Latest news with #IllinoisMathandScienceAcademy
Chicago Tribune
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Only 13, Carpentersville girl already a seasoned student at Elgin Community College
Antonika Shapovalova of Carpentersville is one smart, busy kid. Just 13 years old, she has been taking classes at Elgin Community College since fall semester 2024. She's working toward an associate's degree even though she's not yet old enough to attend the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora, where she said she'd like to go due to its individualized programs and reputation for getting students into prestigious universities. 'They typically don't take students until they are in the 10th grade,' she said. Still, as it can be a factor considered for IMSA admission, Antonika already took the ACT test. She scored a composite 33, including a 36 in science and 34 in math. Down the road, Antonika hopes to attend Princeton or another university to study astrophysics. 'My mom has told me the first books I liked were about astronomy, and when I was a little girl I wanted to be an astronaut or an architect,' she said. 'What I like about astrophysics is that the universe is so vast, unexplored and complicated. I want to be a part of the discoveries about it.' These days, Antonika's mom, Veronika, is there helping her daughter on her journey toward reaching her goals, while her dad, Anton, runs his own HVAC business. Veronika Shapovalova drives her daughter to and from ECC and other activities on days that would most likely exhaust many adults, and works remotely at her finance and accounting job. Antonika's day typically includes spending four hours in the water practicing with the Barrington Swim Club. A gifted student, she is also a talented swimmer. She placed first in the Girls 13–14 category at the Great Lakes Open Water Championships held June 26 on Lake Andrea in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, where she competed for Team Illinois. 'I love open water and long distance swimming,' Antonika said. 'I specialize in freestyle and the breaststroke, the hardest stroke. I like to grind it out, to keep going.' Some days, when not practicing at the indoor pool at Barrington High School, she takes a bus with other swimmers to Pleasant Prairie for practice. Other days, her mother drives her to and from the Wisconsin practice facility. That's because this summer Antonika has had to scurry back to Illinois for an evening astronomy class at ECC. Antonika said she has already completed requirements for graduating from Barrington Middle School. She tested and qualified for ECC's dual enrollment program, which requires specific permission from the Academic Dean and Dean of Students for those under the age of 16. One of ECC's youngest students, Antonika took a college algebra class at the school in fall 2024, trigonometry and English composition courses in spring 2025 and Calculus 1 and an astronomy class this summer. That's in addition to already taking online classes from Rice University in Houston, Texas, and Delft University in the Netherlands. The Elgin Community College instructors have been wonderful, particularly math teacher Phil Pardun and astronomy professor Rick Jesik, and the other, older students are supportive, the mother and daughter both said. Antonika said she has not felt intimidated in classes. In turn, she has befriended older students, she said. 'Antonika's experience demonstrates how accessible, flexible programs like those at ECC can support high-achieving young learners right here in the suburbs,' Veronika Shapovalova said. On top of all this, Antonika's growing resume includes winning a Noetic Math Contest Award from the National Honor Roll and honors from the Mathcounts Competition Series and the Barrington Mustang Math Tournament. This summer, she also attended an astronomy camp at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and joined the Northwest Suburban Astronomers Club. In spring, she won the ECC Math Problem of the Semester Contest, she said. 'It took me a couple hours to figure it out,' Antonika said. Moreover, this year, she finished third in a K-8th grade Chinese Speech Contest, for which she received a certificate of recognition from the Consulate General of the People's Republic of China in Chicago. During summer 2024, Antonika volunteered at a School District 220 Chinese Immersion Camp. In addition to Mandarin, she speaks Russian, too, she said. With what spare time she might have, Antonika said she spends it with family, friends from the swim team and with her family's two dogs. She also likes to read sci-fi and fantasy novels and recently finished 'The Hobbit.' Antonika didn't mention – but her mother did – that Antonika plays violin, too. Like many a mother, Veronika Shapovalova keeps videos of her daughter to proudly show. 'Here she is from when she was much younger. She made the violin she's playing out of paper,' she said.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Proposed bill would make mental health education mandatory in Illinois secondary schools
CHICAGO (WGN) — There's a mental health crisis for teens and young adults across the United States. Two suburban high schoolers are looking to the state to address the epidemic. More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Abhinav Anne and Sai Ganbote are 17-year-old Illinois Math and Science Academy juniors. They helped draft HB2960, which would make mental health education mandatory in Illinois middle and high schools. Both joined WGN's Evening News at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 20, and say they have lived the crisis firsthand. 'I think something that we're seeing on a day-by-day basis throughout middle and high schools is that education is unable to address this issue,' Anne said. 'Bullying, anxiety, how to combat depression…we teach students how to recite tables and memorize every state and country on a map, but we're not really teaching students these fundamental issues…we're seeing this gap in knowledge.' Ganbote spoke about the implementation options in schools should the bill pass the legislative process. 'First, a mandatory unit in [student's] health classrooms or P.E. classrooms…and cross-curricular integration,' she said. Illinois State Representatives Faver Dias and Lindsey LaPointe are primarily sponsoring the bill. Illinois State Reps Costa Howard and Gregg Johnson have also joined in co-sponsorship. A vote on the bill was expected to take place on Thursday, with a strong indication that it would most likely pass. Watch the entire interview in the video player above. Sign up for our Medical Watch newsletter. This daily update includes important information from WGN's Dina Bair and the Med Watch team, including, the latest updates from health organizations, in-depth reporting on advancements in medical technology and treatments, as well as personal features related to people in the medical field. Sign up here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
High school senior helps draft bill requiring Narcan in Illinois public libraries
