_______ Lynbrook/east rockaway ______
HERALD Also serving Bay Park
Getting kicks at soccer clinic
Author writes novel about 9/11
The Paxmobile comes around
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Vol. 29 No. 32
AUGUST 4 - 10, 2022
$1.00
Sean Murray fills a new role Named new assistant superintendent of East Rockaway schools By MoHAMeD FARGHAlY mfarghaly@liherald.com
Mohamed Farghaly/Herald
SeAN MURRAY WAS appointed the East Rockaway School District’s new assistant superintendent at the July 14 Board of Education meeting.
Growing up, Sean Murray would often drive past the East Rockaway High School building, but never imagined he would one day become an assistant superintendent for the district. The East Rockaway School District Board of Education unanimously named Murray the new assistant superintendent for cur riculum and instruction at its meeting on July 14. Murray, 46, grew up in Mal-
verne and attended Malverne High School, graduating in 1994. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English and literature from Binghamton University in 1998. Soon after graduating from college, Murray began working for a market research firm, but he recently realized that the only days he enjoyed his job was when he gave client training for the company’s software. “ The only part of my job I enjoyed was the days that I went out to clients to train them on software,” he said, “It made me realize that if I like training, Continued on page 12
Artist finds joy in drawing all kinds of portraits By RAYANNA SHWoM Intern
Courtesy Michael Delia
PeT PoRTRAiTS DoNe by Michael Delia
A psychic once told Michael Delia that in his past life, he was a 16th-century Italian artist. While he does not have over 400 years worth of work to show for it, Delia’s artistic career in this life has been no less interesting. Delia, a local artist from Inwood, has been drawing since he was five years old. Living on Long Island helped inspire his career as an artist, as he was able to take the Long Island Rail Road into the city to visit art museums allowing him to gather inspiration for his own pieces and gain more of an interest in
art at a young age. The beauty of Long Island further inspired his artistic vision, especially the beautiful houses throughout the island. At 13, he began selling his artwork and later in life was able to accomplish his dream of becoming a professional artist. For over 40 years, he worked at more than 50 magazines, including Firehouse magazine and PTN Publishing, mainly as an illustrator for editorial stories. He also worked as an art teacher for some time. When the recession hit in 2008, he lost his job at a magazine called Plastics Technology and decided to begin his own
freelance art company called Designs by Delia. Throughout his career, he won multiple awards for his work, including the Art Directors Club Desi Award for design excellence and the American In-House Award for graphic design. But Delia became seriously ill in 2015. He was forced to retire from his company. Instead of
viewing the illness as a setback, he saw it as an opportunity to get back to doing what inspired him to become an artist in the first place — drawing. Through his sickness, art was one of the only things that really felt he could control. Drawing allowed him to relax and take his mind off his troubles. He started selling colContinued on page 4