![A group of Nassau BOCES students holding awards.]([{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_1/v1748881420/nassaubocesorg/dnj5fcqyljvzl0vufwhd/2025_George_Farber_Award_Winners_Page1.jpg","width":256},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto,t_image_size_2/v1748881420/nassaubocesorg/dnj5fcqyljvzl0vufwhd/2025_George_Farber_Award_Winners_Page1.jpg","width":512},{"url":"https://resources.finalsite.net/images/f_auto,q_auto/v1748881420/nassaubocesorg/dnj5fcqyljvzl0vufwhd/2025_George_Farber_Award_Winners_Page1.jpg","width":800}])
Nassau BOCES honors outstanding students with the George Farber Award
Nassau BOCES recently celebrated 18 of its most exceptional students with the prestigious George Farber Outstanding Student Award during a special ceremony this spring. Each of the winners was presented with a plaque and $100 from the Nassau BOCES Educational Foundation. Board members, superintendents, administrators, school district representatives, staff and family were on hand to celebrate. These students have been chosen from programs and schools throughout the agency, based on a variety of remarkable attributes including passion, perseverance, enthusiasm, outstanding character, scholarship and a willingness to help others.
“These students exemplify the very best of Nassau BOCES and embody the true spirit of George Farber,” said Larry Leaven, Nassau BOCES District Superintendent and Chief Executive Officer. “They each bring passion, determination, enthusiasm, and exceptional character to everything they do. Their academic excellence and unwavering commitment to helping others make their stories a true inspiration to us all.”
For the past 18 years, outstanding students have been earning this award in memory of former Nassau BOCES Board President George Farber, whose passion for improving the lives of students was surpassed only by his love and care for them. Farber was the longest-serving board member in Nassau County, having served from 1971 to 2009.
Following is a list of the 2025 Nassau BOCES George Farber Outstanding Student Award honorees by district or town and program:
Bellmore-Merrick CHSD
Sadie Freifeld
Nassau BOCES Hearing Services
Anthony Mehale
Nassau BOCES Iris Wolfson High School
Copiague UFSD
Evelyn Rosales Martinez
Nassau BOCES Carman Road School
East Meadow UFSD
Liseth Cordova
Nassau BOCES GC Tech
Freeport UFSD
Adrian Atkinson
Nassau BOCES Twilight Alternative High School Program @ Freeport High School
Tyreese Williams
Nassau BOCES Rosemary Kennedy School
Glen Cove City SD
Ethan Arriagada Zapata
Nassau BOCES Barry Tech
Tyler Goyenechea
Nassau BOCES Career Preparatory High School
Hempstead UFSD
Anderson Gonzalez Osorio
Nassau BOCES Seaman Neck Middle School
Liyah Marie Moon
Nassau BOCES Children’s Readiness Center
Hicksville UFSD
Matthew Lu
Nassau BOCES Robert Williams School
Kayla O’Connor
Nassau BOCES Willet Avenue School
Island Trees UFSD
Matthew Oswiecimski
Nassau BOCES Rosemary Kennedy School (District-Based)
Lawrence UFSD
Jeffrey Contreras
Nassau BOCES Center for Community Adjustment,
Syosset CSD
Janice Lee
Nassau BOCES Long Island High School for the Arts
Uniondale
Maria Baugh
Nassau BOCES Adult Learning Center
Valley Stream School District #24
Oakley Bray
Nassau BOCES Jerusalem Avenue Elementary School
Valley Stream
Alexander Quinn
Nassau BOCES Adult Education
The year’s Nassau BOCES George Farber Outstanding Student Award winners (from left, back row): Janice Lee, Anderson Gonzalez Osorio, Anthony Mehale, Matthew Oswiecimski, Tyreese Williams, Ethan Arriagada Zapata, Jeffrey Contreras, Adrian Atkinson and Maria Baugh. From left, front row: Matthew Lu, Oakley Bray, Sadie Freifeld, Evelyn Rosales Martinez, Liyah Marie Moon, Liseth Cordova and Kayla O’Conner.
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This year, thanks to the incredible generosity of our staff, students, and partners, Compassion in Action provided direct support to hundreds of Nassau BOCES students and families.
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Nassau BOCES has received a generous $2,500 grant from Adventureland’s Helping Hands Foundation in support of the agency’s Compassion in Action program.
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Thirteen students took the next major step in their professional lives by committing to jobs in their chosen Career and Technical Education fields of study, a military career or secondary education in their chosen field.
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Seaman Neck Middle School and Children’s Readiness Center spent the day taking part in team-building games, planting trees and went on a nature hike scavenger hunt!