STUDENTS OF NOTE
Criminal Justice Student
Advocates for Suicide Prevention
Criminal Justice student Sean Mandel meets with Assemblyman Ken Zebrowski in Albany
C
riminal Justice student
Sean Mandel, an
Early Admit student
from Clarkstown North
High School, was devastated
by the tragic suicide of his
teammate on the high school
bowling team. Motivated to
take action after hearing the
grieving father’s entreaty for
young people to “please talk to
someone, talk to each other,”
Mandel made it a personal
goal to do whatever he could
to ensure no other student felt
alone or in despair.
Mandel researched effective
suicide prevention techniques
and learned about the necessary
legislative initiatives to put
them into place. He was invited
to attend a legislative session
in Albany devoted to a Mental
Health Hygiene Bill, where he
shared his personal experience
with legislators, advocating for
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programs to deter adolescent
suicides.
Shari Ovadia, peer leadership
advisor at Clarkstown North,
who accompanied Mandel
to Albany, said he captivated
everyone as he spoke with
emotion and grace of how his
personal experience affected
him.
Mandel is pursuing a
career in public service. He
continues to serve as a peer
leader at Clarkstown North to
help combat bullying, and as
president of the Clarkstown
Police Explorers unit. Kevin
Barrett, PhD, chair of RCC’s
Criminal Justice program
said, “Sean is the epitome of
what society should want in
their future Criminal Justice
professionals. He is smart,
compassionate, caring, and
will be an outstanding public
servant.”
RCC Student Selected for
Prestigious Transfer Scholarship
Gene Steinberg, center, with Dr.
Katherine Lynch, Honors Program
director, and RCC President Cliff L.
Wood. Steinberg is one of only 55
community college students from around
the nation selected to receive the Jack
Kent Cooke Foundation Undergraduate
Transfer Scholarship, worth up to
$40,000 a year for the student to
complete a bachelor’s degree at a four-
year college or university.
RCC-TV Video Festival Winners
RCC students Mary Rink and Ken Felici, winners of the grand prize for their
documentary, #NotMyPresident: A People's History of Inauguration Weekend
2017, display their trophy