Connecticut Student Wins Scholarship in National Science Competition
May 2010
 |
|
|
A Connecticut high school student was recognized as a national finalist in the annual 2009-10 Young Epidemiology Scholars (YES) Competition, one of the nation’s most prestigious high school science competitions. Sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and administered by the College Board, the YES Competition inspires students to apply the principles of epidemiology (the study of factors affecting the health and illness of populations) to investigate health issues facing the public.
Joan Kim from Amity Regional High School in Woodbridge received a $15,000 scholarship for her study of the relationship between online social networking and cognitive function in senior citizens. Specifically, she explored whether sites like Facebook have an effect on preventing Alzheimer’s disease. She recruited volunteers at her church and at nursing homes and divided them into those who use the sites regularly and those who don’t. She gave them each cognitive function tests and discovered that those who used Facebook scored higher.
Among the 639 students that entered this year’s competition, 12 became national finalists, receiving scholarships of $15,000–$50,000; 48 others became regional finalists, winning $2,000 scholarships. The 60 regional finalists, hailing from 21 different states, were invited to present their projects to a panel of distinguished judges, which consisted of public health experts and educators, in Washington, D.C.
Return to Top