CHICAGO (WGN) — A new state proposal would require public libraries across Illinois to keep medications that can reverse an opioid overdose, such as Narcan, on hand in case of a medical emergency. Illinois Math and Science Academy senior Jordan Henry and Illinois State Rep. Anna Moeller worked together to draft the legislation. Both joined WGN's Evening News at 6 p.m. Wednesday to further detail their efforts. Henry said her advocacy stems from issues plaguing her community. Oak Park posts kits with Narcan, the opioid overdose antidote, to seven locations around city 'What really got me into this was hearing so many stories,' Henry told WGN's Ray Cortopassi. 'Saying how they had a loved one, or a friend, or a parent, who has had an opioid overdose and so many fatalities within my community.' Addressing the push for Illinois libraries to carry Narcan, Rep. Moeller told WGN News that the bill awaits a Public Health Committee hearing. Moeller remains optimistic that the meeting will occur as early as next week. 'We're hopeful that we'll have bi-partisan support because we know that this epidemic affects all parts of the state, including rural and southern Illinois and could really benefit and save lives in those areas as well,' Moeller said. 'Once the bill passes out of the House, we have a sponsor in the Senate, and then it would go on to the Governor's Office.' Henry and Moeller said talks remain ongoing with several state agencies concerning the bill. More Coverage: WGN's Medical Watch Watch the entire interview in the video player above. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Chicago Tribune
07-03-2025
- Health
- Chicago Tribune
Elgin student helps draft bill to require opioid OD medications in libraries
An Elgin student attending the Illinois Math and Science Academy is working with her local state representative on a bill that would require public libraries to keep on hand medications that can reverse an opioid overdose. If approved, the legislation also would require libraries to always have at least one staff member working who is trained on responding to an overdose situation. Jordan Henry, an 18-year-old senior, said she became interested in substance abuse issues when she learned about the 'War on Drugs,' a policy movement kicked off by President Richard Nixon in the early 1970s. Though the movement has been through many iterations, it has consistently focused on preventing drug use through criminalization. 'We've really used punishment where care is needed,' Henry said of the movement. She started volunteering with local nonprofits that tackle substance abuse as well as the stigma behind it. 'Seeing it as an issue at-large and an issue close to home has made me really want to dedicate a lot of time and effort to it,' she said of the opioid epidemic's effects on her community. Through volunteering, Henry learned about harm reduction strategies such as syringe exchange programs and access to fentanyl test strips. Opioid antagonists like naloxone, which counteract the effects of an opioid overdose, are another example of harm reduction. The medicine can be injected with a needle or ingested via nasal spray. Henry connected with state Rep. Anna Moeller, D-Elgin, through her mother, whom she met when the legislator came to Henry's home collecting ballot signatures to run for reelection. Henry also was a classmate of Moeller's daughter when they both attended Elgin High School prior to Henry transferring to IMSA in Aurora. Moeller said Henry presented her with the research she'd done, including having found similar library-based naloxone programs in other places around the country. Henry demonstrated her 'follow-through and her maturity,' Moeller said, which prompted her to agree to work with her after hearing her pitch. Despite being aware of the growing movement to have opioid antagonists available in public spaces, Moeller said she had never thought of libraries as possible locations to have it on hand. 'When you think about it, a library is a great place to have this available,' she said. 'They are very well used by people, they are places you can go for free and there's usually no barriers to being there.' While House Bill 1910 does not provide for funding from the state, it stipulates the opioid antagonists may be supplied by local county health departments. If the health departments are unable to supply the medicine or funding to purchase it, alternative sources would be found, Moeller said. Training library staff on how to administer opioid antagonists would be overseen by organizations selected by the Illinois Department of Public Health. The proposal does not specify the amount of opioid antagonists each library should have available, only that 'all libraries open to the general public in the State shall maintain a supply of opioid antagonists in an accessible location.' Narcan, a common brand of naloxone, has been available in Chicago Public Libraries since 2022. The city's initiative included training library staff to administer the medicine. 'What this bill would do is to expand that all over Illinois,' Henry said. 'I know it would be super beneficial in the suburbs and especially in rural areas.' In an appearance on the Chicago Department of Public Health's 'Healthy Chicago Podcast' last year, Chicago Public Library Commissioner Chris Brown said he wasn't initially sure the program would have success. But in the program's first 20 months, Chicago Public Libraries said it distributed over 10,000 Narcan kits to the community. Brown said it helps to provide an alternative to substance abuse or health centers. 'It's just a public space that removes some of the stigma,' he said about libraries carrying the medicine. 'And I think that's what I attribute the incredible uptake in use.' Moeller said Henry did the majority of the work drafting the legislation, including research and reaching out to libraries in the state. The high school student also helped write the bill alongside members of Moeller's staff. The bill was filed in late January and is currently awaiting a hearing in the House Public Health Committee. Moeller said she is hopeful the proposal will have bipartisan support, citing past efforts by both Republican and Democratic legislators to combat the opioid overdose epidemic. Despite the statewide decrease in opioid deaths, Henry noted the problem is not yet under control and people in her community are still dying from overdoses. According to IDPH's Opioid Data Dashboard, about 110 people experienced overdoses within Elgin's ZIP Codes in 2022, the latest data available. That same year, Elgin had 11 locations where naloxone was distributed, according to that same online dashboard. Ten of the locations were pharmacies. 'It requires support on various levels,' Henry said. 'Whether it be in the health care realm specifically, whether it be in public community spaces like libraries, in education and schools, it's a huge puzzle and we're putting it together.' Moeller said she wants Henry to remain involved with the bill as it goes through the steps of moving a proposed law through the Illinois General Assembly 'so she can see what it's like to move policy through the legislative process.' Henry views the bill as the first step of many when it comes to providing more resources for those experiencing drug addiction. She plans on continuing to work on ways the legislature can help with harm reduction. 'Being able to have a hand in this work, which I think is just so vital, at such a young age, is really inspiring,' Henry said. 'And it shows me that I can do a lot more.'
