Deer Park High School sophomores attended an in-school assembly on Feb. 11 about ALS awareness. Featured speaker Christine Pendergast, the co-founder of the ALS Ride for Life organization, presented an informative and emotionally uplifting talk about the effects of and search for a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease), which affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Alongside her husband Christopher (who died from ALS in 2020), Pendergast has participated in annual marches all over Long Island, firmly advocating for increased awareness and funding for research. Accompanying her was a patient currently battling the disease.