Neighbors

Chandler teen’s burn treatment experiment lauded

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

At age 17, Michelle Sheikh of Chandler is already on her way toward helping to solve global health problems.

And it’s no surprise the recent graduate of Arizona College Prep-Erie will be majoring in biomedical sciences with a global health minor when she begins her studies at Arizona State University’s Barrett, The Honors College this fall.

The daughter of Zara and Salman Sheikh, Michelle won one of the Society for Science’s Special Awards in the Regeneron ISEF 2021, a national science competition for high school students.

She is the first student in Arizona to win first place in both the U.S. Agency of International Development’s global health and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory competitions. Each year, organizations representing government, industry and education across a wide variety of scientific disciplines affiliate with Regeneron ISEF as special award sponsors, providing awards, scholarships internships and other prizes to hundreds of student finalists.

Michelle’s award from the Acoustical Society of America was for a project titled “A Novel Approach to Treating Burn Wound Infections Using Flavonoids: Exploring the Interaction between Antibiotics and Flavonoids.”

“My project aims to provide a sustainable and effective antibiotic alternative and resistance-modifying agent through the use of flavonoids,” she explained.

Flavonoids are chemical compounds in plants “that possess antibiotic activity,” Michelle said, and because they are common in most fruits and vegetables, they are more readily available and cheaper than commercial antibiotics.

Also, she added, “Flavonoids can enhance the antibiotic activity of commonly used antibiotics.”

She began work on the project in early 2020.

“I was inspired to work on my research project after reading the story of a 2-year-old Syrian refugee girl Aliyah who passed away from a preventable burn wound infection simply because there was an antibiotic shortage in her war stricken home country,” Michelle said.

“I was quite dismayed by how weak worldwide drug supply chains are at providing adequate access to antibiotics in developing countries,” she continued.

“Basic pharmaceutical drugs such as amoxicillin, which are easily available in the United States, are lacking in the millions in underdeveloped and developing countries.”

Hence, she found herself “motivated to develop a sustainable and affordable antibiotic alternative and resistance-modifying agent.”

Michell’s award-winning project comprised two experiments – a “Kirby Bauer Disc Diffusion test” and an “antimicrobial susceptibility test.”

The first involved creating three solutions, one solely made of flavonoids, a second with flavonoids and amoxicillin and a third of amoxicillin as a control.

“After creating these solutions a paper disc is soaked in each solution which is then transferred onto a petri dish streaked with E.coli. After 24 hours a clear area will appear around each paper disc where bacteria has been inhibited, the larger the clear area, the more bacteria have been inhibited – which is the ideal result.”

The experiment showed that the mix of flavonoids and amoxicillin was the most effective.

The goal of the second test was to see how flavonoids and amoxicillin can work together to kill bacteria.

“Essentially what this test found is that when even a small concentration of flavonoids was introduced to amoxicillin… cell density, or the amount of bacteria, is significantly reduced,” Michelle said.

Michelle conducted her experiments at the ASU Biodesign Institute under graduate student Rebecca Jernigan.

Michelle isn’t done.

“I plan on continuing this research in college by trying to design an efficient drug delivery system utilizing flavonoids and commercial antibiotics,” she said.

Science has long been an interest to the precocious teen.

“I believe that science has a major positive impact on society and this impact is growing as we have all seen how the several vaccines generated by science have helped curb the COVID-19 pandemic,” Michelle said.

She is captivated by “the versatile opportunities it offers to make constructive contributions that can help bridge health disparities which are rampantly prevalent even in our developed society.”

“I was motivated to create a feasible method to help reduce inequalities within antibiotic availability by creating a sustainable and cost-effective solution,” she said.

Michelle also has won other accolades for her project.

She took first place in biochemistry at the 2021 Chandler Innovation Fair for the second consecutive year and was among the Arizona Science and Engineering Fair’s top exhibits.

An AP Scholar who graduated with a 4.5 GPA, Michelle also was among the top six finalists in the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium competition.

Michelle Sheikh

Chandler woman a St. Vincent de Paul fellow

BY ASHLYN ROBINETTE

Contributor

A recent Arizona State University graduate in Chandler has made a difference in her community working at The Society of St. Vincent de Paul as a Leadership in Action fellow.

