by Mike Graziano

Aishvarya Arora, a senior at St. Francis Prep, Fresh Meadows, was the only Queens student named a semifinalist in the Intel Science Talent Search (Intel STS) competition.

The Intel STS recognizes 300 students and their schools as semifinalists each year. From that select pool, 40 finalists are then invited to undergo final judging, display their work to the public, meet with notable scientists and compete for the top award of $100,000.

Arora was one of 300 students selected from over 1,700 students nationwide who entered the contest. Her project investigated the effects of social cues on Body Dysmorphic Disorder in adolescents. She now moves on to the next round. She is one of only six semifinalists to be named from Catholic high schools in the country.

Mary Ann Spicijaric, Jim Boylan and Megan Sullivan served as Arora’s science research faculty advisors.

Arora was one of 18 St. Francis Prep seniors who completed papers to enter into the contest. Liz Prohaska, Jane Lynch and Eric Hafker, from the school’s English department helped edit the seniors’ Intel papers.

This marks 10 consecutive years a student from St. Francis Prep has been selected as a semifinalist in the Intel Science Competition. Students from the Prep have been selected as semifinalists 12 times in the past 15 years