Lynbrook High School celebrates Human Relations Day

For the first time in two years, the Student Government Association was set to host its annual Human Relations Day in-person on Thursday.

English teacher and SGA adviser Mary Kirby, along with 50 student members, organized many activities for the event, which was shaping up as one of the largest Lynbrook High School has seen, with more than 30 “Random Acts of Kindness” recipients and 30 guest speakers.

This year’s theme is “Reach for the Stars,” and the SGA did its best to live up to it. On Human Relations Day, the LHS cafeteria was to be adorned with star-shaped balloons, a galaxy photo backdrop, fairy lights and purple, black and teal centerpieces, and filled with space-themed music. SGA members created and organized games and trivia contests via the app Kahoot!

“They had their eyes on this theme for the whole school year,” Kirby said. “. . . When you reach for the stars, you’re controlling what you have the power to do in order to be successful. Whatever happened yesterday, you just keep moving forward, working toward your goals and worrying about only yourself. I always say, ‘Today’s the first day of the rest of your life,’ and I truly believe that.”

Senior and National Art Honor Society board member Olivia Ackerman designed a shirt for the event depicting a spaceship blasting off from Lynbrook. Promotional social media posts on the SGA Instagram account (@lynbrooksga) also shared the hashtags #outofthisworld and #shinebright.

The guest speakers were scheduled to cover a vast range of topics, including drug abuse, organ donation, civil rights reform, social activism and the experiences of first responders. Many speakers were slated to come to LHS in person, but some planned to present virtually via Cisco Webex. The guest list included LHS alumnus Michael Knobloch, the president of global film, music and publishing at Universal Studios. Knobloch oversaw the music for the highest- grossing film of all time, “Avatar,” as well as “Titanic,” “Pitch Perfect” and “Les Misérables.” He planned to speak to students about his Hollywood career and the lessons he has learned from his experiences.

Kevin Ferguson — the director of operations and partnerships for YouTube Shorts, a former executive at the social media platform Musical.ly and another LHS graduate — planned to speak to students about his work in social media. The SGA also received an inspirational video message from Hoda Kotb, the co-host of NBC’s “Today” show.

Kevin Maresca, the head of PET/molecular imaging in digital medicine at Pfizer, who specializes in cancer and Covid-19 research, planned to focus on his experience with the coronavirus pandemic.

Two other speakers are LHS alumni. Joe Delia is the social media and marketing director for “Land of Lots,” a new children’s book series, and a production manager at Gattie and Lopez, an editorial production company. This is Delia’s second year at Human Relations Day to discuss his work with the LGBTQ+ community. And Larry Glenz is a familiar face at HRD and around the halls of LHS: He taught in Lynbrook for 36 years, and coached the football, lacrosse and wrestling teams.

Glenz’s son, Kevin, died of a heroin overdose in 2010, at age 27, and Glenz returns to HRD each year to tell his and Kevin’s story, and to spread awareness about the dangers of drug addiction. His autobiography, “Forgiving Kevin: A Son’s Addiction Becomes a Father’s Greatest Teacher,” details Kevin’s years-long struggle with addiction.

Another guest, Asher J. Matathias, planned to share his harrowing story of surviving the Holocaust. Matathias now lives in Woodmere, and is a professor at St. John’s University.

“As I am frequently called upon to give public testimony of humanity’s most heinous crime — people rarely hear about the tragedy of Greek Jews in the Holocaust — I shall deem it an honor and duty to avail of the opportunity to inform and educate,” Matathias said.

Other familiar faces at HRD include the FealGood Foundation, which helps emergency personnel who have been injured in the course of their duties; the Long Island Trio, an organization that advocates for organ donation and transplantation awareness; and students from the Henry Viscardi School, who encourage perseverance, kindness and fighting adversity.

HRD is sponsored by more than 20 local businesses, including the Lynbrook Deli, Hewlett Station, Angelina’s, Lynbrook Bagels and Heavenly Coffee. The businesses donated gift cards for “Random Acts of Kindness,” a tradition of giving back to LHS students and staff who SGA members feel demonstrate exceptional kindness. Two students will receive tickets to New York Islanders and Rangers games.

“HRD is such an incredible event that I look forward to every year,” SGA President Emma Leighley said. “The SGA and Mrs. Kirby work so hard to make this day the best it can be, and there’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to make it perfect. It makes me sad that this was my last HRD, but it was absolutely amazing [to organize it.]”