The Capital (Annapolis, MD), June 17, 2007, Sunday

Copyright 2007 Capital Gazette Communications, Inc.

All Rights Reserved

The Capital (Annapolis, MD)

June 17, 2007 Sunday

SECTION: NEIGHBORHOODS; Pg. D3

HEADLINE: Teen of week: Teen's drive leads to $2,000 scholarship

BYLINE: WENDI WINTERS; For The Capital

BODY:

Elizabeth Lucy Seaman, a rising senior at St. Mary's High School, usually tosses third-class mail into the trash. But one flier caught her eye. It was from the College Board - the folks responsible for the SATs.

Along with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the College Board co-sponsored the fourth annual Young Epidemiology Scholars Competition. The top two prizes were scholarship awards of $50,000 apiece.

The National Honor Society member eagerly dove into the project. Among hundreds of applicants, her project was one of 120 that made it to the semifinals. Though she didn't win a top prize, she was one of 60 $2,000 scholarship winners chosen by a panel of judges. Panelists included the nation's top epidemiologists and high school instructors and curriculum developers.

The teenagers got an all-expenses-paid trip to Washington in April. Great, if you live in Hawaii, as one competitor does. Not so fabulous for Elizabeth, who lives in Millersville. Contestants stayed at the Mayflower Hotel and presented their projects orally, then responded to the panelists' heavy-duty questions.

"I was the last to present, of the 12 from this region," she said. "It was tough."

For her project, Elizabeth had to develop a research project in which she identified a health problem. She had to gather data about the problem and address it based on the data she collected.

Epidemiology is the scientific method used to investigate, analyze and prevent or control a health problem in a population. In her project, that "population" was the teenage drivers at St. Mary's High School.

Her project was titled "Teen Drivers' Knowledge About Actions in Emergency Driving Situations."

She created a survey of four knowledge questions - the meat of the survey - and eight demographic questions. Elizabeth was spurred on by her research. From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, she learned that motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for teens nationally and in Maryland. Nationally, there's an average of one teen crash every 19 seconds. Teens account for 6.3 percent of drivers on the road, but 16 percent of accidents.

Her knowledge questions aren't easy. Here's one:

You are driving, entering a right- hand curve, when your car fails to make the turn, causing the car to enter the opposite lane. The first thing you should do is:

A. Turn the wheels more to the right.

B. Step on the gas pedal.

C. Ease off of the gas pedal.

D. Turn the wheels to the left.

(The answer is C.)

"My aim was to study teen drivers' knowledge and experience," she said.

She surveyed 258 students between the ages of 14 and 19. Two hundred respondents were from St. Mary's; the rest responded to her survey when she posted it at www.SurveyMonkey.com.

To her surprise, she found "that only 59.4 percent of teen drivers were able to score a 75 percent or better on four questions taken directly from the Maryland Driver's Handbook." She discovered that 70 percent would feel safer if they had behind-the-wheel training in out-of-control situations, and 65 percent felt that kind of training should be mandatory in Maryland. She concluded that Maryland should require that kind of training for all drivers.

As part of her project, she took the free 4½-hour emergency driving course offered by the Las Vegas-based nonprofit group Driver's Edge, and learned how to drive in a skid, avoid obstacles and use hand brakes appropriately.

Elizabeth knows the pain and damage that result from car crashes. Her father, Kevin, is an emergency room doctor at Baltimore's Mercy Hospital and conducts EMT training for Howard County firefighters and paramedics.

Her mother, Marguerite, is a stay-at-home mom who has a master's degree in industrial and labor relations from Cornell University. Her parents met as undergrads at Georgetown University. Her two younger brothers are Nicholas, 15, a rising sophomore at St. Mary's; and Patrick, 11, a rising sixth-grader at St. John the Evangelist.

Like a crystal, Elizabeth has many sides. She's co-president of the school's Saints Against a Violent Earth Human Rights Awareness Club. She managed the sale of Invisible Children bracelets, selling 120 at $20 apiece. The bracelets are made of reed and recycled wire by young Ugandans. The funds go to support the youngsters and provide medical and educational services.

Computer teacher Nancy Hamilton noted: "Elizabeth was also in charge of the Salvadoran Enterprises for Women sale that we have had for two years. With the money raised from the sale, a scholarship was given to a young woman in El Salvador."

Kevin M. Davis, an instructor in the religion department, calls her "a solid A student with a gift for written expression." He said Elizabeth "is instrumental in exposing the student body to the atrocities taking place throughout the world."

She's also a thespian, having appeared in five productions at St. Mary's, and most recently in "Scrooge - the Stingiest Man in Town," produced by 2nd Star Productions in Bowie. Director Jeffery G. Hitaffer enthused: "It is easy to say that she was a delight to work with. A very dedicated young lady with tremendous work ethic, who was always a leader."

She's already been cast in the Pasadena Theatre's September production of "Camelot" as Lady Martha. Rehearsals are under way at the Annapolis Area Christian School's new high school building.

Elizabeth has also worked at the Renaissance Festival's souvenir stand the past three seasons, garbed in a wide, wild wardrobe she and her mom stitched up together. She's counting the days until the festival returns.

With so many interests, she's going to have a hard time settling on just one college. She's considering a liberal arts education in preparation for a career as a psychiatrist - one that's involved in community theater.

Preferably at a school where students aren't allowed to drive on campus.