For highschooler Grace Andino, science and writing served as two separate hemispheres of her academic world. When she longed for a resource to combine her interests and inspire others, MedYouthUnited was created to spread the power of S.T.E.M writing to youth across the globe. 

Decline in Creativity

In an ever-changing world of advancements in technology, the cruciality of reading and writing in teenagers is becoming scarce. Advancements in AI have contributed to the diminished desire for teens to think creatively, a factor that gives originality and personality to writing. 

Along with the advancement of technology, lack of support or funding in an underrepresented area contributes to how much exposure one gets to basic writing skills. As any subject, writing has proved itself to be a concept developed over time for many; practice and repetition creating more of a grammar-stricken and diverse vocab filled

mind. The drilling of reading and writing at a young age is strictly beneficial, allowing a child to experience the power literature holds and the doors that writing proficiently can unlock. All children, regardless of school or financial capability, should be able to be given the adequate ability to express themselves through writing. According to Reading Is Fundamental, “about 80% of children living in economically disadvantaged communities will lose reading skills over summer breaks due to a lack of access to books and other resources.” Scary right? 

Striving Beyond Limitations

For Grace Andino, a junior at Kellenberg Memorial High School, writing and science had always been passions of hers. From taking creative writing courses at Hofstra and neuroscience programming courses through the University of Utah, writing and science have always served as outlets that further funnel her passions. 

When encountered with an unlikely research paper in her English class, the diversity held in research inspired Grace to research more topics she enjoyed, ranging from psychology to architecture. Despite the many opportunities, the accessibility of certain research competitions was a hindering factor in expressing what she loved- and she wondered if others felt the same way. 

Cultivating Accessibility

Many research programs, publications, and competitions available for high schoolers are costly, some not accounting for the hassle of finding a mentor for someone with little to no experience. Grace shares, “In my beginning stages of discovering what research was all about, I couldn’t find many affordable and non-competitive ways to get my start. It felt like every competitor for these research programs my age had so much experience which I lacked.” 

Frustrated with her inaccessibility, Grace started MedYouthUnited to ensure other teenagers and young adults can experience the power behind researching and writing even if their community doesn’t provide many opportunities, preparing high schoolers with fundamental writing, researching, publishing, and editing skills for college.

Shaping A Generation of Writers

MedYouthUnited serves primarily as a research site for young writers to learn more about research and publish their findings free of charge. Unlike other journals, MedYouthUnited holds writing workshops and personalized feedback sessions for writers to get personalized writing tips about their articles. With over 30 driven writers from over 8 countries, members highlight many different medical diseases, news, and more to be displayed on MedYouthUnited’s website. 

Aside from just publishing, MYU holds monthly challenges giving viable and less-competitive chances, compared to larger writing challenges, for a young writer’s work to be recognized. 

Getting involved in MedYouthUnited is simple, and flexible, allowing participants to work on their own leisure, submit monthly research articles, and interact with fellow researchers on a monthly Zoom. 

As a newly founded initiative, the team is looking for members who are willing to dedicate a portion of their time to help further MedYouth through diligent completion of their tasks and a willingness to collaborate with others. 

Not a writer but still enjoy research? No worries! There are many other teams to be a part of while still learning primitive skills of writing, editing, and collaboration. 

• Blog Editing and Writing members are required to create outlines for a specific topic and collaborate with other members to create an essay that will be used on our blog and social media. 
• Social Media members are asked to pull resources from the other teams to create a TikTok or Instagram Post, spreading more awareness of MYU’s mission of writing. 
• Research Resources are the backbone of the work done at MYU. Members are required to find research outlets, whether it’s an interesting article, search engine, or new story, and share these with the rest of the team to aid in their research.

Published by: Aly Cinco