Winter 2012 Issue - De La Salle Institute

LOURDES HALL STUDENTS RECEIVE RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIESSaint Mary’s UniversityTen students from De La Salle’s Lourdes Hall Campus for YoungWomen recently visited Saint Mary’s University in Notre Dame, INto learn more about a travel and research opportunity in the sciencefields of biology and chemistry this coming summer on Little CornIsland, Nicaragua.After meeting their college counterparts and touring the university,the De La Salle students watched a presentation about currentresearch taking place on Little Corn Island and how someof De La Salle’s young women may be able to participate in thisunique expedition. The day on campus concluded with the De LaSalle students and their hosts from Saint Mary’sparticipating in two science labs, one on animalbehavior and the other on water quality.In anticipation of this summer’s trip, two currentjuniors in good academic standing will be selectedto participate and travel to Nicaragua. Highschool students will participate in a marine-basedproject by assisting in data entry, identification offish species, accompanying the college studentsto the dive sites, and possibly diving, themselves.Some students may also be studying the populationdynamics of the lionfish, an invasive species.The other two projects will be land-based. During the past severalsummers, extensive bacterial testing of local wells revealed watercontamination. Monitoring the wells will continue this summerwhile working on practical solutions to decrease and eliminate thebacterial contamination, while expanding on the uses of filters onthe island. The second project of interest is to determine if thereis correlation between rainfall and bacterial changes in wells todetermine if this is a potential health concern for the population.Little Corn Island is a slow-paced, tropical island just two mileslong and one mile wide. It is located in the Caribbean 45 milesoff the eastern shore of Nicaragua, and inhabitedby about 750, English-speaking traditionalCaribbean people, who earn their living fromlobster fishing. There are no paved roads, no cars,and no shopping malls; however, internet serviceis available.Front: Anna Nowaczyk ‘13, Melissa Estrada ‘13Back: Marissa Perez ‘13, Kyra Lee ‘13,Megan Wood ‘13, Madeline Holley ‘13, BrianaMartinez ‘13, Selena Rivera ‘13, JessicaDeStefano ‘13, Nitza Valencia ‘13“The students who visited Saint Mary’s definitelyenjoyed the experience and are excited aboutthe summer research opportunity,” De La Sallescience teacher Colleen Sanchez said. “Welook forward to partnering with Saint Mary’sUniversity and introducing our young women tobiology and chemistry out in the field in such anexceptional way.”Erika Martinez ‘14 Wins Archdiocese of Chicago Poetry AwardIn honor of World AIDS Day, the CatholicCharities HIV/AIDS Task Force for theArchdiocese of Chicago, in collaboration withthe Archdiocese Office of Catholic Schools,hosted the 2011 Poster/Poetry contest in theArchdiocese’s Catholic schools.The theme for this year’s contest was “HIV—IT’S ABOUT YOU AND ME,” and emphasizedour connectedness to each other — thoseinfected with the virus and those affected by it.De La Salle – Lourdes Hall Campus for YoungWomen student Erika Martinez ’14 was chosena prize winner among high school studentsbased upon the excellence of her poem.As a result of her success,Martinez was given anaward and certificate by theCatholic Charities and alsoread her poem in front ofher creative writing class.4 AcademicsThe voice of the man revealed it all.What would she do and where would she go?How would she get there; she just didn’t know.Chills ran down her spine; she couldn’t help but fret,To think that living was now a threat.She felt as if all hope has slipped away,Gone forever, not going to stay.The pain of this disease is unbearable,Knowing there is no cure is just terrible.Nights and days go by as she fights for her life.No one knows the pain she goes through,Day in and day out, no one has a clue.But people continue to label her, as if they really knew.Through all of this, the girl stays strong.She realizes that life is too precious and she keeps moving on.Although she cannot end the battle of AIDS,She looks up at the sky with a gaze,And realizes there is hope and there will come a dayWhen AIDS is just a woeful memory andit will all fade away.sCONGRATULATIONS, ERIKA ONYOUR ACHIEVEMENT!Joe Martinez (Erika’s father), Erika Martinez ‘14, De La Salle-Lourdes Hall Campus principal Diane Brown, Catholic Charitiesliason Patricia M. Drott