By Angela Marshall
The Science Service Website, where the results were posted, was overrun with students from other schools, making it impossible for South Side science teacher Richard Kurtz to open the page.
The students went from class to class, waiting for word, wondering if any of them were chosen, wondering which ones were chosen.
It was possibly the worst six hours of my life, said Katie Melillo, one of the entrants. We were all freaking out.
Also waiting for news were Maura Garrity, Courtney Skay, Jessica Stahl, Kathryn Werner and Morgan Reynolds.
Just before 1 p.m., Katie and some of the others were in Kurtz's classroom and decided to check Newsday's Website, never really thinking the results would be up. But there they were.
The wait had been so intense that Katie and the others were afraid to look. They scrolled down fast first, checking to see if South Side was even listed. As the text whizzed by, they caught a glimpse of the school's name but had missed the winners' names. They knew, however, that there were not six. Some had won and some had lost.
We didn't want to look, Katie said.
Slowly they scrolled back up and there were Katie's and Jessica's names. South Side had two semi-finalists, a first in the school's history.
It was also a first for Kurtz, who has been helping students prepare for the competition for years, first at Huntington High School and now at South Side. Last year South Side had its first semi-finalist since 1986.
Katie remembers screaming and celebrating with her friends. She also remembers the brave faces of her friends who had spent just as many hours working on their projects and just as many hours dreaming about possible recognition as a semi-finalist.
Katie hurried to Jessica's classroom. She tried to share the great news discreetly, but Jessica didn't understand her the first time. So she said it louder.
Jessica didn't have any trouble hearing Katie that time and began jumping up and down in celebration.
I feel exhausted, Kurtz said during an interview at the end of the school day. I was so nervous all day.
Although he is excited for Katie and Jessica, Kurtz was disappointed for the other entrants. The four other kids worked just as hard, he said.
Combining her loves
Jessica began studying dance at the Oceanside Conservatory of Dance when she was 3 years old. It is one of her greatest loves.
She is also an All-County clarinet player.
So when Kurtz suggested she try entering the science competition, Jessica looked to what she knows best to form the basis for her study.
Jessica created a unique numbering system for body movements, which can be used in the development of dance movement therapy. She used her method on friends and family members to study the effect of different music styles on the freedom of body movement.
For months she coaxed her friends and her parents' friends to dance to different types of music while being videotaped. It was not an easy task. I just begged people to come over, she said.
Then she studied the tapes for hours.
Jessica's results show that people move most freely to Reggae music, regardless of age or ethnicity. Beyond Reggae though, most people move more freely to their own music; adults responded more to orchestral music and kids to today's popular tunes.
Kurtz admits he wasn't sure of Jessica's topic choice when she first broached it. There was no scientist to put her with to offer help and advice. That's what's cool about it, Kurtz said. She did it by herself.
Jessica's mother, Jayne, said she and her husband, Ira, are very proud of their daughter.
Jessica, 17, was South Side's Homecoming Queen, is a cheerleader and was a dance captain for the school's Red and Blue competition. She is also the senior class secretary.
Jessica plans to attend Harvard University but is undecided about what she wants to do as a career.
Getting to the root of it all
Katie's project required hours upon hours in a lab doing research with Dr. Lawrence Hobbe at Adelphi University.
It is hard to find layman's terms to explain her project. She conducted experiments on the adult plant Arabidopsis thaliana in order to find the location of certain genes, BA3-GUS and SAUR-GUS.
Other scientists had made hypothesizes on the location of the genes based on the study of the plant's seedlings. She took it a step farther.
Her research is one of the necessary steps needed to fully understand the genetics of plants and, in turn, humans.
Katie's an incredible worker, Kurtz said. She really wanted this.
Katie, 18, worked with Hobbe for a year before settling on this project and spent most of her summer in the lab. She continued her work into the school year and even forced herself to go to the lab after games during the soccer season. Katie was part of South Side's state championship soccer team.
Those days were brutal, Katie said. She would get to the lab at 6 p.m. and not get home until 9 to start her homework.
Kurtz joined South Side's staff when Katie was in 10th grade and immediately began to push her to find a project. She alternated between calling her teacher a super genius and wacky, during a phone interview with the Herald. And ended by saying, He's a good guy.
Katie is not sure where she will attend college but is interested in studying biomedical engineering.
The semi-finalist is president of the National Honor Society at South Side and is a section editor of the yearbook. She also finds time to tutor and volunteer and has participated in many other science projects.
Katie's parents are proud. Her mother, Michele, said she's been telling everyone in town that Katie is a semi-finalist.
Michele said she has seen her daughter's poise and confidence grow while working on the science projects.
Semi-finalists and their schools will each receive $1,000.
Forty finalists in the talent search will be announced in February and will share $530,000 in scholarships. The finalists will be invited to the final judging in Washington D.C., March 6-11. The top prize winner will receive a $100,000 scholarship.
