Pageant afterwards this class .
