SSHS Students Honored by Town for Placing in Science Competition

Hempstead Town Supervisor Kate Murray honored students from South Side High School at the Jan. 8 town board meeting. The students were all semifinalists and regional finalists in the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology.

The town first honored Kyle Johnson, Thomas Keady and Samantha Preshad of South Side High School for making it to the semifinals of the national competition.

South Side's Evan Chernack was also honored after having advanced the farthest of all South Side students. He represented RVC in the regional finals at Carnegie Mellon University in November. Chernack received a $1,000 scholarship for having competed at the regional level.

Chernack's project was “A Study of the Role of the ROCK Kinase Pathway in Dental Pulp Stem Cell Differentiation and Mineralization.” The project dealt with advanced research for clinical regenerative therapies.

“We have such an extraordinary amount of talent in the Town of Hempstead and these students represent the best and brightest that our town has to offer,” Murray said in a release. “Not only is their high level of work extraordinary, but the dedication to their elite projects are commendable.”