Way to Go! Student's research gets global recognition

A Syosset student's research on gender issues is garnering global recognition.

Grace Chenxin Liu, an eighth-grader at South Woods Middle School, recently had her research about the sport of fencing's effect on female empowerment accepted for publication in The Journal of International Women's Studies, and she was one of three speakers during the "storytelling session" of the 3rd Global Conference on Women's Studies, which was held this winter in the Netherlands. She also spoke at the conference last year, when she was its youngest-ever presenter.

Most recently, Liu was invited to speak later this month at TEDxDeerParkLive, an independently-organized TED event,

"The topic of my talk is how sports turned me into a researcher and advocate," Liu said. 

Liu, 13, is also the founder of Sharing to Empower, a global alliance to promote gender and sustainable issues, and a co-founder of ABC Media, a national student-led organization that strives to promote Chinese language and culture. She is also involved in the New York Academy of Sciences' 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures, and Junior Academy programs.

Liu's other achievements include having placed first in Chinese essay, speech, and reading and writing contests at the national and international levels. She was also named a Long Island Young Scholar of Mathematics by SUNY Old Westbury's Institute of Creative Problem Solving for Gifted and Talented Students. 

— 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.