46 THE QUEENS COURIER • KIDS & EDUCATION • MARCH 28, 2019 FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM
school spotlight COMPILED BY BOB HARRIS AND ANDREINA RODRIGUEZ
Hillcrest educator nominated
for Big Apple award
Nelcia Skobelsky, director of the Pre-
Med Small Learning Community of
Hillcrest High School, has been nominated
for the Big Apple Award. Th e
award recognizes teacher excellence in
New York City. Students, parents, educators
and community members can
nominate teachers for the award and up
to 15 people will be given the Big Apple
award aft er the selection process is completed.
Skobelsky is one of 7,000 people
nominated and is now one of 1,000
being asked to apply for the award.
R.H. student fi nds plenty
of time to volunteer
Lily Veliz is a junior in Richmond Hill
High School who is active in Leadership
Program and can oft en be found volunteering
in the Student Association Offi ce
helping Senior Adviser, Ms. Doobay. She
has been involved with the Canned Food
Drive, Toy Drive, Pennies for Patients
and fundraising activities for other charities.
Last summer, she worked for the
Summer Youth Employment Program.
Outside of school, she is part of the
media team at the Bethlehem Church.
Veliz is taking Advanced Placement
(AP) college level Computer Science
and has plans of becoming a Computer
Scientist.
Van Buren HS to Host Unveiling
of New BioTech Lab & Hall of
Fame Induction Ceremony
On March 20, Martin Van Buren High
School (MVB) in Jamaica unveiled its
fi rst ever DNA/Biotechnology laboratory.
It’s a state-of-the-art-facility in courtesy
of the eff orts of Ms. Wang, the MVB
Alumni Alliance and all of the generous
Casper family.
As part of the dedication ceremony,
honorees and guests saw MVB students in
action, performing experiments in the lab
and presenting their upcoming marine
biology research program as participants
in the University of Southern California/
Wrigley Institute of Environmental
Studies on Catalina Island.
Th e dedication ceremony was followed
by the latest edition of MVB’s Hall of
Fame induction ceremony honoring two
of MVB’s most esteemed alumni, Marc N.
Casper (‘86) and Dr. M. Natalie Achong
(‘85).
Casper is president and CEO of Th ermo
Fisher Scientifi c Inc., the world leader in
serving science. His company’s mission
is to help its customers accelerate life sciences
research, solve complex analytical
challenges, improve patient diagnostics,
increase lab productivity and deliver
medicines to market.
Dr. Achong is a full-time assistant clinical
professor at Yale, chair of one of
Connecticut’s largest community health
centers and attending physician at St.
Vincent’s.
Meet Richmond Hill’s senior class prez
Th e Richmond Hill High School Senior
Class President, Hashley Fermin, does
many things for her high school.
Hashley Fermin is the senior class president
at Richmond Hill High School and
is a very busy young lady. She is in
the Academy of Hospital & Tourism
(AOHT), where she learns a great deal
about business and helps them raise
money to support a cure for Lymphoma
and Leukemia. As president of the senior
class, she works with Senior Adviser,
Ms. Doobay, who is also a Social Studies
teacher, to make sure that all the senior
activities effi ciently take place.
Her activities include conducting meetings,
coordinating events, collecting
canned and dry foods worth $2,000 this
year for the needy, coats worth $75 and
toys for the River Fund.
She’s planning for the 2019 prom taking
place at Jericho Terrace with photo
sets, photo booth and cocktail bar, preparing
for an open mic karaoke event
where students will perform at an event
open to the community to raise money
for St. Jude’s Hospital and coordinating
the Pennies for Patients Collection which
usually raises $1,000. Additionally, she’s
helping Ms. Doobay as she leads a cultural
event to Italy during the Spring Break
this April.
Academically, Fermin is in the ARISTA
National Honor Society. She has taken
Advanced Placement (AP) college level
classes in English, English Language
and Spanish. She is currently taking AP
Economics, took College Now classes
through Cuny York College in Spanish,
World History and Pre-Calculus.
With plans of becoming a plastic surgeon,
she has applied to the University of
Southern Florida, Valencia College and
St. John’s University.
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