Way to Go! 4 LI students win 'Upstander' awards

Four Long Island students were recently recognized for their roles as "upstanders."

The students — Gianna Cook of Elwood-John H. Glenn High School, Emma Kelly of Oyster Bay High School, Sean Lobo of Saxton Middle School in Patchogue, and Lauren Zweback of Plainview-Old Bethpage Middle School — have been named winners of the 12th Annual Friedlander Upstander Awards by the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County in partnership with the Claire Friedlander Family Foundation.

Upstanders are defined as those who "stand up for others and do not allow bigotry, hatred or intolerance to happen without intercession," the center said.

"The Claire Friedlander Family Foundation, in partnership with the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County, is proud to acknowledge and award four remarkable Long Island students with the 2022 Upstander Awards," said the foundation's president and treasurer, Peter J. Klein. "Claire Friedlander was a Holocaust survivor who with her parents was saved by a righteous family. I know Claire would be incredibly proud of these student role models in our community who are leading by example."

Applicants submitted nomination letters from a teacher, guidance counselor or another adult outside of their family and wrote 500-word essays on actions they have taken that made them upstanders. Winners received $5,000 scholarships and were honored earlier this month during an event at Westbury Manor.

— MICHAEL R. EBERT