Long Beach High School students involved in the school’s SMILE program recently had the opportunity to hear two special guest speakers give an overview of their careers. In March, the guest speaker in attendance was Justice Karen Gopee, Judge of the New York Supreme Court 11th Judicial District. In April, Akil Coad, NFL Vice President of Football Operations and Compliance met with students. Additionally, Mr. Coad is a graduate of Long Beach High School.

Both, Justice Gopee and Mr. Coad, attended the after-school program for close to an hour, gave an in-depth overview of their respective positions and answered questions from the students about the path that led them to the career they are in today.

Justice Gopee was elected in November 2021 and currently presides in Queens Supreme Court, Criminal Term, after serving as a judge in Queens County since 2016. She has presided over the Youth Part, the Domestic Violence Part as well as the Specialty Felony Waiver Part, working to improve alternative to incarceration dispositions and increasing programming options. She is the first Indo-Caribbean jurist elected and appointed to the bench in New York State. Students asked questions about the legal system as well as questions about pursuing a career in the legal system.

Mr. Coad began his NFL career in 2001 as an Operations Assistant with the New York Jets. Today, he is responsible for enforcing uniform and equipment rules and on-field policy. He has represented Football Operations by overseeing game operations for Pro Bowl and as a team liaison for the Super Bowl and the International Series in London. He shared with the students all the different roles in the NFL and explained people usually only think about the football players, but many jobs exist behind the scenes that play an important part of the bigger organization.

Each of the speakers encouraged the students to dream big, work hard and remember the possibilities are endless with continued focus and determination.

The mission of the SMILE Program is to empower individuals to become more self-aware and to develop the skills necessary to make informed decisions about their lives. SMILE strives to provide resources and support to help individuals gain insight into their own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and to foster a greater understanding of the impact of their choices on their lives and the lives of those around them.

Special thanks to LBHS SMILE Advisors Patricia Baron, Ian Butler, Shelly Cepeda, Brian Horne, Natasha Nurse, Janna Ostroff and Kristin Susko.

Date Added: 4/23/2024

The New York State Science Engineering Fair (NYSSEF) is a state level fair that has an affiliation to International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). NYSSEF/ISEF is the world's preeminent international science project competition for students in high school. Most students who participate in NYSSEF are juniors and seniors. This year, all LBHS 10-12 grade research students participated in Round 1.

One student, a sophomore, Vanessa Maltez was selected to proceed to round 2. To make the cut for Round 2, students are considered the top 15-33% of projects from Round 1. To get placed into round 2, those students are at the top 15-33% in all of New York State.

Vanessa worked with Dr. Brown from the Town of Hempstead Conservation and Waterways for an entire semester after school. Her project is unique because all school research programs that are competitive across Long Island require mentors and scientists for grade 11-12. As a sophomore student she has obtained mentorship which is extremely rare. With that said, Vanessa was selected to participate in round 2 at the New York Hall of Science in late March along with 200 other students chosen from all of New York State. These students are considered the top of the top and most elite group of researchers. After a full day of very difficult judging by actual scientists/experts in the field, Vanessa placed as an Honorable Mention and received an award.

The Long Beach Research Program was able to place Vanessa with a summer program an ivy league school, Brown University, to work with scientists on human microbiomes. She will be participating in cutting edge research and continuing to participate in our research program moving forward.

As well, Long Beach has other students participating in summer internships with the Town of Hempstead.

Congratulations to all Long Beach Research Students! We are excited to see what the future holds for each of them!

Date Added: 4/19/2024