On Becoming Superheroes

Upper School AP Biology students, Upper School Advanced Physics student, and Middle School Lego Robotics Team members created and led two workshops that engaged younger students in hands-on STEM experiences. Participating Upper School students enjoyed the experience perhaps as much as the Lower School students. Current 11^th grader Jasmine Bayrooti reports, “STEM night was really fun!  It was great to share a project with the lower schoolers and see their enthusiasm for science.  I am already excited for STEM night next year.” Demetra Yancopoulos, also 11^th grade, observes, “It was a really cool experience to see the kids doing the activities we planned out in the prior weeks. Having them get as excited about the science as we were made the work worthwhile.” And Connor Larson. 11^th grade, adds, “It was a blast! It was such a great experience to be able to teach and have fun with some of Hackley's future scientists!”

We are grateful to the Lower School faculty, our Upper School students, and Dr. Yancopoulos for a terrific program.

Dr. Yancopoulos, father of members of the classes of ’12, ’14, ’16, and ‘18, is President and Chief Scientific Officer of Regeneron, a leading science and technology company headquartered in Tarrytown. He is a principal inventor and developer of Regeneron's four FDA-approved drugs, and he and his fellow scientists are working on drugs to address lowering cholesterol, asthma, cancer and other diseases. He received his M.D. and Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics from Columbia University, and was elected to both the National Academy of Sciences and the American Academy of Sciences in 2004.

In connection to Dr. Yancopoulos’s commitment to nurturing passion for Science, Technology, Engineering and Math in students of all ages, Regeneron recently acquired the National Science Talent Search competition (most recently sponsored by Intel, and previously, Westinghouse). As he noted recently in The New York Times, "Much in life, where you go and what you do, is about dreams and role models," he said. "When I got to Bronx Science, I wanted to play football for Notre Dame, but then in the hallways as a freshman I'd see people pointing out somebody and whispering, 'He's a Westinghouse winner.' My world changed." Dr. Yancopoulos wants the National Science Talent Search to be “the best reality show in the world” and notes, “We need these kinds of kids to save the planet…The world has challenges like cancer, the Zika virus and global warming. We need to change who our heroes are."