Lexi Hill, Oneida Tribal citizen from Oklahoma, was named the Oklahoma state winner of the Stockholm Junior Water Prize. Her research focused on Municipal Wastewater Effluent Has Sublethal Effects on Freshwater Snails (Helisoma trivolvis).

"I have a love for science and biology, and making sure that Mother Nature is being taken care of by its inhabitants," said Hill.

As a state winner, she received an all-expenses paid trip to the SJWP National Competition at the University of North Carolina. At the national competition, she competed for the national prize for an all-expenses paid trip to Stockholm, Sweden to participate in the SJWP International Competition.

Hill stated she was influenced by recent events to study water quality.

"I read a lot about the Navajo water crisis and then Flint Michigan water crisis. It seemed like there was a lot of area for error," she said.

Started in 1997, the Stockholm Junior Water Prize (SJWP) is considered the most prestigious award for water related science, both nationally and internationally. The prize was developed to model the adult Stockholm Water Prize, which has been compared to the Nobel Prize for water research. The prize strives to encourage enthusiasm in today's youth regarding water issues, build an international community of young scientists bonded together for the water environment, raise public awareness about the future of water resources, and develop and ensure future leadership in the water quality community by attracting the best and brightest young people into the water sector field.

Hill enjoyed meeting other students from different states and backgrounds.

"We got to talk about home life and other cultures. It was an awesome experience," she said.

The U.S. SJWP is open to all high school students in 9th -12th grades who have conducted water-related science projects, and have reached the age of 15 by August 1st of the current competition year. Projects should be aimed at enhancing the quality of life through improvement of water quality, water resource management, or water and wastewater treatment. The projects may explore water issues on a local, regional, national, or global level using a research-oriented approach.

Lexi will be a senior at Deer Creek High School. Lexi is the daughter of Jamison and Lisa Hill of Edmond, Oklahoma and the grand-daughter of Mary and the late Jerry M. Hill.