Alexis Marie Mychajliw

NEW YORK

Alexis Marie Mychajliw, 16, of Port Washington, combined her interests in animal behavior and environmental science for the zoology project she submitted to the Intel Science Talent Search. As a participant in a statewide survey tracking Odonate family populations (dragon flies and damsel flies), she decided to collect additional data to discover the nature of population distribution and its application to conservation policy. Field research was conducted in two undisturbed wetland habitats with varying levels of vegetative cover, where catch-and-release means were used to assess Odonate behavior in relation to their habitat. Her findings indicate that - regardless of vegetative coverage - females are more likely to remain in adjoining meadows and males within wetlands, suggesting that both habitats are crucial for the survival of the entire Odonate population. At the Paul D. Schreiber High School, Alexis has been editor of the literary magazine for four years. A violinist and tennis player, she is also an imaginative cook, creating new dishes based on her grandmother's traditional Ukrainian recipes. The daughter of Peter and Belinda Mychajliw, she hopes to study at Cornell or Brown University.