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, administrators, 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.
“Not only do these students demonstrate the very best of Nassau BOCES, each of them have also shown the true spirit of George Farber,” said James Widmer, Deputy Superintendent. “They all have passion, determination, enthusiasm, outstanding character, scholarship, and willingness to help others. Their collective stories are an inspiration to us all.”
For the past 16 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 2023 George Farber Outstanding Student Award honorees by district, name and Nassau BOCES program:
Baldwin UFSD
Melanye Cruz-Guzman
Adult Education Program
Bellmore-Merrick CHSD
Danielle Marino
Carman Road School
Copiague UFSD
Marcus Allen
Seaman Neck Middle School
East Meadow UFSD
Joshua Varughese
Children’s Readiness Center
Joseph Santana
GC Tech
Farmingdale UFSD
Michael Romani
Robert Williams School
Glen Cove CSD
Hector Fernandez Gomez
Career Preparatory High School
Great Neck CHSD
Jason Nejat
Hearing Services
Hempstead UFSD
Elias Gomez-Henriquez
Center for Community Adjustment
Endy Morales
Rosemary Kennedy School
Island Trees UFSD
Braden Hennessy
Jerusalem Avenue Elementary School
Plainview-Old Bethpage CSD
James Tinebra
Twilight High School
Roosevelt UFSD
Erica Bird
Adult Learning Center
Seaford UFSD
Rory Clancy
Willet Avenue School
Syosset CSD
Scott Wong
Long Island High School for the Arts
Uniondale UFSD
Kelvin Bonilla
Rosemary Kennedy School
Wantagh UFSD
Harry Saxton
Iris Wolfson High School
Westbury UFSD
Zain Sosa
Barry Tech
To learn more about the Nassau BOCES George Farber Outstanding Student Award and to see the stories of this year’s winners, visit www.nassauboces.org/outstandingstudents.
