3 Plainview-Old Bethpage Students Named 2022 Regeneron Scholars

PLAINVIEW, NEW YORK —The Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District is proud to announce that three seniors from Plainview-Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School (POBJFKHS) were named three of the top scholars in the country in the Regeneron Science Talent Search 2022, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious science and math competition for high school seniors.

The semifinalists from POBJFKHS are Abigail Lev, Gabrielle Oliva, and Olivia Schmidt. Each scholar was selected from 1,805 applications from 603 high schools across 46 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, and 8 other countries. Each scholar receives a $2,000 award with an additional $2,000 going to his or her respective school, resulting in $1.2 million in total scholar awards from Regeneron.

"During these most challenging days, the selection of three of our students—Abigail Lev, Gabrielle Oliva, and Olivia Schmidt—as Regeneron Scholars is validation of their work and educational success for our school community,” shared James Murray, Principal of POBJFKHS. “Their research is timely and relates to issues prevalent in our nation. We couldn't be prouder of their well-deserved recognition."

Scholars were chosen based on their exceptional research skills, commitment to academics, innovative thinking, and promise as scientists—as evidenced through the submission of original independent research projects and essays.

Abigail Lev’s research project is titled The Inadvertent Detrimental Effects of Caucasian Performative Activism on Perceived Societal Marginalization of the African-American Population.

Abigail researched the potential detrimental effects of engaging in a flawed form of activism in the self-perceived marginalization of a social group—in this case, African Americans—through a prevalent civil rights issue: the Black Lives Matter movement. The results indicated that continued Performative Activism, or non-action based activism, by the Caucasian community poses a significant psychological risk to the wellbeing of the African-American community. Furthermore, this suggests that in situations of social change, society should aim to employ suitable activism techniques that are not solely performative based actions that enact a positive change.

Gabrielle Oliva’s research project is titled The Impact of Ascribed Gender Stereotypes on Public Perceptions of Sexual Assault Victims.

The purpose of Gabrielle’s study was to examine the extent to which the public's reaction toward sexual assault victims (measured through participants' victim-blaming, empathy, and perceived ability for victims to cope) is impacted by the presence of gender stereotypes in both male and female victims. Results found that stereotypical victims were met with significantly higher levels of victim-blaming and significantly lower levels of empathy. Additionally, male sexual assault victims who portray traditionally masculine stereotypes received the least amount of empathy and the highest levels of victim blame. These findings can have implications in further understanding social stigmas around sexual assault.

Olivia Schmidt’s research project is titled Investigating Detrimental Effects of Text-Based Digital Communication on Emotional Literacy of Adolescents.

Olivia investigated the effects of using digital, text-based communication on emotional literacy. Results found that human vocal communication evoked significantly higher levels of empathy compared to texting, but no significant differences in emotion recognition or sympathy, implying that people can recognize the emotions of others, but lack the ability to truly understand and relate to them. This finding suggests that the societal shift towards texting, rather than verbal communication, can have detrimental consequences on human interpersonal relationships.

These three extraordinary students have participated in both the POBJFKHS Research Program, as well as the AP Capstone Program, taking such courses as Advanced Placement Seminar, Advanced Placement Research, Foundations of Research, and Social Science Research Lab. Through each of these classes, their research and analytical skills were further refined.

Raymond Tesar, POBJFKHS Lead Research Coordinator, stated he is extremely honored to have worked with all three students over the past four years. “It has been inspiring to work alongside and witness the dedication of these three girls to the pursuit of scientific knowledge over the past four years. I have watched them grow from curious and inquisitive freshmen to the college-bound future leaders in our STEM community.”

Mr. Tesar also stated he is exceptionally impressed at their abilities to complete such high-level research projects despite the challenges of the current pandemic. “All three of these students refused to be hindered by our current global pandemic, but instead showed the highest levels of resilience and academic dedication in completing three Social Science Research Projects investigating human social-emotional behaviors in fields that are of the utmost importance today.”

The 40 finalists chosen to compete in Washington, D.C. in March will be announced on January 20th to compete for $1.8M in additional awards, including the top award of $250,000.

For more information about the Plainview-Old Bethpage Central School District, please visit the District’s website at www.pobschools.org. Exciting activities happening throughout the District and programs celebrating student achievement can also be found on the District’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pobschools/.