At one side of the “Terrace” room inside the DoubleTree hotel in Cherry Hill, sophomore Litzy Palacios explained to a pair of women the impact of her children’s dental healthcare project. On the other side of the hotel, inside “The Pavilion,” freshmen Olivia Strunk and Gianna Moro were busy presenting their project on the negative environmental effects of “fast fashion” to another pair of judges.

Palacios, Moro and Strunk were just three of more than two dozen Southern Regional School District students competing…