By Sarina Trangle
High School for Construction Trades, Engineering and Architecture teachers hope an inaugural scholarship commemorating alumnus Roman Pirozek will help the late Woodhaven teen’s spirit and skills live on in the tools of a future tradesman.
Pirozek, a CTEA graduate, died when a mobile helicopter he was flying in Calvert Vaux Park turned and collided with him in September 2013. He was 19.
Several staff at the Ozone Park school started raising money for the inaugural Roman J. Pirozek Memorial Scholarship last fall.
They started an online fund-raising campaign and skipped shaving for a month so money that would have gone toward razors and shaving cream wound up in the pot.
Later this spring, the staff organized a benefit dinner to boost the fund in honor of the first $1,000 scholarship and a plaque, which were slated to be presented to recipient Rickey Ramkishun during CTEA’s graduation this week, according to global and American history teacher Brad Shenkman.
“He’s always around helping out with different events … whether it be a music concert or art show, he’s always in the booth upstairs doing the lights and sounds,” Shenkman said. “He’s a great student who is committed to helping others, just like Roman did.”
Shenkman said he and faculty in the construction department compiled a list of criteria to narrow down the nearly 90 potential recipients in the school’s construction program. It was decided the beneficiaries should share Pirozek’s passion for construction, his giving spirit and embody the honor and respect he was known to show at CTEA.
Ramkishun, who lives near the school’s 94-06 104th St. campus, is scheduled to begin a roughly four-year electrical construction apprenticeship through the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3, according to electrical instructor Angel Texidor.
“I had to borrow money just so I could get the tools and safety equipment that you need to get going,” Texidor said of the training program that he completed and that Ramkishun is entering. “That’s probably what he’ll use the money for.”
Shenkman said the Roman J. Pirozek Memorial Scholarship fund has collected more than $5,400. He hopes to pull from it and award of $1,000 annually to CTEA graduates for years to come.
“This was all based on Roman and the impact he had,” Shenkman said. “He was truly, truly above and beyond what anyone here has seen.”
Reach reporter Sarina Trangle at 718-260-4546 or by e-mail at strangle@cnglocal.com.