Morgan Dircks graduated in May with a degree in marketing from the W.P. Carey School of Business and Barrett, The Honors College. She began the St. Vincent de Paul Leadership in Action Fellowship the summer before her senior year and just finished her third semester there.

“It’s been awesome,” said Dircks, adding that her fellowship experience, which has “solidified for me 100 percent a career in the nonprofit sector, specifically human services.”

The goal of the Leadership in Action Fellowship is an emphasis on fellows’ personal growth as they’re provided opportunities to develop leadership skills and gain an understanding of nonprofit operations while making an impact in the community, according to skills, work skills and experience” over the course of the fellowship.

There, Dircks developed the society’s virtual volunteer program, which was instrumental in maintaining normal operations throughout the pandemic and is now a permanent program.

She also wrote multiple home guides that were sent out quarterly to provide volunteers with different projects and opportunities that can be done from home. Many of these opportunities were designed by Dircks herself.

Dircks was also able to work with different nonprofits, including Pathway to Work, which prepares adults with developmental disabilities to engage, contribute and work in their communities.

This was possible because Dircks planned engagement events through Zoom to connect the community with nonprofits.

The Leadership in Action Fellowship emerged from the pandemic when students’ internship opportunities were dwindling.

“The fellowship was such a well-rounded experience that I don’t think I would have gotten in any other environment,” Dircks said.

The semester-long program, open to current university students or recent graduates, provides compensation up to $2,500 through funding support from local donors.

It engages fellows in a collaborative framework that includes one-on-one mentoring, biweekly educational panels with staff from the society’s departments, and biweekly “Fellow Forum” gatherings, providing fellows an opportunity to run their own meetings, set agenda topics and share their experiences.

Dircks is currently working for St. Vincent DePaul by filling in for someone on maternity leave. In the future, she will continue working for nonprofits as she has “been able to see the power of community within nonprofits.”

“Everyone there has a passion for helping people,” Dircks said. “When people come together then we can all work together to make the world a better place.”

Sun Lakes Rotary honors educator, members

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes earlier this month honored a number of members for their service to the organization and the community at large.

The club also gave its Sandy Lundberg Educator of the Year Award to Rajani Rastogi, a social worker at Hamilton High School.

Named after the late principal of Casteel High School, the Lundberg award represents the club’s highest honor to educators in Chandler Unified School District.

The club hailed Rastogi’s commitment, excellence, integrity and collaboration, citing her 20 years of experience in working with families, teens and children.

“Rajani has developed programs that have addressed parent and student educational presentations, food assistance, student support groups, laptop giving program, mindfulness program, ISS student support, fundraisers and mentorship,” club spokesperson Dr. Honora Norton said.

The club also gave awards to several members for their service.

The Rotary Club of Sun Lakes, founded in 1986, supports Rotary International’s PolioPlus Fund and supports projects that provide clean water, promote world peace, fight disease around world, save mothers and children, support education and grows local economies.

Each year the club honors various members for their distinguished commitment to “Service above Self,” for “sharing their gifts of time, talent and resources and getting things done,” Norton said.

Club President Job Lyons gave awards honoring the following: • Don Robins, Service Above Self

Award, for supporting numerous education projects as liaison with

Chandler Unified. He leads many STEM projects, supports CO2 Dragster and Splash Route Club projects, and recruits new members as a sponsor

Winners of the Sun Lakes Rotary Club’s 2020-21 awards include, from left, Judi Edmonds, Service Above Self Award; Terrie Sanders, Service Above Self Award; Maureen Alger, the John McCain Good Gal Award; and Val and Bill Crump, both Rotarians of the Year.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)

See ROTARY on page 44

Sun Lakes Rotarians help Auxier first-graders

BY DR. HONORA NORTON

Guest Writer

When in-person volunteering was eliminated at Auxier Elementary School, Rotary Club of Sun Lakes member Maureen Alger found a way to quickly adapt the SAE A World In Motion Rolling Things STEM challenge to incorporate outside perspectives. Industry volunteers are crucial for young learners participating in AWIM’s PreK-8 STEM experiences.

They provide mentorship, real-world insights, and expose students to different STEM career paths. During the pandemic, they also provided something else – social interaction with someone other than a teacher.

SAE International, previously known as the Society of Automotive Engineers, is a professional association and standards developing organization for engineering professionals in various industries.

