Senior Madeleine Blakely won the Dow Award at the Metropolitan Science and Engineering Fair this past spring for her project about determining how children with special needs prefer to communicate.
According to the website, the Dow Award is named after David Dow, the founder of the Metropolitan Science and Engineering Fair. It recognizes the projects that do not finish in the top six, but are recommended to continue onto the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences state fair.
“My goal was to find a child’s preference for communication (vocal, asl, speech device) and then find how their caregiver prefers them to communicate,” Blakely said in an email.
Blakely has been a part of the UNMC High School Alliance program for the last two years. This year, she worked in the Monroe Meyer Institute Specialized Behavior Intervention Department, where they specialize in working with children who have developmental disabilities and engage in challenging behaviors.
In the fall of the 2025-2026 school year, Dr. Cynthia Livingston met Blakely for the first time and began the mentoring process to help her succeed and move towards her goals.
“Madeleine is kind, hardworking, organized, and genuinely excited to be in our department,” Livingston said in an email. “I also met with Madeleine regularly, and together we developed SMART goals (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and timely). Each semester she developed broader goals, and then we broke them into smaller monthly and weekly objectives. This helped us trade progress and maintain a realistic timeline.”
Alex Cicero also spent the year with Blakely, and said she enjoyed her time with Madeleine and how quickly she got settled into the lab environment.
“She picked up the department routines, acquired skills quickly, and was very motivated from the start,” Cicero said in an email. “She also became very strong with data collection, so much so that other teams would ask me to check in with her to see if she could help.”
Through much guidance and support from her mentors, Blakely was able to complete award winning research and advance to the Nebraska Junior Academy of Sciences Fair.
“They’ve taught me everything I know about ABA (applied behavioral analysis) and I wouldn’t have been able to win this award without their guidance and support,” Blakely said.
Dr. Livingston said Madeleine has grown in the time they spent working in the lab together.
“Madeleine has become much more confident and comfortable,” Dr. Livingston said. “I’ve seen growth in her professional development, knowledge, and self-care. She has also become more independent and confident in professional settings.”
In a journey like Blakely’s there are ups and downs, good days and bad days. But, seeing all the work pay off on the other side is what makes it special.
“[Winning the award] made me very proud of all of the work I have put in this year to make it happen,” Blakely said.
As Blakely’s high school career comes to an end, Dr. Livingston has some advice for her as she enters this next chapter of her life.
“I would say to stay excited about learning, it can become harder to maintain that excitement once learning is no longer your primary responsibility, I hope she continues to approach new opportunities with curiosity and enthusiasm,” Dr. Livingston said. “I would also tell her that kindness goes a long way, and that is something she already does exceptionally well.”
Along with Dr. Livingston’s advice, Cicero also has something for Madeleine to take with her outside of high school.
“I would tell her to continue working hard and asking questions,” said Cicero. “She already puts in a lot of effort, and when she’s unsure, she does not hesitate to ask, and that’s been a big part of her growth.”
Blakely plans to stay involved in this career field.
“I am still figuring things out, I am very interested and passionate about this field and want to explore it further,” Blakely said. “I will continue working at the Munroe Meyer Institute and being involved in that community while I pursue my education.”
Dr. Livingston said she is excited to see where Blakely heads next.
“Working with Madeleine has been a really positive experience. She came into the lab eager to learn, open to feedback, and willing to challenge herself,” Dr. Livingston said. “I think she has a very bright future ahead of her, and I’m excited to see what she accomplishes next.”
