Emma Levez
Northern News Services

NNSL (Jul 01/98) - Facing your fears is the best way to deal with them, and Grade 4 student Roya Yazanmehr can prove it.

There was a time not so long ago that Roya was afraid of elevators. "I was afraid that I would get stuck in one, and that I would suffocate" she says.

Her mother had been encouraging her to deal with her fear, and that's how Roya came up with the idea of elevator safety as a science fair project.

With N.J. Macpherson classmate Jessica Mercereau, Roya spent three weeks riding in elevators, taking safety surveys and finding out all about how elevators work. "I think they rode up and down in every elevator in Yellowknife," laughed their teacher, Arlene Yaceyko.

In examining the elevators, Jessica and Roya considered the carrying weight allowed and the number of floors travelled. They even talked to the elevator inspector of the NWT.

"We interviewed Richard Marion, and he lent us books and magazines, and a video about elevator safety," says Roya.

Marion said last week that he has never seen any student take such a strong interest in elevators -- in a science fair or other venue.

The students' research resulted in a comprehensive report, an oral presentation and a display that included a cardboard model of an elevator built by Jessica and her dad.

"The girls worked together really well," said Yaceyko. "We really encouraged the students to go on field trips so that their information didn't just come from books."

Jessica and Roya were rewarded for all their hard work. Not only did they receive an A on their project, but their report will be published in the August or September issue of xxxElevator World, a leading elevator trade magazine with a worldwide circulation of 6,500 monthly.

"We wanted to publish it because we feel that anything that happens to promote safety in the industry is important for people to know about," said editor Robert Caporale.

"This was a pretty significant project -- an attempt not only to overcome a fear, but to try to understand technology, talk to the area inspector and build a model -- the girls should be recognized for their effort."