Kennedy High to host first-ever Health and Career Fair

The Kennedy High School science department will host its first-ever Health and Career Fair in the school’s cafeteria on Tuesday, March 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. The fair is open to the public, and all are welcome, said Barbi Frank, a Kennedy Advanced Placement biology teacher and one of the event’s organizers.

The department has invited more than 50 healthcare professionals, many of them Kennedy alumni, including an endocrinologist, pediatrician, neurosurgeon and nutritionists. In addition, representatives of two Bellmore gyms –– Beyond Fitness and Training for Warriors –– will be there.

In addition, the Bellmore-Merrick Emergency Medical Services will provide a cardiopulmonary resuscitation demonstration, and the Robbie Levine Foundation of Merrick will demo an automated external defibrillator.

The event’s purpose, Frank said, is two-fold: to connect science students with possible internships and to connect the community with Kennedy. The school’s Authentic Science Research Program will have a table at the fair, and student representatives will answer questions from potential participants and their parents.

“We want to encourage people to come to the fair,” Frank said, who added that Gary Morganstern, president of the Kennedy High School Alumni Association, has been instrumental in making the fair a reality.

Robert Sole, Kennedy’s science chairman, said that the fair is part of a stepped-up effort by the science department to reach out to the community. “We’re trying to broaden the scope of our Science, Technology, Engineering and Medical Program,” Sole said.

In addition to the health fair, the science department will run a Medical Scrabble Tournament, which will be open to Kennedy students only, starting at 5:15 p.m. Proceeds will benefit the Cohen Children’s Medical Center at North Shore-LIJ. The entrance fee is a minimum $5 donation. A local business or organization can sponsor a table for $40.

For more information, email Frank at bfrank@bellmore-merrick@k12.ny.us or Sole at rsole@bellmore-merrick@k12.ny.us