32 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • JANUARY 31, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
school spotlight COMPILED BY MORGAN CHITTUM AND BOB HARRIS
Dreaming of career in education
Hollis resident and BFIT senior Carlos
Escobar dreams of being a high school
social studies teacher. He attends the
Queens College Teacher Opportunity
Corp program on scholarship which
advises students, helps them attain
teaching certifi cations and fi nds them
jobs upon completion of the program.
Escobar’s responsibilities include, assisting
teachers by grading papers, lesson
preparation and other administrative
duties such as making copies and handing
out student passes.
Escobar was on the soccer team, a volunteer
for the high school fair, a member
of the Senior Committee and and
is in ARISTA, a NYC National Honor
Society. Escobar has enrolled in a college
level course along with a psychology
course at Queens College. On top
of all of his extracurriculars, he has
maintained a 87 average in his academic
career.
STEM students fl ourish at Hillcrest
Taught by William Aghassi, Hillcrest High School has a modern BIZ/TEK Small
Learning Community which provides a Computer Aided Design/Computer Aided
Manufacturing Program. Here, students are taught to build bridges, Formula 1 cars
and VCarve soft ware. Students can also enroll in an internship which places them in
architectural, civil engineering and construction fi rms in Manhattan.
Interviewed students Tasif Taher, Dhanrha Dindial, Giovani Gonzalez, Zariah
Dehaaite, and Sharif ahmed want to be architects, engineers, construction managers,
lawyers and even obstetricians. Aghassi says his students have received scholarships
from colleges such as NYCCT and NYU Tandon School of Engineering. Th ey, like
many of their classmates, are the fi rst to attend college in their family.
Aspiring to be a surgeon
Two years ago, BFIT senior Sarafi na
Davis moved from the island of Jamaica.
Since her time in BFIT, she has been
recommended by College Advisor Mr.
Bujan and Senior Advisor Ms. White as
a person of worthy admiration. In her
role as 11th and 12th grade class president,
she planned student activities such
as a canned food drive, a Breast Cancer
Awareness Walk, fundraisers for graduation
events and meets monthly with
Principal Dundridge Brenord as part of
the Student Consultative Council.
Davis is a National Honor Society
member, soccer player, dedicated school
volunteer, and member of the dance club.
She is thriving in her classes, achieving
an 87.5 average in her high school
Infi nity Love empowers girls
S t u d e n t s
from the
Humanities
and the
Arts High
School, BFIT
and Parent
Coordinator
T a r r i c k
J o h n s o n
a t t e n d -
ed a Cancer
A w a r e n e s s
event in Green
Acres Mall
by the female
empowerment
group Infi nity
Love. Infi nity
Love’s mission
is to enrich
and empower
young women
so they can
have a successful
future.
(Photo by Ms.
Shampagne-
Wright)
career. In the future, she was to become
a pediatric surgeon. She is applying to
Hunter College, Stony Brook and Queens
College.
Soccer player excels on and off fi eld
Humanities and the Arts High School
senior Leondre Bennet began his soccer
career when he was in second grade for
the Flames Academy Soccer Club. Born
in Duncans Trelawny, Jamaica, he now
plays for the Campus Magnet Varsity
team which made playoff s last year.
Outside of school, he volunteers with the
Jamaica Queens Football team teaching
younger players.
Bennet is a part of the Th espian Society
and has performed in several school productions
such as Hamilton and Chicago.
As a member of Student Council, he helps
plan activities like Spirit Week, Breast
Cancer Awareness Week and the School
Food Drive. He’s also a honors students,
a National Honor Society member of
ARISTA, a student tutor and has achieved
a 91.66 average. In the future, he wants
to study law, applying to school such as
Iona, Bridgeport and Fordham. (Photo
by Bob Harris)
Canned food collection at Hillcrest High
Coordinated by
Student Government
Advisor and School
Leadership Class
teacher Ms. Hydee
Recinos, Hillcrest
High School Student
Leadership Class
member Dawa
Sherpa and Student
O r g a n i z a t i o n
President Elmer
Gomez are behind a
cart full of boxes fi ll
with canned and sustainable
food for donation
to City Harvest.
(Photo by Bob Harris)
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