By Wayne Price

Two years ago, Rachel Price walked across the stage as a graduate of Wash ington County Early College High School.

This month, the Plymouth native will walk into an international scientific conference in Tsukuba, Japan, carrying research that began with an unlikely subject: North Carolina bats and tiny pieces of plastic.

Price, a 2024 graduate of Washington County Early Col lege, is now a senior at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she is pursu ing a double major in environ mental science and biology.

For information, check out the Sept. 9, 2026, edition of the Roanoke Beacon.