Virtual volunteers included Rotarians Don Robins and Val and Bill Crump, who joined a class of first graders at Auxier.

The students immediately lit up. After being isolated from other classmates and outside contact because of COVID-19, the students were so happy to have an outside connection that they hung on their every word. the volunteers building a car and understand it in a much more tangible way than someone working as an accountant for example.”

“Because volunteers weren’t able to be there in person, they weren’t able to participate in many of the handson components that make the AWIM program unique,” she added.

“However, they were still able to find a way to immediately add value by asking leading questions: What do you think is going to happen when we add more weight to the car? What can we do to make sure the car doesn’t tip over? Why do we need three trials instead of just one?”

Beyond the instructional component, the virtual volunteers also helped with social and emotional learning. The first graders had to think about how to interact with adults and also with someone they don’t know.

Thanks to teachers like Maureen and volunteers, like those from Rotary Club of Sun Lakes, 16 first graders had a chance to experience a little bit of normalcy while learning about STEM and cars in a fun, hands-on way. An additional on-site AWIM program with Rotarian volunteers was held with Chandler’s Strong Foundation Academy teacher Angie Neal’s Kindergarten class.

Auxier Elementary students participated in SAE International’s A World in Motion pro-

gram. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

Left: Hamilton High social worker was named Educator of the Year by the Sun Lakes Rotary Middle: Sun Lakes Rotary Club President Jon Lyons presents the Rotarian of the Month plaque to Howard Rudge. Right: Don Robins also won a Sun lakes Rotary Club Service Above Self Award. (Special to SanTan Sun News)

ROTARY from page 43

and a mentor. • Judi Edmonds, Service Above Self

Awar. She has represented the club and Rotarfy District on a polio immunization trip to Mexico; represented the club at Rotary International’s Mexico/

USA Friendship Exchange Conference, leads “peace building” for the club, and is involved in other club projects. • Terrie Sanders, Service Above Self

Award. Sanders led the Dolly Parton

Imagination Library Committee and its successful pilot project in Guadalupe and set the stage for its expansion into Chandler; partnered with Classy

Closets to provide critically needed space in CUSD schools; and participated in numerous other club projects. • Maureen Alger, John K. McCain

“Good Gal Award. Her trophy was provided by Coulter Cadillac in memory of former club member and WWII

Veteran John K. McCain. Alger has been a liaison on numerous projects with Chandler Unifi ed, led the teacher of the month committee, participates in the Foundations Academy, was a champion of the Leader in Me Program at Auxier Elementary, developed a Veterans Day program and parade at

Auxier, and has supported a number of other club services for veterans. • Val Crump and Bill Crump, Rotarians of the Year. “Both Val and Bill Crump have been key leaders, club members and meeting attendees – no matter whether they are in town or on the road,” Norton said. They lead the monthly Splash/Annual Sourcebook

Delivery Project, which raises funds for the club’s various projects. They also led the San Marcos Elementary

School Christmas program that brings a sweatshirt and socks to every student for Christmas. They also are key organizers of the club’s annual golf tournament. Meanwhile, Howard Rudge was named Rotarian of the Month for June.

Rudge “is an ardent contributor and noteworthy supporter of many of the club’s service eff orts,” Lyons said.

Those include the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Neighbors Who Care and many of the club’s education endeavors such as the Four-Way Test Speech Contest, Rotary Youth Leadership Academy and scholarships. He also is an active participant of the club’s Foundation 2000.

Besides Rotary, he also leads The Rudge Foundation and “is also a strong advocate for women’s health and has made substantial and signifi cant contributions to Rotary Club of Sun Lakes, the local school system, community and the Greater East Valley,” Norton said. Information: sunlakesrotaryclub.com

Chandler woman’s book looks at doctors, parents

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

The experience of caring for her chronically ill son for 15 years has motivated a Chandler woman to co-produce a book on physicians’ relationships with parents. Ann F. Schrooten of Fox Crossing and pediatrician Barry P. Markovitz co-edited “Shared Struggles,” a collection of fi rst-person stories that provide a unique glimpse into how parents and physicians think, feel, and interact.

Schrooten and Markovitz also wrote commentaries on each story to provide “an independent perspective on the events and messages conveyed and to encourage refl ection, inquiry and discussion.”

The stories are grouped under four sections: hope, compassion, communication and trust.

