Academy Students Prep For Regeneron Talent Search

BY DR. STEPHEN J. SULLIVAN specialsections@antonmediagroup.com

It’s 7:05 a.m. I’ve been at school for a half hour, so I slip out of Sacred Heart Academy’s (SHA) Science Research Lab for just a moment to brew myself a cup of tea. Upon my return, a half-dozen young women in blue blazers and plaid skirts have appeared seemingly out of nowhere. They are already excitedly chatting about…one senior’s recent research project on the topic of absorption spectroscopy and how it can be applied within atherosclerosis.

You’d think they owned the joint—because, well, they kind of do. And that’s just a typical Tuesday here at SHA. I love how comfortable the girls feel in a room assigned to the department chair and the research director.

According to a recent survey conducted by Junior Achievement and the research group Engine (www.ja.org), only nine percent of girls between the ages of 13 and 17 are interested in careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). But here at SHA, an all-girls, college-preparatory high school founded by the Sisters of St. Joseph, just shy of 100 students practically

“live” in the Science Research Lab throughout the school year. As director of research, I mentor students as they tend to crayfish, weigh earthworms, test the starch content of pea plants or explore colleges with outstanding STEM programs. I encourage our students to challenge themselves academically, to ask tough questions and to dare to dream big. We define STEM broadly; each SciRes girl will work across the life, physical and natural sciences during her four years under our care. STEM involves thinking critically, logically, and analytically. It also requires approaching problems persistently and creatively. SHA students are doing just that by participating in local, regional, national and international science competitions each year. Supported by gifted colleagues, I seek innovative and unconventional ways to expose these young women to the possibilities in STEM, both in college and beyond. Sure, it’s hard work for the girls. All three of my own children (Christine, Michael and Arthur) were Intel

(now Regeneron) Science Talent kids (2006, 2009, 2012), so I understand exactly what I’m asking of the girls—and their parents. The Regeneron Talent Search (Regeneron STS) is the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science competition for high school seniors, providing an important forum for original research that is recognized and reviewed by a national jury of professional scientists. Each year, approximately 2,000 student entrants submit original research in critically important scientific fields of study

Classes Start and are judged by leading experts in their fields. Unique among high school competitions in the U.S. and around the world, the Regeneron Science Talent Search focuses on identifying, inspiring, and engaging the nation’s most promising young scientists who are creating the ideas that could solve society’s most urgent challenges.

But students hardly enter their senior year of high school and suddenly decide to submit a six-week research project at a nationally competitive level. Here at Sacred Heart Academy, research is a four-year program, beginning with Introduction to Research 9 and including the AP Capstone Program. The SHA Research Program offers a unique opportunity for students to experience the rigor and rewards of authentic research while still in high school. This sequence of courses is directed to those students who have a keen interest in the physical, natural, and social sciences and would like to pursue excellence in areas of hands-on, original research. Students begin the program in ninth grade with the Intro to Research 9 course. Ultimately, students who continue with Research for four years will not only earn a SHA Diploma but will also have the opportunity to earn a AP Capstone Diploma, issued by the College Board and valued highly by colleges and universities around the nation and the world. Many students in the program showcase their research in publications and participate in internships with some of the nation’s top research facilities and universities.

And all of that hard work pays off. In the last four years alone, I have mentored students who submitted 49 Regeneron proposals. Additionally, 13 girls have had research articles published in peer-reviewed journals since 2020. And since 2019, 51 girls have been invited to present original research at the prestigious (adult) Association for Psychological Association Convention; less than 250 precollegiate researchers have ever been invited in the conventions’ 35-year history.

Significantly, SHA students are comfortable explaining their work to their peers, faculty, science fair judges and journalists. Recently SHA’s principal, S. Jean Amore, CSJ explained, “In the middle of a terribly stressful time – an era of political polarization, global pandemics, European wars, and so on—Drs. Sullivan & Feinman make hard work and academic excellence ‘fun’ for seventy to ninety adolescent girls each year. Alumnae frequently write to share success stories from university, success that they consistently attribute to the influence of Science Research and the support they receive from their SHA family. It’s really quite lovely.” I couldn’t agree more. There is nothing more satisfying than seeing your students succeed at university—not just gain admission to university—but truly excel upon matriculation because they were confident and prepared.

—Dr. Stephen J. Sullivan joined Sacred Heart Academy in 2018 as the Director of Research and faculty member. In addition, Dr. Sullivan is a respected senior lecturer at Columbia University.

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