Way to Go! Bethpage student gets perfect AP Research score

A Bethpage High School student’s research on the fluidity of human behavior received a perfect score on a prestigious national exam.

Athanasia Panagos, a senior, scored perfectly on her college-level Advanced Placement Research exam, making her one of just 306 students to get every possible point. Her 50-page paper explored the fluidity of inherent human behavior and the effects of environmental factors on altruism and greed.

"I knew I wrote a good paper, but it was shocking to know I got that high of a score," said Panagos, 17. "My teachers were very on top of us in going through every step of the rubric."

Panagos' paper found that the biggest impact on whether an individual's behavior is greedy or altruistic in a given situation is the relationship between the people involved, she said. 

"Athanasia was very passionate about her topic from the beginning of the year," said Kristen Garvey, who is Panagos' AP Research teacher along with Nicole Dulaney. "I am so proud of her and that her hard work paid off."

Panagos is also captain of her school's ethics team, manager of the stage crew, and a member of the National and Science honor societies. In addition, she is involved in Nassau County Peer Diversion Court as well as Greek Orthodox Youth of America.

— MICHAEL R. EBERT

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.