STUART, Iowa — West Central Valley High School student Taylor Ommen and her family grew up on a farm, where she got to learn how to show cattle, grow crops and test soil life.
With her mother and grandfather running and participating in Iowa science fairs, Stuart, Iowa's Ommen was destined to work with plants and farming.
"I never knew it was going to take me this far," she told Local 5 News. "I’m so incredibly proud of my accomplishments, and it's crazy to like look back to sixth grade me and be like, ‘This is how far you are.’”
Ommen's recent accomplishment has made her the only high school national STEM champion from Iowa, thanks to her past year's research comparing decomposition rates of soil when testing different soil additives like orange peels.
She used 100% cotton t-shirts to test decomposition rates, because she said they "decompose the best." Ommen also compared decomposition rates of the same soil using seven different natural additives. Her mentor from southeast Iowa assisted Ommen with her research.
This research is important for many reasons, but for Ommen, she said it's because she can help farmers and the people of Iowa, understand what additives increase the nutritional value of the soil, which in turn, can yield better and stronger crops.
Ommen had to submit three slides about her research along with a 90 second video to judges when determining who would move on to present their research in Washington D.C. in mid-April at the national STEM festival.
On Feb. 6, Ommen received a call in her advisory class at school, with her students and teacher watching with anticipation for what would come next.
The call? Asking Ommen if she'd want to travel to D.C. with all the other STEM champions to present her plant science research.
"I was in shock when they said it," she reflected on Saturday. "I started crying. It was amazing to see that come to life. I had been waiting so long to hear the results, and I was just like overjoyed with excitement."
Ommen, in her junior year of high school, has already started he research for next spring, expanding on her past year's findings, and hopes to repeat as a national STEM champion, representing the state of Iowa.