Author Bio(s)
Saisha Gupta (Co-head researcher) is a high school student and co-head researcher for the Lexington Student Research and Publication Collaborative based in Massachusetts, USA. She works as a student researcher in the Yu Lab at Boston Children’s Hospital, researching personalized genetic therapies in paediatric patients whose symptoms impact the central nervous system. Gupta is passionate about neuroscience, chemistry, and philosophy, and where these subjects intersect, she aims to study more in the future. She’ll be attending New York University for Global Public Health and Chemistry in the Fall of 2025.
Vivek Mehta (Co-head researcher) is a high school senior passionate about changing the world through computation and a co-head researcher for the Lexington Student Research and Publication Collaborative based in Massachusetts, USA. Vivek co-captains their VEX Robotics team, a three-time competitor at the international level, and pursues research in computational biology. He is interested in blending his passions through teaching, problem-solving, and creative thinking. In the future, he hopes to use his skills and knowledge to develop solutions to positively impact the world around him. He enjoys playing the violin, baking, karate, and creating art in his free time. He’ll be attending Carnegie Mellon University for Computer Science in the fall.
Rebecca Kam is a senior at Lexington High School in MA, USA. She is interested in language analysis and the effects of artificial intelligence on education, and she enjoys reading during her spare time.
Caroline Ehmann is a senior at Lexington High School in MA, USA. She co-captains Lexington's two-time national champion Envirothon team and her school's Science Olympiad team and is passionate about making tangible change through community outreach. She is interested in pursuing chemistry, math, and/or environmental studies after high school but also loves exploring new horizons in the social sciences. In her free time, she enjoys playing the cello and spending time outside hiking, jogging, and road-tripping to as many of the US National Parks as she can.
Alma Orgad is a senior at Lexington High School who is interested in the medical sciences, psychology, and literature. Outside of the LSRPC, Alma plays volleyball and plays guitar. Additionally, she has sung with the Boston Children’s Choir. Currently, she is taking part in an emergency medicine summer programme with the Boston Leadership Institute. She would like to pursue a career in travel nursing due to her interests at the intersection of emergency medicine and her desire to help others globally.
Emily Kuang is a senior at Lexington High School in Massachusetts, USA, passionate about neuroscience and psychology with hopes to pursue academic research. She has worked as an intern at Professor Sander’s lab at Boston University’s Photonics Center and completed the Supervised Machine Learning: Regression and Classification course with Stanford Online, fueling her interest in AI's implementation and impact. Her hobbies include playing in an orchestra, drawing, and taking long walks.
Alejandro Castro Barrantes is a senior at Lexington High School. He is interested in materials science, psychology, and sports science. He won the Gold Presidential Volunteer Service Award in 2022, volunteering with youth sailing programs and as an English and math tutor. In his free time, he runs his blacksmithing business, does martial arts, reads, and plays guitar.
Matthew Posada is a senior at Lexington High School. His interest lies in diversity in the biomedical sciences, attending various seminars and workshops from the Biomedical Science Careers Program.
Samay Shah is a senior at Lexington High School passionate about various community service projects including co-leading a middle school debate program, instituting a memory training program at a local senior living home, and founding a nonprofit organisation dedicated to providing career education to underprivileged students. On the side, he writes for his school newspaper and resells sneakers.
Tara Pai is a senior at Lexington High School. She is passionate about AI, educational advocacy, and student and teacher perspectives of ChatGPT. She previously attended Boston University’s AI4ALL program and currently serves as chair of a digital literacy workgroup with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education.
Nikhita Prasad is a senior at Lexington High School. She has enjoyed learning more about AI in education, and in her free time, she enjoys playing tennis, listening to music, and spending time with friends and family.
Eileen Ho is a senior at Lexington High School. She is passionate about the intersections between technology and policy and is involved in local policies and legislation concerning environmental issues. She hopes to extend the breadth of her advocacy to the impacts of AI. In her free time, she enjoys playing the violin and reading books.
Tianyi Zhou is a senior at Lexington High School interested in applications of educational psychology and computer science. Outside of this project, she runs an educational non-profit called Numberosity, which teaches maths and computer science to middle schoolers from underserved populations. Tianyi also enjoys creative writing.
Elaina Li is a senior at Lexington High School who is fascinated by the fine arts, dance, and literature. She won the New York Times “Coming of Age” competition in 2022. She is a member of a variety of organisations.
Stephanie Wan is a senior attending Lexington High School in MA, USA who is interested in learning, cognition, consciousness, and their intersections with modern technology. She has done research in bioinformatics, metascience, and machine learning applications on linguistics as part of MIT PRIMES. In her free time, she can be found reading, playing around with cybersecurity and information theory, and drawing.
Shirley Xi is a senior attending Lexington High School. Her interest lies in the biomedical sciences and ethics surrounding AI usage. She has enjoyed thoroughly researching the impacts of AI on education. In her free time, she runs a nonprofit for expanding the outreach of volleyball to underprivileged communities.
Shreya Paranjape is a senior at Lexington High School and a proud member of the Lexington Wind Ensemble, where she plays the flute. When not immersed in music, she enjoys baking, reading, and spending time with friends. With a passion for science and discovery, she aspires to pursue a career in biomedical research, aiming to make meaningful contributions to healthcare and innovation.
