By Bob Harris
At graduation time for Queens high school seniors, it is important we realize the many things they have accomplished. Here are some things accomplished by some students in some schools.
Many Jamaica HS seniors have done well. Doreen Mohammed from Bangladesh is graduating second in her class, wants to be a doctor and has a full scholarship to Columbia University. Gerard Henry, who is graduating eighth in his class, will be studying law at Columbia University.
Nujhat Chouddhury will study civil engineering at Canada University of Alberta. Nuria Nusrat will attend City College and major in math. Tonmoy Kabiraj, who is graduating third in his class, will attend St. John’s University to study medicine.
The Campus Magnet Complex in Cambria Heights has four small high schools that manage to produce fine students who do well. The Mathematics, Science Research & Technology HS produced Shennel Edwards, who will attend the University of Wisconsin with a full Posse Scholarship worth $140,000. Lanetta Dazzell, another MAST HS senior, has been awarded a $5,000, four-year United Federation of Teachers Scholarship which she will use at SUNY Geneseo.
Two students from the Law, Government & Community Service HS received Posse Scholarships worth $140,000 each. Shavon Jackson, from Far Rockaway, is valedictorian and will attend DePauw University in Indiana while Saul Oremus, whose family came from Haiti, will attend Wheaten College in Massachusetts.
John C. Boyce from the Humanities and the Arts HS, won seven scholarships and will be attending Lincoln University. The Business, Computer Applications & Entrepreneurship HS’s Jahaleel Oswald, an accounting major and leading tackler in the PSAL championship division, won a Grant-In-Aid of $39,613 for the 2012 year at American International College.
One of the many succeeding Francis Lewis HS graduates is Viola Wu, who emigrated from China eight years ago not knowing a word of English. She is only one of four students in the United States who won a $100,000 Photon Energy Scholarship and plans to study at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Winning full-tuition Posse Scholarships to The Sophie Davis School of Biomedical Education were Maria Constantinidis, Neal Bryan Rosario and Mahfuza Ahmed. Alejandra Solaris, a member of the JROTC program at Francis Lewis, was on the school team winning a nationwide Raider Competition as a member of the Patrioteettes.
Hillcrest HS Pre-Med Institute junior Walec Ahmed was one of two students awarded an Annenberg Scholarship. He is thinking of doing research on the function of the human brain. Valedictorian of Biz Tek Institute Celess LeBlance won a $17,000 scholarship from St. John’s University and $13,000 from Manhattan College.
Martin Van Buren HS’s Sohila Tarzi received a grant of $23,000 from New York University-Polytechnic Institute. Amina Gangai received a four-year grant of $32,000 each year from St. John’s University. Jenie James won a scholarship of $8,000 a year from Vaughn College of Aeronautics and Technology. Dana Holder received a four-year grant of $10,000 a year from St. John’s University.
Tauhidul Ovik will attend St. John’s University and has been awarded a St. John’s Dean’s Grant of $2,500, a John’s University Grant of $8,189, an Albert Shanker UFT Scholarship of $1,250 a year, a federal Pell Grant of $3,775 a year and a state TAP Grant of $2,462 a year for four years.
Other accomplishments by Queens high school students included the Francis Lewis HS robotics team’s win on the local level in the Javits Center in Manhattan at the NYC Regional Robotics Competition. Bayside HS’s Concert Choir sang with the Baltimore Symphony at Carnegie Hall.
The Robert F. Wagner Secondary School for Arts and Technology won a honor as having the best 2010 Mouse Squad of the year. Mouse is an organization which prepares students to provide technical support in their schools, thus helping solve problems in the school quickly and giving the students 21st-century skills.
Richmond Hill HS students painted a mural in the school as an activity of the South Asian Youth Action after-school program. Shareen Said of Forest Hills HS was awarded a scholarship by Ronald McDonald House Charities due to her scholarship and community involvement.
