Islip High School freshmen Max Kjeldsen and Sara Pellegrino won an award for Best Project in the climate change category of at the Long Island Youth Summit, held April 4 at St. Joseph’s University in North Patchogue. The Youth Summit is designed to engage high school students in an exploration of important current socio-medical, environmental and socio-economic issues. 

Kjeldsen and Pellegrino created a 12-minute podcast titled “Climate Change Causes Problems on Long Island and Surrounding Areas,” discussing the specific impact of climate change on Long Island and the consequences it may cause. The two students were inspired to create the podcast by their experience in Islip’s Living Environment & AP Environmental Science course and their desire to find solutions to this problem at a local level.

“I really enjoyed my time at the program collaborating with other students and experts in the field,” Pellegrino said. “Winning the award was great, but I think the real win was being able to be part of the learning experience.”

“It was a really great experience to be able to discuss this kind of topic with so many intelligent individuals,” Kjeldsen said. “I am happy I was able to go, and I hope to go again next year.”

“It was such a great moment to see them win an award,” counselor Nicole Hall said. “They were sitting in a room with over a hundred finalists, most of them upperclassmen, so to see two freshmen taking charge of their own learning and making a podcast was incredible. I am so proud of them.”

Date Added: 4/24/2025