Zoe Dearling is a junior attending Lexington High School. She is interested in biology, especially cellular and marine biology. Outside of school, Zoe is an elite swimmer on both a high-performance club team and her high school team. Outside of her studies and swimming, she enjoys reading, writing, and completing the New York Times puzzles.
Siqi (Grace) Peng is a junior attending Lexington High School. She is interested in pursuing a career in pre-med, especially in research on neurodegenerative diseases and global health issues. She is also Co-President of the Young Women in Medicine chapter at LHS and is passionate about advocating for women in the STEM fields. Outside of school, Grace can be found at the ice rink with her synchronized skating team, or in the kitchen whipping up baked goods.
Aanya Kaveti is a sophomore at Lexington High School with a passion for debate and educational advocacy. She is a Varsity policy debater and enjoys mentoring younger students in debate. Aanya has an interest in pursuing law with a focus on intellectual property in healthcare. Outside of academics, she holds a black belt in karate and is a defensive specialist on her school’s JV volleyball team.
Gwendolyn Lowrance, a sophomore at Lexington High School, is interested in cognitive development and AI’s effect on student learning. She is a peer mentor through the Best Buddies chapter at LHS and is passionate about building supportive environments for students with intellectual disabilities. Gwendolyn is also the Varsity goalie for the school’s field hockey team and enjoys music, reading, and skiing.
Angela Ziyi Xie is a sophomore attending Lexington High School with a passion for exploring the intersections of cultural relations and identity. As a policy debater, she combines her love for writing and argumentation to delve into societal issues. Outside the competitive world of debate, you can find her playing volleyball with friends or writing her literary review column in LHS's newspaper, The Musket.
Mira Xu is a sophomore at Lexington High school. She is passionate about neuroscience and physics, subjects that have paved the way into her interest in AI. She is part of her school’s math and science bowl team. In her free time, she enjoys writing, reading, and walking her dog.
Adhiti Hariram is a sophomore at Lexington High school. She is interested in biology, especially anatomy and biotechnology, and is passionate about neuroscience and music. Adhiti is also in honors chorus and on the varsity tennis team. Outside of school Adhiti is a competitive tennis player and Indian classical singer. In her free time, she enjoys reading, music, and hiking.
Alexa Muse (Supervisor and Teacher) is both a Ph.D. Education candidate at the University of Oxford (UK) and a high school English teacher at Lexington High School (MA, USA). With eleven years of middle, secondary, and university teaching experience both in the United States and abroad (Turkey, Russia, and the UK), Alexa is interested in the intersection of democratic education pedagogies, policy, and teacher contexts. Other interests of hers include Cultural Historical Activity Theory, Figured Worlds, and narratology. Her undergraduate degree (BS Middle/Secondary English Education) is from Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana (USA). Her Master’s degree (MSc Learning and Teaching) is from the University of Oxford. ORCiD iD: 0009-0007-2957-9625 Please direct correspondence to alexa.muse@education.ox.ac.uk
Acknowledgements
From Lexington Public Schools (Massachusetts), we want to thank Ms. Jane Day, English Department Chair, Mr. Scott Kmack, dean, Mr. Andrew Baker, principal, and especially Dr. Julie Hackett, superintendent. Each of them went above and beyond to support this project, writing letters of approval, and providing opportunities to present our research. Additionally, we would like to acknowledge Dr. Velda Elliott from the University of Oxford for providing guidance, advice, and the opportunity to present at the university. We would like to thank Dr. Sally St. George and Dr. Dan Wulff for working with us so patiently, walking us through this process chunk by chunk. Finally, we want to acknowledge our peers who began this project in Spring 2023 in Literature and Composition II: Nour Aboshady, Sophia Alcacaer, Laya Barghuthi, Calliope Bruce, Geneva Carter, Philip Chung, Anna Fullerton, Micaela Gebrael, Taili Gao, Kabir Gokarn, Vaidehi Gupta, Calix Huang, Sofia Kalofonos, Ellie Kim, Alkisti Kokkinia, Lucy Kontos, Anna Labbe, Arthur Lin, Charlotte Longley, Abigail Man, Susannah McElheny, Kaavya Moogala, Juliana Nudi, Tyler Portillo, Bella Qu, Sofia Rosica, Mirei Saneyoshi, Sophie Shaw, Sophie Schenk, Catherine Taibi, Sophia Tang, Athina-Anna Vlachos, Angela Yates, Guhan Yuvaraj, and Emily Zhou.
Recommended APA Citation
Gupta, S., Mehta, V., Kam, R., Ehmann, C., Orgad, A., Kuang, E., Castro Barrantes, A., Posada, M., Shah, S., Prasad, N., Pai, T., Ho, E., Xi, S., Zhou, T., Li, E., Wan, S., Paranjape, S., Dearling, Z., Peng, S. (G.)., Kaveti, A., Lowrance, G., Xie, A. Z., Xu, M., Hariram, A., & Muse, A. (2025). A teacher, a tutor, a friend: ChatGPT and the high school experience. The Qualitative Report, 30(5), 3686-3719. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2025.7324
