Two Westhampton High School seniors earned perfect AP research exam scores, something only 357 students in the world can say they did last year.

Meghan Kelly and Jessica Curran worked on their research papers during the 2022-2023 school year as part of their AP Science Research course.

Curran says she couldn’t believe it when she saw she got a perfect score on her work.

"I started shaking! I was so excited," said Curran.

Her excitement only grew when she learned her friend and classmate Meghan Kelly also earned a perfect score on her research paper.

"Research is a career that I'm interested in pursuing possibly,” said Kelly. “To see that I could write this paper and do so well on it kind of validated that like this could be something that I'm good at."

They first took an AP Seminar class then took the AP Science Research class their junior year. Their AP Research class is when they began working on their research papers. They had to come up with the research methods, research questions, and an original topic.

Curran, who wants to be an environmental engineer, was inspired by a nuisance washing up on Long Island shores.

"There's an invasive species of red seaweed on Long Island that's becoming an increasing problem and I researched potential ways to help mitigate that issue by turning it into a fertilizer," she said.

Kelly looked to study the impacts of an alternative type of treatment.

"I researched an alternative method to kill bacteria to help mitigate the problem of antibiotic resistance in hospitals,” said Kelly.

The duo then submitted 4,000-5,000-word research papers on a STEM subject of their choice.

Their teacher could only provide minimal feedback during their process.

As the students set their sights on college, their teacher says they both have a bright future ahead of them.

"The ability that they have to just push themselves and continue to work really hard even when it seems insurmountable and they have to come up with this huge thesis,” said Dr. Dianna Gobler. “They're going to do amazing things and I am very proud of them."

These two aren’t the only high-achieving students on the island. Baldwin High School Senior Melany Mendoza earned a perfect score on her AP Research paper as well.