In an effort to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s commitment to public service, the North Shore-LIJ Health System collected food for various food banks throughout New York, and also gave out scholarships to students interested in pursuing biology as a career Jan. 23 in Great Neck.
The health system awarded two high school students $2,500 each in scholarship money during the health system’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration ceremony at their corporate office in Great Neck Friday, said Alexandra Zendrian, spokesperson for North Shore-LIJ.
Valdemar Wany and Adenike Adeyemi-Jones, both of Uniondale High School, received the money toward their college education. Both Wany and Adenike-Adeyemi were part of the North Shore-LIJ Medical Scholars Pipeline Program, an initiative the health system offers to increase diversity in the field of healthcare, Zendrian said.
Zendrian said has been about a dozen students in the program since its inception in 2010.
“Never underestimate your potential,” said Michael Dowling, president and chief executive officer of North Shore-LIJ, to the students, according to the release. “Set the bar high and then raise that two notches.”
Both students said they intend to go to college to study biology, according to the release.
This is the second year North Shore-LIJ has honored Martin Luther King’s legacy by having a food drive at some of the health system’s sites.
Barbara Felker, North Shore-LIJ’s vice president of diversity and community engagement, said the health system collected more than 12,000 pounds of food that will be distributed to Island Harvest, City Harvest and the Food Bank for Westchester.
North Shore-LIJ also awarded three children of employees within the health system for collages, essays and videos they made to honor Martin Luther King, according to the release. The children noted for their projects included fifth-grader Chloe Porter, fourth grader Sarah Hao and seventh-grader Sebastian Barkan. Porter was awarded an iPad, while the other two received Barnes and Noble giftcards.
“The awarding of these scholarships and the Dr. King contest exemplify the health system’s commitment to the communities it serves and we look forward to seeing the great things these people will accomplish in the future,” Felker said.
