North Side School student Ryan Cozzolino is about to have more than 15 minutes of fame.
Ryan, who will be entering the third grade this fall, won the primary school category in the annual Long Island Presidents’ Council of New York State United Teachers essay contest in May and his reading of the winning entry will be aired on 11 New York metro radio stations next month.
The East Williston resident said he enjoyed recording the essay at radio station WBAB and he’s looking forward to hear himself on the air.
“I was like a famous pop star who finally made it to WBAB,” Ryan said.
He said he read the essay three times for the final recording.
The radio spots featuring Ryan’s essay will air in a rotation featuring other essay contest winners on WBAB-FM , WALK-FM, WBLI-FM, WBZO-FM, WHFM-FM, WHLI-AM, WJVC-FM, WKJY-FM, WLNG-FM, WWSK-FM and WTHE-AM between Sept. 9 and Sept. 28, according to Ray Adell, chairman of Ray Adell Media Enterprises, which promotes the radio spots.
Ryan’s entry was selected from among essays submitted by students in grades K through 2 for his school, and then from among essays in those grades for Nassau and Suffolk counties. The teachers’ council contest chooses finalists in each division from the primary grades, intermediate grades, middle school, and high school entrants, and for the first time this year, teachers.
Teachers select the finalists in each grade category based on content. Then the kids record their winning essay on tape or CD and submit them to Ray Adell Media, according to Ronnie Schindel, president of the media company.
“We then judge them on delivery, select the final finalist in each category and invite those finalists for a recording session at WBAB,” Schindel said.
Adell said his company came up with the idea of the radio spots 12 years ago. He said the Long Island Presidents’ Council of New York State United Teachers pays for the spots.
Ryan’s winning essay, written in response to the question of “How School Makes Me Feel Good to be Me,” recounts how he felt during his school’s Read-a-Thon last year to raise funds for books Long Beach schools lost during Hurricane Sandy. The students had received contributions from sponsors they solicited based on the amount of the reading they pledged to do after school.
“Helping all the schools in Long Beach made me feel like I had a bigger heart than I had before,” Ryan wrote. “Helping replace thousands of books is a hard job for a second grader to do. I’m glad I had 99 other students and teachers beside me as we raised $10,000. I hope Long Beach is in good shape now.”
Ryan’s mother, Christine Cozzolino, said her son’s winning essay was a reflection of his interests.
“He likes to write. He’s very creative. He likes to read,” she said.
Ryan said he was confident that he had written a good essay, but he didn’t figure he’d be in the running to win the contest.
“I didn’t feel like I was going to get this far and win,” he said. “I felt proud and also very excited. I feel proud of myself for trying my best.”
Ryan said he felt sorry thinking about Long Beach kids like himself who didn’t have books to read.
“Not only did I write something about me. I was writing about everyone who lost their books in Long Beach,” he said.
Ryan’s mother said that sense of empathy is typical of her son.
“He’s a very sensitive kind of kid. There’s always one thing or another he’s concerned about or thinking about,” she said.
Cozzoline, who said her nickname for her son is “Mr. Personality,” described Ryan as a thoughtful kid who enjoys having quiet, private time to think. One of his favorite activities is building Lego buildings, she said, and he aspires to be an architect.
She said Ryan also has a musical side and plays both drums and piano.
