The United States Green Building Council - Long Island Chapter (USGBC-LI) awarded four scholarships totaling $7,500 to High School seniors from Long Island. Students were asked to provide their High School transcripts, a letter of recommendation and required essays on "What can be done to enhance sustainability in your school or community?" and "How do you plan to continue to make an impact after graduating high school?" Additionally, a response to one of two essay topics with regard to aspects of LEED and how they may impact their lives was required.
* Platinum Scholarship ($3,000) Jason Littman, of Plainview Old Bethpage John F. Kennedy High School.
* Gold Scholarship ($2,500) Alexandra Peseri, of Oyster Bay High School.
* Silver Scholarship ($1,250) Laura Stakey, of Mattituck High School.
* Certified Scholarship ($750) Joseph Arizzi, of Bay Shore High School .
Tammy Cunha, LEED AP, Board of Directors of USGBC-LI said, "Education is the basis of all things known, and thus leading to all things possible. It is education that provides an understanding of LEED and its many benefits to the world, as it exists today and in the future. Education is at the forefront of USGBC-LI's vision. USGBC-LI is very proud to recognize these Long Island high school students who are not only exceptional students of academia, but students with a passion for sustainability and desire to make this world a better world, than which they received. These students are the essence of the USGBC-LI's mission."
USGBC-LI gathered on Tuesday, June 8 to present the winners of the USGBC-LI 2010 Scholarship Awards. The dinner event was held at Meritage Restaurant, 14 Station Rd., Bellport Village, NY.
The Awards Dinner featured a speech from Michael Sperazza, PhD., Lecturer, Assistant Professor, and Director of the Coastal Environmental Studies major at Stony Brook University.
Dr. Sperazza, teaches classes in Environmental Studies, Geographical Information Systems (GIS), Geography, Geology, and Physical Anthropology. He earned a Ph.D. in Geology and a master's in Physical Anthropology from the University of Montana. He has taught at the University of Montana and MCC-Maple Woods in Kansas City, where he was the department chair. His current research interests have focused on paleoclimatic reconstructions, understanding the driving forces of past climate change, and the analytical evaluation of the methods used to measure these data. Additionally, he is interested in the morphologic changes of early hominids and role climate has played on these evolutionary adaptations.
The US Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to sustainable building design and construction. USGBC developed the LEED building rating system, which is internationally recognized green building certification system, providing building owners and operators a concise framework for identifying and implementing practical and measureable green building design, construction, operations and maintenance solutions. USGBC's core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life. USGBC - LI works to bring these values to the communities of Long Island. Tags: