Vol. 79, No. 12
Friday, March 22, 2019
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Local doctor named Trailblazer Woman of the Year
Panelists Jax Max (center, orange sweater) with moderator Dr. Uzma Syed (far left) Noha El-Ghobashy (second from left) Stefana Muller (second from right) and Dr. Paulinder S. Rai (far right)
Syosset native (SHS Class of 1997) Dr. Uzma Syed is again making strides in her hometown community and beyond. Syed, a co-founder of the Syosset offices of South Shore Infectious Disease (SSID) at 60 Queens Street downtown, will be recognized by Nassau County Legislators this spring as “2019 Trailblazer Woman of the Year.” As March began, she received an award for South Asian Women’s Empowerment, presented to her by Indian model and actress (1994 Miss Universe) Sushmita Sen. But close to home on the north shore, on Monday March 11 at Syosset Library, Dr. Syed’s new youth mentorship organization Align Us hosted a panel discussion aimed at providing area teens and their families with insights from the professional realm. “We are here tonight because we’re not only providing mentorship experiences for students but we are also creating an arena for sharing inspirational, thought-provoking conversations with successful people. Through dialogue we can learn from them,
hear their journeys and get inspired by them,” Dr. Syed announced. The four panelists ranged in talents, experiences and careers from biomedical engineering and technology to medicine and literary/media arts.
Plan to Adjust Your Plans
Stefana Muller is the founder of Long Island Women in Tech, a nonprofit organization which currently has over 450 professional members. Muller currently leads product management at Cloud Consultancy, 2nd Watch where she helps large Enterprises migrate to, manage and transform their applications in Azure, AWS and Google cloud. She participated in the March 11 forum and advised students to recognize times and chances in high school and college where they can try new things. Muller says she is learning every day “new things that I wish I would have done differently in the past.” See page 15
Jericho teacher named “Distinguished Teacher of 2019”
Joshua J. Smith of Jericho Middle School has been named a “Distinguished Teacher of 2019” by the Harvard Club of Long Island. “This award honors teachers who transform lives,” explained Dr. Judith Esterquest, chair of the Distinguished Teacher Selection Committee. “Devoted teachers like Mr. Smith offer Long Island students deep expertise, extraordinary talents, and countless hours of attention. By capturing the minds and imaginations of our children and preparing them for challenges that were unknown even a few decades ago, these teachers shape the future of our country.” Mr. Smith will be honored at the Harvard Club of Long Island’s annual University Relations Luncheon on
March 30, along with eleven other teachers from across Long Island. Harvard professor Matthew Baum will speak on the role of the media and public opinion in contemporary American politics, also offering insight and commentary on how the rest of the world views US media coverage of domestic and foreign news. Mr. Smith teaches science at Jericho Middle School, and coaches the high school varsity cross-country team as well as the middle school track team. He has been a member of the faculty at Jericho for the last 19 years of his 23-year career. Mr. Smith is married to Dr. Danielle Smith, and together, they like to travel, cook and hike. They strive to raise their three children, ages 4-15, to live healthful and mindful lives. With
degrees from SUNY Fredonia and LIU CW Post, Mr. Smith says, “Teaching allowed me the opportunity to share my love of science and running with others.” One of the students with whom he has done exactly that is Jessica Huang, who is expected to graduate from Harvard College in 2020. Miss Huang, a member of Mr. Smith’s cross-country team, nominated Mr. Smith for the Distiguished Teacher Award this year. Miss Huang says that “cross country was the hardest I’d ever worked in high school,” and she progressed from “barely being able to run a lap” to, after four years with Mr. Smith, being “one of the fastest runners See page 17
Jericho MS teacher Josh Smith
Woodbury teen heads to Intel Fair PAGE 3 Pokemon visit Syosset Public Library PAGE 8