Superintendent’s Spotlight: Megan Desrats
WVHS senior Megan Desrats was a Section IX Player of the Year last year, when she played a key role in the Wildcats girls’ varsity basketball team winning the Section IX title and advancing into the regional playoffs.
“We had an amazing year. We won the section final, and it just felt awesome,” Megan remembered. This year, along with co-captain Paige Girardi, Megan is leading the Wildcats to what looks like another playoff run. “We have a team where everyone truly works their hardest and hustles. We’re the team diving on the floor after balls. We’re the team that’s always high fiving each other. The team is full of good energy, and I feel like that will take us a long way!”
No stranger to the leadership role, Megan said she’s enjoyed leveling up her mentoring role even more this year.
“Some of the young girls can be nervous, especially at the beginning of the year. I know how it can be,” Megan said. “It’s important, as a captain, to help them not be nervous and to make sure they know that if they ever need help, they have somebody to go to. That’s really important to me.”
Megan doesn’t talk about team hopes and expectations, instead focusing on the growth that comes from the game.
“Obviously, I want to win a championship, but if we’re not having fun, there’s really no point,” she said. “We all want to have fun; I want [the younger players] to have fun – it’s basketball.”
Megan is also known to go for it academically the same way she does in athletics.
The National Honor Society (NHS) member earned Summa Cum Laude honor roll status for the first marking period this year, and did it while managing a schedule that includes AP Government, AP Biology, AP Calculus, Pre-college Writing, and University Spanish. Megan also mentors students academically, as an NHS and Mu Alpha Theta Math Honor Society tutor.
Along with all of this, Megan is also in the third year of the WVHS Science Research Program, an immersive, independent study project. Megan began her project researching climate change before narrowing her focus to honey bees.
“The more I got into environmental issues, the more I found out about how important bees are for our environment,” she said. “And, they’re an organism I could actually study, and get out in the field with local beekeepers.”
Megan has been working with Dr. Brenna Travers (Penn State), who researches diseases that affect honey bees. Megan’s project is focused on honey bee health and providing information to beekeepers about what steps they can take to promote bee health in their hives.
“Bee populations are declining and it’s a major problem,” said Megan. “They pollinate 80% of crops in the United States. Without bees, we’d still survive to a point, but our diets wouldn’t be anywhere near what they are now. We’d lose all the color, all the fruits, the vegetables.”
Megan will be presenting her research at the Science Research Symposium in June at the high school. She’ll also be presenting to the Rockland Bee Club.
Megan also makes time to serve as Secretary of the WVHS Student Senate. In the role, she ran the November Blood Drive, and is preparing to do the same in March.
“It’s a hard thing because a lot of high schoolers are scared of needles, it’s kind of weird,” she laughed. “We do a lot for breast cancer awareness, too. We had pinkout games and sold bracelets to raise money.”
With just five months left in her high school career, Megan said she’s looking forward to seeing how the basketball season plays out, going on the senior class trip, and finalizing her college plans.
“I’m excited to actually decide where I’m going to college and what I’m going to major in,” she said. “And living it up now, just having a good time! I still have hard work to do, but balancing that with having fun with my friends, who I’m going to miss soon.”
