Bethpage High School

A Virtual Enterprise class from Bethpage High School placed in the top of Long Island schools and will advance to the regional round. Their simulated business is called SuperNova, which is a training app for high school athletes. In the four years since the school implemented the Virtual Enterprise course, this is the furthest a class has gone in the competition. 

Virtual Enterprise is the culmination of the curriculum-based business courses at Bethpage High School. The course is available to junior and senior students and allows them to experience every aspect of business in a simulated environment.

During the past several years, Bethpage’s business program has steadily grown to include a wider variety of courses, including accounting, business management, personal finance and marketing. The classes focus on teaching students real-life skills and relating lessons to current events.

High school business teachers Nancy Simpson and Anthony Murray felt there was an opportunity to better prepare students for their futures in business. As veterans of the business world, they applied their skills and wisdom to expand the Bethpage business program, creating a robust list of offerings for students in grades 10-12.

“I think the Virtual Enterprise students’ success exemplifies how our broader business course offerings are fostering a solid foundation for students,” Mr. Murray said. “It’s making them more successful in these competitions.”

Typically, the Virtual Enterprise classes attend large-scale events to market and sell their products and compete with other classes from around the country and world. This year, students have been engaging virtually with thousands of firms to participate in competitions, trade shows and fairs. Recently, Sarah Ali from METAkey placed in the top 10% on Long Island in an elevator pitch competition in which she pitched her class's company in 60 second or less. 

"Virtual Enterprise to me is an enjoyable way to learn about the business industry," Sarah said. "As teenagers in high school, not many classes are offered that set you up for the real world. Virtual Enterprise has been such an amazing experience for me and I hope many students take advantage of this opportunity."

Overall, the three Virtual Enterprise classes placed in six different categories, including human resources, finance and marketing. They will now advance to the national competition in which they will present a video presentation to the judges.

Three students from Bethpage High School were the 2020 Long Island Science and Engineering Fair winners in the Earth and Environmental Engineering category. Maya Maciel-Seidman, Ruchitha Channapatna and Suchitha Channapatna created a robot that measures moisture levels in soil, which can be used to optimize the growth of crops in available farmland.

Maya, Ruchitha and Suchitha’s project was among 400 entries from throughout Long Island. They advanced to the International Science and Engineering Fair, which was held virtually last May. For this year’s fair, the group plans to evolve their moisture-sending robot to also read pH levels of soil.

“This group is beyond impressive,” science research teacher Chris Pollatos said. “Here in Bethpage, we foster a huge movement for STEM and these girls are shining stars of the program.” 

Six students from Bethpage High School recently participated in a seminar for young women interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics offered by Hofstra University and the Women’s Summer Program in Computing/Engineering.

Juniors Aurrel Bhatia, Suchitha Channapatnam, Ruchitha Channapatna, Theresa Thulasidas and Ava Zingone and senior Maya Maciel-Seidman engaged with a panel of women about career opportunities in areas related specifically to computer science and engineering. The program offered information for the high school students that their normal curriculum might not cover.

“We are still trying to discover our passions, and what fields we want to go into,” Theresa said. “The W-SPiCE seminar offered some much-needed insight into the workforce.”

The seminar is designed to help students learn in an inclusive environment and to develop leadership and communication skills necessary to enter the workforce with confidence. The sessions focused on specific areas, including environmental and biomedical engineering, and offered an inside look into the reality of being a woman in a male-dominated field.

“I participated in a panel with a local environmental engineering firm and it was very interesting to hear from not just engineers in the field, but female engineers in the field,” Maya said. “The panel was very informative, and I learned a lot about the career opportunities in environmental engineering.”

Each of the young women from Bethpage were inspired by the program, and felt it provided them with important information about the possibilities of their future careers in STEM. 

“Hearing from women in different sectors across the STEM fields was not only educational and insightful, but also extremely empowering,” Aurrel said. “We were able to get an inside look at the roles and responsibilities of the different positions these women hold and be able to have an honest discussion about what it means to be a woman in STEM.”

Bethpage High School girls volleyball coach Anne DiPrima was selected as the 2019-20 Northeast Section Girls Volleyball Coach of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Coaches Association. Anne was specifically nominated by the New York State Public High School Athletic Association and was confirmed as the most deserving recipient.

The Northeast Section includes Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont. Honorees were selected based upon their performance in the 2019-20 school year, community and school involvement and philosophy of coaching.

“Being recognized among so many worthy recipients is a humbling experience and I am truly thankful for the honor," Anne said. "My reward is knowing that I have encouraged, guided and influenced the girls that I have coached over so many years at Bethpage and it is my pleasure to be a part of their journey in life. I enjoy every minute of it."

Twelve senior athletes from Bethpage High School recently signed their national letters of intent to continue their athletic and academic careers at the collegiate level.

The students who signed their national letters of intent were:

• Leah Bestany – East Carolina University - lacrosse 
• Philip D’Aguanno – Adelphi University – baseball 
• Patrick Dalton – SUNY Cortland – baseball 
• Colin Hervey – SUNY Brockport – football 
• Carly Issing – Adelphi University – soccer 
• Meagan Landers – DeSales University – lacrosse 
• Brandon Lombardo – SUNY Maritime College – baseball 
• Ryan Resnick – Mercy College – lacrosse 
• Zachary Schnabel – St. Joseph’s College Brooklyn – baseball 
• Isabella Sierra – St. Joseph’s College Long Island – basketball 
• Ryan Smith – Mercy College – lacrosse 
• Victoria Vera – Southern Connecticut State University – soccer 
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The district congratulates all of the students who have made college commitments and wish them luck in their future endeavors!