Passion powers academic dynasty

For the ninth consecutive year and the 10th time since 2004, Lawrence High School students — who conducted social science research under the guidance of teacher Dr. Stephen Sullivan — were selected to present at a prestigious professional conference.

Senior Emma Balsam, freshman Bhawan Sandhu and junior Alicia Etwaru, who assisted on Sandhu’s project, will discuss their research at the Association for Psychological Science convention in May. In past years, Lawrence High students have also presented their findings at the American Psychological Association conference.

Sullivan, who created what is known as “the wall” in his primary classroom — Room 329 — believes that enthusiasm for the subject matter ignites students’ interest and produces success. The wall is a collection of articles that showcases student accomplishment in esteemed competitions, such as the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology and the Regeneron Science Talent Search (formerly Intel), and APA or APS presentations.

“The kids find something they are passionate about,” Sullivan said, “we talk about the idea and at the end of the conversation, we don’t know who came up with what. It’s like a lump of clay becoming a sculpture.” He described the students who have presented social science research through the years as “behavioral science artists.”

Balsam’s research took shape after she took an Advanced Placement psychology course in 10th grade. The class projects pushed her toward the work she did on “Anxiety Mindsets in Adolescents,” based on studies done by both Dr. Jaine Strauss at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minn., and Jillian Merrick at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

“I did it on anxiety because I suffer from anxiety consistently,” said Balsam, who lives in North Woodmere. For her, the condition is not a medical diagnosis, but the pressure of having to do well in school, go to college and continually “pushing to do better, caring about my work; I’m a perfectionist.” Balsam also writes the Lawrence Lately column for the Herald.

Striving to excel runs in her family: Balsam’s older sisters Jordana and Sheri both submitted what Sullivan called “outstanding Intel projects” several years ago. Sheri is completing her doctoral studies in psychology at Rutgers University, and Jordana attends the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University.

Balsam found in her research that the high school students she sampled were less likely to believe that one can improve oneself than the college students sampled by Strauss and Merrick. Balsam thinks the high school students’ immaturity contributes to their mindset.

Sandhu, of Lawrence, and Etwaru, of Inwood, studied the difference between taking written notes and using technology in their project “Advantages of Hand-Written Note-Taking vs. Laptop Use in a Youth Sample.” Hands-on social science research also runs in Sandhu’s family. Her sister, Gunnveet, is a sophomore at Stony Brook University studying applied mathematics and economics. She is a two-time Long Island History Day fair winner.

“Taking written notes is better, because you can feel it and process it much better than verbatim notes on the laptop, where there is too much information,” Sandhu said.

As a first-year high school student, Sandhu said that she got much out of her project. “In middle school, the teachers tell you what to write; in high school you have to figure out what’s important.”

Etwaru said she believes that helping Sandhu with this research has jump-started her project for next year, which will focus on what is know as the dark triad — narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy — and how these personality traits impact friendships. “This is the second year I’m helping on someone’s project,” said Etwaru, who assisted Dahlia Forte last school year. “It’s helping to do my own project, and I’m really excited to get to APS.”

From the time she first saw the articles on Sullivan’s wall as a ninth-grader, Balsam said this legacy was something she aspired to achieve. “It’s definitely the biggest honor,” she said, of attending APS. “I was so happy to get that acceptance email. It’s like a kid looking up to a superhero. I’m just excited to be a part of it.”