Scarsdale Students Honored by State Senator Shelley Mayer

Five Scarsdale students were honored by State Senator Shelley Mayer on June 13, 2024. They were among 30 in the 37th Senate District who received 2024 Citizenship Awards and 13 students who received Youth Leadership Awards at Blind Brook High School. Pictured above are Julia Fenigstein, Christina Semple, [Senator Shelley Mayer], Carolyn Chen, and Justin Zhang. 

Senator Mayer’s Citizenship Award recognizes students who have made exemplary contributions through community service, extracurricular activities or daily actions to serve their schools or community. The NYS Senate Youth Leadership Award recognizes outstanding high school students for excellence in the classroom, athletics, and in extracurricular or community activities.

Senator Mayer led a roundtable discussion with the student recipients to showcase their activities and to learn more about each student’s work for their communities. The students were able to discuss the initiatives they pursued and the ideas they have. Senator Mayer then presented the students with certificates of achievement for their outstanding involvement in the community.

Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I am delighted to present the 2024 Citizenship Awards and Youth Leadership Awards to these remarkable students in my district. They have all done excellent work in the community, investing much of their time and energy into making Westchester a better place for us all. As Chair of the Senate Education Committee, I am inspired by their work and I appreciated learning their stories and hearing about their plans for the future. I would like to thank Principal Dr. Jennifer Chirles and Blind Brook High School for hosting this ceremony.”

Students from Blind Brook High School, Byram Hills High School, Rye Neck High School, Scarsdale High School and White Plains High School were recognized with the Youth Leadership Award.

Students from Bronxville High School, Blind Brook High School, Charles E. Gorton High School, Eastchester High School, Fox Lane High School, Harrison High School, Mamaroneck High School, New Rochelle High School, Port Chester High School, Rochambeau Alternative High School, Roosevelt High School, Rye High School, Rye Neck High School, Scarsdale High School, Tuckahoe High School, and White Plains High School were recognized with the Citizenship Award.

Julia Fenigstein shared details of her “Scarsdale Healthy Yards” initiative which has helped the environment by decreasing the use of pesticides, herbicides and insecticides in our community.

The program has two parts:

First, she designed a sign which residents can put in their lawn to indicate that they have a “healthy yard.” A healthy yard is one where no pesticides, insecticides or herbicides are used. By having something indicating that a yard is healthy, Julia is hoping to inspire more people in the community to do the same. Once people see a beautiful, chemical-free lawn, it will be proof that toxic pesticides are not needed.

The second part of her program is that her sign has a QR code which links to a Scarsdale Healthy Yards website which she created, which gives advice and tips about how to create and maintain a healthy yard.

Julia is hoping to see more healthy yard signs and less of the small yellow signs posted on people’s yards which indicate pesticides having been applied! Here’s the link to her Scarsdale Healthy Yards website and where residents can request a free Scarsdale Healthy Yards sign: https://juliafenigstein.wixsite.com/healthy-yards-scarsd.

Each student was nominated by a teacher or school administrator.