Over the weekend, Assemblyman Brian Curran (Lynbrook-21st A.D.) hosted a “Young Leaders In The 21st” event. This event honored young people who make a positive difference in their community. The following people from Rockville Centre were honored:

• Noah Feigenbaum- Noah Feigenbaum is a Senior at South Side High School in Rockville Centre, New York, where he serves as the President of the SSHS Mock Trial team, the Vice President of the National Honor Society and the Senior Class Vice President, and also plays on SSHS’s Varsity baseball team. Outside of school, Noah has fostered a deep connection to Sunrise Day Camp, a free summer camp for pediatric oncology patients and their siblings. Noah has volunteered as a camp counselor for the last three years and participates in numerous fundraising and year-round camp activities. One he is particularly proud of is founding and leading a project to generate donations for the camp, called “Smile 4 Sunrise.” Using the SSHS woodshop, Noah designed and created over 100 wood plaques that simply read SMILE. The signs were hand-painted by campers, counselors and South Side Wood Design students. The project generated more than $,1000 in profit for Sunrise. In addition to working with Sunrise, last summer Noah interned at public benefit company Vesta, a group utilizing the natural processes of Coastal Carbon Capture to accelerate the removal of carbon dioxide while simultaneously strengthening our coastlines. Driven by a keen interest in mathematics and science and curiosity and concern regarding the outdoors and our planet, Noah plans to study engineering in college this fall
• Ella Burbige- As a Junior at South Side High School, she has been very involved with leadership positions in her school and community. It is important to her to exemplify leadership qualities and act as a role model for others. She is in student government as the secretary of her class as well as the cofounder of the Public Health Club. She is also the 11th-grade president of the DECA chapter at her school, a two-time state qualifier and recently qualified to compete in DECA Internationals in the Community Awareness category. She plays travel basketball and is a member of the varsity basketball team. She is a high honor roll student and a member of the National Honor Society. This past year, she founded her own non-profit organization, The Heart and Sole Foundation, which has a mission to save young lives from cardiac arrest. Cardiac arrest is the #1 killer of student-athletes and affects 23,000 youths each year. As a student-athlete herself, and with my strong leadership skills and passion to make a difference, she knew she could help make a change. Her organization spreads awareness of cardiac arrest and the need for lifesaving AEDS. She has held free EKG screening events in her community to give student-athletes the opportunity to be aware of a heart abnormality before it’s too late. These screening events have helped save young lives and emphasize the importance of knowing the risks of sudden cardiac arrest. Along with spreading awareness and holding screening events, The Heart and Sole Foundation has raised money for the purchase of AEDs and has had the opportunity to donate four lifesaving AEDs to facilities in need in the community.

“Young people are powerful. All throughout history, youth movements have had a tremendous impact on the way society thinks, acts and runs. Even today, it is young people who continue to lead the charge in the fight for equality and justice for all. I want to encourage young people to be bold. Change the world. Don’t be afraid to be a part of something bigger. Young people are a powerful group, and with great power comes great responsibility. Use your powers to make our small planet a better place. Noah and Ella are great examples of young leaders,” Curran said.