Parents write about interactions with physicians that had a signifi cant impact on them and their child and off er context and insight. The physicians tell of interactions with patients and families that served as learning moments in their career and humanized both medicine and the doctor.

Schrooten, an attorney, and her husband Mark – who have two daughters – lost their son Jack at age 15 in 2014 knew Markovitz from the pediatrician’s a book together, but we developed what we wanted the book to look like together,” she said.

She said Markovitz spent many months caring for Jack in 1999 in St. Louis and the doctor helped manager ventilator care for the child, who was only seven months old. Jack was born with a rare congenital muscular dystrophy that aff ected his muscles, eyes and brain.

Markovitz had “always available to help me when it came to issues with Jack and off ered guidance and support as much as he could from a distance” and even spoke at the boy’s funeral.

In writing the book, Schrooten recruited the parents and physicians who contributed. Her commentaries on each story refl ect a parent’s viewpoint while Markovitz supplied a physician’s perspective. Finding the parents came from her involvement in a large network she developed by participating in online forums for parents with intensive medical needs. “Parents and physicians were overwhelmingly supportive of the book and wanted to be part of it,” she said, adding they collected stories from 2015 to last year. And it was a long road to fruition.

They had fi rst discussed the idea of a book in 2014 but their proposal wasn’t accepted until 2019, when Springer Publications gave it a nod. They fi nished in December and the book was published two months ago.

Noting that over 3 million children in the United States live with complex medical conditions “and, with advances in medicine, this number will only grow as children born with rare and life-limiting conditions live longer,” Schrooten hopes the book will benefi t both parents and doctors. “The hope is to help physicians understand the perspective of parents of the medically complex children they care for and to help parents understand the perspective of the physicians who care for their children,” she said. “There can often be a feeling of ‘us’ versus ‘them’ when it comes to parent-physician interactions.

“By giving a voice to both parents and physicians, and by listening and learning from their stories, the goal is to create a bridge to better understanding that can improve communication, minimize confl icts, and foster trust and compassion among physicians, patients, and families.”

“Shared Struggles” is available on amazon.com and at link.springer.com/ book/10.1007%2F978-3-030-68020-6.

Fox Crossing resident Ann T. Schrooten holds a photo of her son Jack, who died at age 15 after a life-long chronic illness.

Teen volunteer group off ers summer camps

SANTAN SUN NEWS STAFF

A new volunteer organization for high school and middle school that recently descended on Desert Breeze Park in Chandler to spruce up the site also is offering an array of virtual summer camps.

The young students belong to iReach, which aims “to provide a fl exible platform for volunteers to develop responsibility, confi dence, leadership, and communication skills through a variety of community services programs,” spokeswoman Sherry Xiao said.

“We are a group of students who want to serve our community,” said iReach President Frank Liu, a 10th grader at BASIS Mesa. “We provide a platform to children and teens who have the same ambition – to serve the community and improve ourselves while doing that.”

Liu said the group welcomes any student who wants to dedicate time to volunteer and make an impact in their community. iReach team chose Chandler AdoptA-Park program as one of its fi rst activities by committing to spend time at Desert Breeze once a month.

During their inaugural clean-up last month, 20 students and several parents teamed up to pick up trash, clean tables and do other tidying up work at the park.

This will be a monthly activity for iReach and Xiao said she is hoping more volunteers are going to join them in the future at the park. iReach also has volunteers off ering one-on-one tutoring programs.

“If a student faces challenges on any subject, iReach will be able to help fi nd a tutor to work directly with the student,” Xiao said. “The tutoring sessions can be customized according to the tutor and tutee’s availability and needs.

“iReach team members believe that they can help every student in need in our community to gain confi dence in academics, in turn helping their parents to focus on their jobs and raising the family, and this enables our community to thrive.” iReach also has rolled out free online summer camps with sessions on investment and fi nance, science, civics, Spanish, music, dance, tennis, physical education and other subjects. Science tutors are the students who have participated in national level competitions in the fi eld. The tutors will have games, videos and interactive lessons in any area of science-related subjects ranging from astronomy and genetics to immunology and anatomy. Elizabeth Ovelil is a ninth grader with a passion and interest in civics, Xiao said, who is leading a team of three students to run a civics camp for young students this summer. “Everyone in our community should learn civics to understand our community better and become a better citizen,” Elizabeth said.

