10
QUEENS WEEKLY, AUG. 4, 2019
Forest Hills students take part in leaders summit
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
Two Forest Hills
students have returned
home from the 2019
Student Leaders Summit
in Washington, D.C., where
they had the opportunity
to connect with nearly
300 peers from around the
country and meet with
members of Congress as
part of the Bank of America
Student Leaders program.
Graduating high school
seniors Stacey Xue and
Nicole Rozelman, both
18, are among a group
of five local New York
City students selected to
participate in the program
to build their workforce and
leadership skills through
paid summer internships
at local nonprofit
organizations. During
the summit, the students
cultivated advocacy
and leadership skills, in
addition to discussing civil
rights, the value of crosssector
partnerships, and
participating in a service
learning project at the
American Red Cross.
Since its inception 15
years ago, the Bank of
America Student Leaders
program has recognized
80 local New York
City Student Leaders,
helping them chart a
path for success through
work experience and
workforce development
opportunities.
“Bank of America
Student Leaders is truly
a unique program,” said
Connie Verducci, market
executive for Bank of
America in New York
City. “Combining a paid
internship with skillsbuilding
and community
service is a game-changer
for the participating
students. The program
is just one of the ways
we invest in connecting
individuals to the training
and experience necessary to
help fuel social progress.”
Through their
involvement in the
program, nearly 3,500
young people from across
the country have gained
skills and workforce
experience since 2004. The
bank is supporting a total
of 145 students in New York
City this summer as part
of the company’s broader
commitment to youth
workforce development.
Xue, a recent graduate
of Stuyvesant High School
and a University of Notre
Dame rising freshman, is
currently interning at the
DREAM Charter School,
a nonprofit organization
in East Harlem that
addresses greater needs
in education, such as
high school graduation
rates and low literacy,
through after-school and
summer enrichment.
For Xue, the program has
been extremely rewarding
and transformative,
she said.
“From my internship
at DREAM where I’m a
part of a team who helps
disadvantaged children
achieve long-term success,
to the Leadership Summit
in D.C. where I met other
Student Leaders from
across the nation and
networked with leaders in
business and government,
this summer has helped
prepare me for college,
introduced me to better
money habits and has
given me the leadership
skills and tools to make an
impact in the community,”
Xue said.
Xue’s experience has
taught her the importance
of enriching the minds of
the future generation and
creative, effective methods
that can be used to bring
improvements to the
education system.
Rozelman, a recent
graduate of Hunter College
High School who is heading
to Harvard University in
the fall, wanted to remain
active in her community
lending a helping hand.
She is currently interning
at the YMCA of Greater
New York.
“I hoped to learn as
much as possible, both
by spearheading my own
initiatives based on my
time as an intern and by
sitting in on team planning
and strategy meetings,”
Rozelman said. “I have
gotten to enhance my
professional skills through
personal branding and
recruiting workshops run
by Bank of America, and
blended this training both
with my practical work
experience and the broader
perspective on serving,
inspiring, and changing
that I developed in D.C.”
This summer, Bank of
America is investing more
than $4 million to support
nearly 3,000 summer jobs
for teens across the country
through various initiatives,
with a particular focus on
young people from lowincome
families.
Blaze Pizza opens fi rst Queens location with giveaway
BY CARLOTTA MOHAMED
In celebration of its
grand opening, Blaze
Fast Fire’d Pizza, the
recognized world leader
in fast artisanal pizza,
offered the Fresh Meadows
community free pizzas on
Aug. 1.
The day before,
Wednesday, July 31,
the leading fast casual
brand opened a beautiful
kitchen restaurant in the
community near Chase
Bank at 187-12 Horace
Harding Expwy.
Following the grand
opening, anyone who
visited the new location on
Thursday from 11 a.m. to
10 p.m. and downloads the
Blaze Pizza App received
a free build-your-own
pizza. Customers were
also encouraged to grab a
freshly made salad, iconic
blood orange lemonade, or
s’more pie dessert on their
way out.
Since 2012, Blaze Pizza
has been serving artisanal
pies that are both fast and
affordable. Each restaurant
features an interactive open
kitchen format that allows
guests to customize one
of the menu’s generously
sized personal signature
pizzas or customers can
create their own, all f
or around $8.
“Our mission at Blaze
is really simple — we’re
taking pizza back to its
roots,” said Jim Mizes,
president and CEO of Blaze
Pizza. “By making dough
in-house, using carefully
sourced ingredients and
cooking by fire, we’re
giving guests a great way
to enjoy artisanal pizza
without the wait. It’s
changing the way people
think about and eat pizza.”
Every pizza features
Blaze’s made-from-scratch
dough with all-natural
meats and vegetables, and
is finished on an openflame
oven which cooks
pizzas in three minutes
flat. For guests with special
dietary needs, Blaze offers
gluten-free dough, vegan
cheese, animal rennet
free dairy and tree-nut
free pesto. Each of the
elements have assisted the
brand with becoming the
fastest growing restaurant
in history.
Driven by its
commitment to “Intelligent
Choices for Our Pizzas,
People & Planet,” the
Fresh Meadows restaurant
is constructed with
recycled and sustainable
materials, uses ecofriendly
packaging and
features energy-efficient
LED lighting.
Blaze Pizza is looking
forward to building strong
roots within the Fresh
Meadows community.
The local restaurant has
developed a turn-key inrestaurant
fundraiser
program that returns
20 percent of an event’s
proceeds back to local
organizations, and will
be partnering with local
schools, sports clubs and
other organizations to host
fundraising events.
The Fresh
Meadows restaurant
will also create 50
jobs locally.
Bank of America Student Leaders. (From l.) Nicole Rozelman, a Forest Hills resident and
recent graduate of Hunter College High School and Stacey Xue (second from right) a Forest
Hills resident and recent graduate of Stuyvesant High School. Courtesy of Bank of America
Blaze Pizza is opening its first Queens location in Fresh
Meadows this week. Photo courtesy of Blaze Pizza