Way to Go! Sachem student helps peers with stress
Sara Ann Mauro, a senior at Sachem High School East in Farmingville, recently created a website to assist teens in mitigating stress. Credit: Sachem Central School District
A Sachem student is striving to assist teens in mitigating stress.
Sara Ann Mauro, a senior at Sachem High School East in Farmingville, recently developed a seven-part video series in which she shares information on how to deal with stress and anxiety by focusing on such topics as sleep, nutrition and time management. The series is posted on her website, stressinteens.com.
Mauro tackled the task as part of a project for her Girl Scout Gold Award, the highest achievement available within the Girl Scouts of the USA. She is a member of Troop 422.
"There's so many kids dealing with stress, especially now during COVID," said Mauro, 17. "So that kind of sparked my interest."
Mauro spread the word about the website by emailing health educators at school districts across Long Island and received responses from "a good amount" of them, she said.
"She's definitely the type of person that pays it forward," Sachem East Principal Lou Antonetti said of Mauro. "She really has affected a lot of lives outside her immediate circle."
Mauro is president of her school's Project Happiness Club, vice president of the Teens as Teachers Club, and a member of the girls varsity tennis team and National, English, History, Math, Science and Foreign Language honor societies. She also volunteers at the Long Island State Veterans Home in Stony Brook.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
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.
