Breann Ritter, an eighth-grade student at St. Stephen Catholic School in Glenwood Springs, recently took home a pair of top finishes in the regional and state Science Fair competitions.

On top of that, she also placed third in a student essay writing contest sponsored by the Anti-Defamation League, according to a news release from her school.

On March 11, Ritter took part in the Regional Science Fair held in Grand Junction. Her project explored and compared the amount of DNA levels in invasive verses non-invasive Colorado wildlife plants.

Her hard work, hypothesizing and investigation paid off as she took first place in the Junior Division. Other accolades included the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Association Award, Association of Women’s Geologists Award and the Broadcom Masters Award, for which she will compete in another competition later this year.

Then, on April 8 Ritter competed in the State Science Fair in Fort Collins. Her project earned third place in the Molecular Biology Field Division and a special award from the Society of American Foresters of Colorado-Wyoming.

Ritter also recently won third place in the 7th-9th grade division of the Anti-Defamation League’s Student Essay Contest – A Tribute to Moral Courage: Standing Up Against Injustice.

More than 150 essays were submitted from schools in Colorado and Wyoming. Ritter researched and wrote about Geertrudia Wijsmuller, who smuggled hundreds of Jewish children out of Germany during the Holocaust, at grave risk to her person.

All of the eighth graders in Cheryl Cormier’s class submitted essays.

“We are proud of their diligent work and know they will use the lessons learned to impact the world by standing up to injustice whenever encountered,” the school’s release said.