A student at Page High is having her work published in a research journal for more than 20,000 people to read.
Page High graduating senior Lydia Guertin’s paper, “Hollywood Culture: Portrayals of Romantic Interactions and Gender Tropes Pre- and Post-Sexual Assault Awareness Movements of the 21st Century,” will be printed in The Young Researcher and read across the United States and Canada. The paper will also be used by future students as a resource on Google Scholar.
“I knew I wanted to do a study in a field that I may not carry into my career or even college, and I also knew I wanted to do something with broader societal implications,” Lydia said.
In addition to having her work published in The Young Researcher, another paper of Lydia’s won the presentation competition for the Tennessee Junior Academy of Science and will be published in the handbook.
“For me, this achievement feels like the culmination of the work I have put into my studies in physics these past four years and really boosts my confidence in my academic abilities in this field,” Lydia said. “I won’t lie. I genuinely did not believe I would get accepted, as I knew they receive a plethora of submissions every year. When I heard back from them, I was overwhelmed with gratitude and joy.”
Lydia’s papers were written for her Advanced Placement Research class at Page High, taught by Cathy Koczaja and Michael Duplessis. Lydia says they were an integral part of her learning process and she is thankful for their help. Koczaja and Duplessis are equally as excited to see Lydia’s accomplishments.
“We are more than fortunate to have played a small part in guiding her on her journey,” said Koczaja. “Lydia is a very self-motivated student with a tremendous ability to drive a research project from start to finish. She is thoughtful and considerate in her work and has shown incredible aptitude for scientific research. Her work helps add to the worldwide body of knowledge, which is one of the greatest things any researcher can accomplish.”
After graduating, Lydia plans to attend Haverford College and major in astrophysics while continuing to pursue research opportunities.
“I want to hopefully incorporate research into my career,” she said. “The publications of my papers have made me more driven and excited to pursue the rest of my education and research career.”
