DUNMORE, LACKAWANNA COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — This week’s Here’s to You Kid highlights students at Dunmore High School working on a unique project to raise awareness about Polio in today’s world.
What started out as just another school project for students at Dunmore High School quickly became something more. After receiving funding from a Rotary Club of Scranton grant, a group of senior students started working on a documentary about Polio and the impact it still has on today’s society. 28/22 News recently spoke with two of the 50 students involved in the project.
“It’s really like an amazing opportunity to educate yourself about such an important part of history that’s still going on today. So, it feels so good to be a part of this,” described Geanna Kircher, a senior at Dunmore High School.
Another senior who is also working on the documentary says if people think that polio is a thing of the past they should think again.
“People like to think that Polio is over with. No, I think like 6 months ago, something around there really recently there was a Polio case in New York. It’s still happening today, even though we do have a vaccine it’s still relevant today,” stated Dunmore High School senior Jackson Madajeski.
The students hope that the biggest takeaway for viewers is that they learn something new.
The students have been working on this project since the school year started. They have begun conducting interviews for their documentary and even plan on speaking to polio survivors. The Rotary Club of Scranton is an advocate of Polio eradication, and they want to make sure that the students working on this project know that they have their full support.
“Rotary International is on the front lines of the efforts to eradicate polio throughout the world. People don’t realize that when they think Polio, they think Jones Silk and the iron lung, they think oh that happened years ago its gone, it’s not gone. If it exists somewhere, it could be a threat anywhere. Polio is just a plane ride away,” said Joe Riccardo, Polio Plus Chairman of Rotary Club District 7410.
When they are not working on school assignments, both Geanna and Jackson enjoy theater and music.
With so much talent, you may be wondering what they want to do after high school.
“I’m hoping to go into more of the medical field maybe radiology or something like that, but I definitely want to keep music as a part of my life it makes me so happy,” said Kirchner.
“My hope is to just be doing something in the world of music or theater, that’s what I want to do,” stated Madajeski.
Here’s to you, kids!
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