Fisher, who has been acting since he was a child, is the technical director and treasurer of Calhoun’s famed On Tour Drama Company, a magnet program that draws students from all three of the Bellmore-Merrick Central School District’s high schools. Fisher said he plans to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting from Michigan, the University of Texas, Northwestern or the University of Southern California in the fall.

The thing is, Fisher also loves science –– and he’s really good at it, which explains why he has been an integral part of Calhoun’s Authentic Science Research Program for the past three years. For his project, conducted at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research at North Shore University Hospital, he looked at sepsis, a potentially fatal medical condition in which the whole body reacts to an infection and swells to extremely painful levels.

In addition to his work with the On Tour Company, Fisher is also a member of the Express Yourself and Crescendo choirs, treasurer of the National Honor Society, and a member of the math, science and thespian honor societies, as well as a peer tutor.

Tim Leimbach, 17,

Of Merrick

Conducting his research at the Hofstra University Chemistry Department, Leimbach studied the antibiotic tetracycline and its ability to bind with zinc ions, which could lead to the development of a possible cure for certain cancers. With the help of a Hofstra undergraduate student, Leimbach used a sophisticated modeling program to determine the stability of various points at the molecular level where tetracycline could bind to zinc.

Leimbach played for Calhoun’s soccer team and is a pole-vaulter for the track team. He is also a lead attorney for the school’s mock trial team. He will attend the University of Virginia in the fall.

Emma McNamara, 17,

Of North Merrick

McNamara, 17, of North Merrick, loves –– really, really loves –– anthropology, the study of human origins. Her greatest hope, after earning a doctorate in evolutionary anthropology, is to be on a dig somewhere, anywhere, in the world, delving deep into the remains of humanity’s shared past, figuring out precisely how we got here.