Supporting the Community.....One Student at a Time

I would like to share a personal message with visitors of The PATCH. As a member of our local communities, I am always aware of how grateful I am that I could contribute positively to the lives of many children over the last 24 years.  This gratefulness inspires me to give something back to children at nearby schools.  

This week and the next are very enjoyable for me as I get to visit 4 local high schools and present a scholarship award to a college bound graduating senior.  Over 10 years ago, I created the Dr. Richard Schechtman Scholarship Award, which recognizes a senior who has maintained academic excellence through challenging times in their life.   

This year I received essays from students at Mahopac HS, Yorktown HS, Panas HS, and Lakeland HS.  I was both saddened and inspired by stories of student and  family members' struggles with Health issues, Financial Challenges  even untimely deaths;  all in our cozy little towns here in Northern  Westchester.  

It was very difficult to select a single deserving recipient at each school.  Above all, I was inspired by the difficult and early life lessons that these children had to learn, and how they developed such wisdom to put things in proper perspective and seek the positive throughout their experiences.  Above all the chaos and angst they were able to hold onto their self esteem and apply themselves academically.  Beautiful stories by our beautiful children.  

On Monday evening, at the Mahopac Awards Ceremony I was in the company of many other generous members of the community who awarded deserving members of the senior class for many achievements, both academic and community based.  It felt so wonderful to see several of my former patients, beaming a beautiful confident smile as they walked on stage to receive their awards.  I was also saddened to learn of the inspiration for several awards:  Some awards were in recognition of former HS graduates who lost their lives to illness or motor vehicle accidents.  One such student was a former patient of mine.   

All of this serves to remind me of how much I love being an orthodontist, particularly because I am a part of your wonderful children's lives, and get to see them grow up and move on to adulthood.  

I would like to personally thank all of the students that shared their stories with me and wish the entire Graduating Class of 2013 the best of luck and much success in their future endeavors!