It was a day for scientific prowess as 13 science research students from the Massapequa High School-Ames Campus competed in the third annual Medical Marvels Competition hosted by North Shore-LIJ. 
Ninth graders Luke Colavita, Olivia Ferraro, John, Gonzalez, Kyra LaSpina, Nicole Leonick, Paul Lestingi, Deborah Lobaccaro, Kaitlin McWilliams, Gillian Murphy, Joseph Ryan, Matthew Shea, Jordan Taylor and Kaley Theodorous represented two of 42 teams from across Long Island that competed for a $1,800 first-place prize.
The competition challenged teams to present how science research, technology and public policy could be changed to manage stress and develop resilience in their high-paced lives.
Massapequa’s two teams represented different goals for increasing mental health awareness. Dressed in their professional best, the students presented their research to a panel of judges and their peers, and had three minutes to succinctly address how mental health awareness is important to all students.
One team addressed changing school start times and testing procedures, supported by international research that a later start time of just one hour would increase alertness and test scores as well as decrease the number of traffic accidents in the early morning. The second team focused on apps and wearables that can monitor your sleep, breathing, and heart rate to alert the wearer of increased stress levels.
In addition to presenting their work, students attended lectures by medical doctors and psychiatrists on the current issues in mental health awareness. They shared statistics on common issues with numbers as high as 1 in 10 students facing a situation in their scholastic career that could benefit from a mental health professional. To that end, students were taught ways of coping with stress through apps, focusing exercises, and breathing techniques.
“Our students left the competition with a feeling of accomplishment,” said Ames Campus science research teacher Gregg Hession, who served as a mentor for this project along with science research teachers August Eberling and Nicole Gonzalez. “The pride in their work showed in their enthusiastic discussion. Although they did not win, students eagerly took pictures with teachers and teammates on stage to commemorate the day.”
Ames Campus social worker Kim Hession also worked with the teams to increase their awareness of mental health issues concerning teens today and helped the students develop their ideas to change mental health policies.
—Massapequa Public Schools
