Oyster Bay Herald 12-31-2021

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2022 HAPPY NEW YEAR to all our readers

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INSIDE INSIDE

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HERALD 2021

YEAR IN REVIEW

$1.00

What’s

OYSTER BAY

DECEMBER 31, 2021 - JANUARY 6, 2022

VOL. 124 NO. 1

Accomplished young humanitarian

By Laura Lane

llane@liherald.com

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Christina Daly/Herald xx/Herald

xx Celebrating the life of U.S. Rep. Lester Wolff, who died May 12. Page 0

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Courtesy Dawn Riley xx/Herald

Dawn Riley was inducted into the xx

National Sailing Hall of Fame.Page 0

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Herald file photo xx/Herald

U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi announced a xx run for governor.

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FOR BREAKING

NEWS

go to liherald.com

abrina Guo has so many accomplishments, it’s hard to know where to start. The 16-year-old Oyster Bay Cove resident, a junior at Syosset High School, has received awards for student journalism, her poetry and her skill as a violinist. Her social activism is equally impressive. In 2018 she founded Girl Pride International, a global nonprofit girls’ empowerment organization. Then, in 2020, she launched Long Island Laboring Against Covid-19. The pandemic relief organization, which is under an offshoot of Girl Pride, initially raised funds to buy personal protection equipment for medical professionals, first responders and other frontline workers. LILAC went on to help school districts and communities that also needed PPE, which it has continued to do. In July, President Biden sent Guo a letter of thanks for her efforts with LILAC, and included a Presidential Gold Volunteer Service Award. Guo works tirelessly to help people in her community and around the world, making her a perfect choice for the Herald’s 2021 Person of the Year. This was a busy year for her. She was profiled on Disney’s YouTube channel for its social initiative, “Use Your Voice,” in May. Her public service announcement aired on the Disney Channel, Disney+, Disney Junior and Disney’s other platforms. In it, she tells viewers that she uses her voice to uplift her community. “A lot of younger kids can see the video,” she said, “and I hope they know that no matter your age, you can make an impact, small or big, with actions in your community.” Also in May, Guo helped organize a student-led rally at the Syosset Long Island Rail Road station, highlighting the increase in attacks on Asian Americans. She experienced racism in elementary school, she said, being excluded from activities by cliques because of her race.

HERALD PERSON OF THE YEAR

SABRINA GUO

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he’s amazing to me, and not just for what she’s done, but the heart she has.’ ROBIN WHEAT Legislative assistant to Kevan Abrahams

Hearing about Guo’s leadership at the rally, the Long Island Chinese American Association invited her to speak at its October meeting, along with U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer. There the two discussed ways that community leaders could work with Schumer to combat hate crimes, bigotry and violence, particularly against the Asian American Pacific Islander community. Guo also shared one of her own experiences with Schumer. “I was flipped off and verbally assaulted by a couple while I was in the middle of an interview with a news station,” she said. “It shook me to my core.” Schumer told her it was important to speak out. “If you stay silent, it will grow,” he warned. “The demons have been let out, and we have to push them back in.” Guo impressed upon Schumer the importance of integrating Asian American and other minority groups’ histories into school curricula across the country. She asked him to pass legislation to ensure it, she said, and he pledged to do so. “One thing that is unique is for him to hear the voices of youth, and for us to inform him how important this issue is to us,” she said.

On to Glasgow Selected as the youngest global winner in the 2021 Poems to Solve the Climate Crisis Challenge in October, Guo represented the U.S. at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, in Glasgow in Continued on page 14 Courtesy Sabrina Guo

Oyster Bay Cove resident Sabrina Guo has worked tirelessly to help her community and people around the world.


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