For those who are in sixth grade and up, iReach will have a summer camp on public speaking that will focus on skills like vocal variety and body language with the goal of making participants more confi dent as speakers.

To learn more about other camps, or get involved in the group’s volunteer work, see ireachus.org.

Core members of iReach include, from left: front row: Joanna Dong, Elizabeth Ovelil, Sophia Lin, Daniel Yang; Back: Frank Liu, Edward Zhang, Aidan Lin, Wing Wang. (Courtesy of iReach)

Dog’s ordeal a lesson in paw protection

DAVID M. BROWN

Contributor

The life of 7-month-old Tigger, a soft-coated Wheaten terrier, almost ended months after he was born, but the generosity of a cadre of residents and breed supporters from outside the state has apparently saved him.

Tigger’s former owners took him for a walk through a path in the desert, and the pup stepped on a cactus spine.

Days later, the family veterinarian in Scottsdale recorded his temperature as high as 105°F and tried unsuccessfully to reduce that. By the following week, his right hindlimb was swollen.

Through the following days, the swelling progressed and his foot started to turn black. Tigger’s owners brought him to an emergency veterinary hospital and he was diagnosed with a clot in his paw. The choice: aggressive medical management or remove the leg.

For the owners, though, euthanasia or surrender seemed the only options. They chose the latter. Even worse, he was in terrible pain and had no one to pay for the care he required.

Then Tigger’s story became a mission.

Pat Bajoras works with Dermatology for Animals, which is in the same building as the emergency room in north Scottsdale. A dog lover since she was a child, she is a long-time Wheaten terrier breeder and has entered her dogs in AKC shows.

“The doctor who was treating Tigger knew of my love and passion for the breed, and she came to me for help. I saw Tigger come in and was concerned about his medical situation from the start,” Bajoras recalled.

Bajoras also called animal rescue organizations and friends. Wheaten breeders, pet owners and friends posted on social media requesting donations to the nonprofi t Wheatens in Need (WIN) for Tigger’s continued care.

The group was founded 20 years ago by Texas resident Gwen Arthur. Also contacted were members of the Soft Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of America.

“When we reach out to each other through emails or Facebook posts, we reach not only members but also to people that our puppies have been placed with,” said Bajoras.

WIN agreed to cover all medical expenses, recognizing that this could exceed $12,000. With funding in place, Dr. Jessica Sullivan, an associate with Southwest Veterinary Surgical Specialists, performed the surgery.

During the procedure, Tigger required a transfusion because of excessive bleeding.

After the operation, the Scottsdale vet – whose name cannot be published under his employer’s policy – cared for Tigger at home through the fi rst critical days. “Without both doctors and the Wheatens in Need rescue, Tigger would have never have had the opportunity to get to where he is today,” she added.

To fi nd a temporary foster home, WIN member and Carefree resident Sandy Scott connected with Arlene and Tom Heck.

Both from animal-loving families, the Hecks have been fostering Tigger since April and will continue until he is fully recovered and is matched by WIN with the perfect family. The group is continuing to pay the medical and care expenses.

“Although we have fallen in love with Tigger and it will be heartbreaking to say goodbye, we will not be adopting him,” Arlene said. “Tom and I want nothing more for him than for him to be loved, cared for and part of a family.”

Bajoras said, “Tigger is recovering fabulously and is back to being a normal dog, from running to playing. He should be able to lead a very normal life as a Wheaten terrier – just as a tripod dog, on three legs instead of four.

“Wheatens are social dogs,” Bajoras added. “They are meant to be with their people, a true part of the family.”

“Tigger will face hardships for the rest of his life due to an overlooked danger in the desert,” Bajoras said.

She recommended that owners put dogs in booties before going on walks on established desert trails or on the pavement, especially during the summer months.

Also, they should monitor their pet’s surroundings on walks and check paws and between their pads carefully. “When something starts out as a minor injury, it can quickly escalate into a disastrous situation if not closely monitored,” she explained.

Fortunately, Wheaten terrier lovers worldwide and two Valley veterinarians helped save the puppy, she added, remarking, “Happiness in a veterinarian’s life is seeing situations like Tigger’s change from potential tragedy to fairytale.”

Tigger’s medical problems show the importance of protecting paws.

(Special to SanTan Sun News)