Intel winner Michelle Hackman is a disciplined go-getter

Michelle Hackman of John L. Miller-Great Neck North High School never holds back.

The second-place winner of the Intel science competition spent six months researching one project idea, only to scrap it later. Undeterred, she went on to design another project that would land her the award.

"I learned a lot that was relevant to my [later] project," said Hackman, 18, who is Yale-bound, referring to her discarded research project. "It was something I enjoyed and thought I could do better."

She is no stranger to hard work and has amazed her peers, teachers and counselors with her discipline and accomplishments. However, she shies away from "glorifying" the hours and effort she has invested in her studies and community activities. Hackman said she doesn't dwell on how arduous a pursuit might be, especially when her passion is sparked.

"The easiest thing is to love what you do and that's the best way you can excel at something," she said.

Hackman, who has been blind since childhood, has always possessed that attitude, said her mother, Sarah Hackman. She and her husband, Daniel, are used to Michelle coming home and "dropping bombs" about her next endeavor -- like her dream of attending Yale and her decision to help underprivileged Cambodian girls, according to her mother.

It wasn't uncommon for Michelle to send her mother emails at 1 or 2 a.m. requesting help carrying out an idea.

Hackman also takes an avid approach to other interests. She is an opinion columnist for the school paper and admits to being a news junkie. She will intern this summer at the New York Post and then join the Yale Daily News.

She intends to continue her behavioral research at Yale, where she's also planning to work at the Yale Women's Center, helping to organize speakers and improve the community for women.