By KAREN RICE
Her hard work and fascinating findings paid off big time because Green, a Hewlett High School senior, was chosen as a semifinalist in the nation's most prestigious high school research contest, the 62nd annual Intel Science Talent Search. Three of her classmates were also named semifinalists in the contest for outstanding work on their projects. They are Fan Kong, Richard Strohmenger and Carly Seidman.
Three other Lawrence High School students, Casey Vaughn, Nigar Shaikh and Jordan Schwartz, were chosen as semifinalists, confirming that the Five Towns is a wellspring of talented scholars. Last year, 10 students from the Five Towns placed in the competition.
This year's winners were announced Wednesday, Jan. 15, on the organization's web site. The contest, formerly known as the Westinghouse Science Talent Search, selected 300 semifinalists out of 1,581 applicants from around the country. Forty finalists will be announced on Jan. 29, and each will be awarded an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington D.C. to attend the Science Talent Institute, where they will compete for college scholarships totaling more than $500,000, with a $100,000 top prize. Each semifinalist receives a $1,000 scholarship, and the school receives a matching $1,000 grant.
The four winning projects at Hewlett were as varied and interesting as the students themselves. I'm proud of the commitment these students have made and the community they formed, said teacher Patricia Nardi, who worked with all four students. They all worked together as a team and that was really nice to see. I really think that's the real sign that a program is working.
Hewlett High School principal Joyce Bisso felt that having four winners was a positive reflection on the school but that the real credit goes to the students and their hard work. It brings credit to the school, but it is without a doubt the collaboration of the students with great motivation, she said. I'm very proud of them.
Green, daughter of Halley and Stephen Green of Hewlett, is lead counsel in Hewlett High's Mock Trial Club, editor-in-chief of the yearbook, a math tutor, a peer mediator and a fund-raiser for a local cancer foundation. She will be attending Yale University in the fall and hopes to major in history and then become a lawyer.
Kong, 18, daughter of Mau Cheng and Tinyan Kong of Hewlett, focused her project on developing a new scale to measure world views based on one's political, economic and social views and gender. The work was done after the events of Sept. 11 to make the scale more practical and to show that attitudes have changed and there was a necessity for a new kind of scale, she explained.
Kong was nominated for the National Council of Teachers of English Award and is an accomplished artist, a math tutor, a member of the fencing team and art club and a big sister in the Friends Program. She has been accepted to Columbia University and is interested in studying art history.
Seidman, 17, daughter of Anne and Mitchell Seidman of Woodsburgh, developed a scale to measure the resiliency among children of breast cancer patients. I studied their anxiety, optimism and their involvement in breast cancer issues, such as support groups and breast cancer activism, she said.
Seidman is a National Merit Scholarship semifinalist and a member of the National Honor Society, a mentor/tutor to an ESL second-grader and a track star with all-division distinction in cross-country. She is unsure about what college she will attend but is interested in studying medicine and history.
Strohmenger, 17, son of Linda and Paul Strohmenger of Woodmere, studied the view of success among immigrants and their teenage children and discovered that immigrants gauge their success in comparison with their peers.
Strohmenger is the winner of an Empire State Press Association Gold Award for journalism, captain of the varsity swim team, a volunteer counselor at the South Shore Jewish Community Center and a peer group leader at Hewlett. He will attend the University of Pennsylvania.
The Lawrence semifinalists
The Lawrence High School seniors, who were helped in their research by Elaine Farran, district curriculum director for social studies, and teachers Stephen Sullivan, Marge Harrison and Joseph Scott, also entered outstanding work.
We are thankful to Mr. Sullivan, said semifinalist Casey Vaughn. None of us could have done it without him.
Sullivan said he was very proud of Lawrence's three semifinalists and added that Lawrence and Hewlett high schools have more in common than semifinalists.
I grew up in Brooklyn, across the street from Patricia [Nardi], he said laughing. I was best friends with her brother, so I know her going way back. We moved from Brooklyn at different times and wound up teaching independently of each other. But we keep in touch.
I've known him a long time, said Nardi. And we talk.
Lawrence High School principal Dr. Steven Kussin said he is also very proud of the semifinalists for their hard work, as well as the district. Intel is a product of what happens when you have dedicated students, motivated teachers and a supportive school board, he said.
Schwartz, 17, son of Bonnie and Donald Schwartz of Woodmere, spent three years studying parents' influence on their children's political views and the relationship between students' views and their involvement in extracurricular activities. He discovered that more liberal students become more active in extra-curricular activities.
Schwartz is a member of the marching and concert bands, the yearbook committee and the Tri M Music Honor Society and a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity. He is interested in attending Georgetown University and plans to pursue his interest in political science.
Shaikh, 16, daughter of Feroza and Dr. Aftab Shaikh of Lawrence, studied the correlation between body dissatisfaction and awareness of body image among middle-school girls.
Shaikh is president of the student government, an officer of the financial club, a member of the yearbook committee and a Key Club officer. She is interested in Harvard and Columbia and would like to study law.
Vaughn, 16, daughter of Kathy and Michael Vaughn of Inwood, worked for three years to disprove the notion that deaf children don't perform as well as hearing students in math. She discovered that deaf students score comparably on simple arithmetic but have difficulty with reading comprehension, which interferes with full understanding of math word problems.
Vaughn started the Sign Language Club, is an editor of the yearbook, a volunteer for Rock and Wrap it Up and a member of the Key Club. She is interested in Cornell and Johns Hopkins and wants to study medicine and biology.
Having learned sign language in the course of her research, Vaughn hopes that her project will help change the way math is taught to deaf students. I just hope my project makes a difference, she said. There need to be changes to the way deaf students are taught. They have been at a disadvantage.
