Honoring ‘New Americans'

After escaping persecution in Iran, Sophie Kerbeykian became the principal of Holy Martyrs Armenian Day School in Bayside. Born in India, Uma Sengupta was the first South Asian elected to statewide office in New York. Nestor Diaz, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, is a former Queens assistant district attorney and now practices law - helping other immigrants.
All three were featured in an ongoing series in The Queens Courier entitled &#8220New Americans,” which is sponsored by Maple Grove Cemetery.
Thirteen &#8220New Americans,” Queens residents who have emigrated from other countries and given back to their community, were honored at a special ceremony with Borough President Helen Marshall at Borough Hall last week.
The awards, presented by Linda Mayo-Perez, president and CEO of Maple Grove Cemetery, and Victoria Schneps-Yunis, publisher of the Queens Courier, were given to Kerbeykian, Sengupta, Diaz, Mohammad Aminullah, Bernie Antoloin, Sully Bermudez, Chung Wha-Hong, Grace Ogiehar-Enoma, Mabel Law, Eduardo Marti, Ivy Nascinento, Bryan Pufolkes, and Morshed Alam. The honorees were given framed copies of articles of their good works, as appeared in The Queens Courier between 2004 and 2005.
Dilafroz Nargis Ahmed accepted the award on behalf of her colleague, Morshed Alam, and Siri Sengupta accepted it for her mother.