Lawrence High School grad meets stars of 'Celebrity Apprentice'

On the season finale of NBC’s reality show “Celebrity Apprentice,” 19-year-old Deena Sydney Fink, a 2009 graduate of Lawrence High School, was chosen by the American Diabetes Association to represent young people with diabetes. Fink was present at the taping of the finale, and got to meet many celebrities, including millionaire mogul Donald Trump.

The popular reality show features celebrities competing to complete business tasks around New York City while ultimately raising money for their respective causes. Each week, Trump, co-producer and host, “fires” a celebrity until two people remain. The final two celebrities were actress Holly Robinson Peete and rock singer Brett Michaels. Michaels was the winner and gave the $250,000 grand prize to the ADA.

A life-long diabetic himself, Michaels chose to give the money to a cause that was personal to him. Fink was selected to be present at the live taping of the finale, representing the organization as their youth advocate, along with ADA executive director, Kevin Brosnick, and associate director of special events, Antonio Coppola. Having been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age 14, Fink has been extremely active in the New York City chapter of ADA ever since and was honored to represent the organization at this event.

“I felt very honored that I was chosen to be there with the head executives,” said Fink.

In addition to being an advocate for diabetes awareness, Fink is also a professional singer, was especially excited to talk to Michaels, the famed rock star who is most known for being the lead singer of the hit 1980s hard rock band "Poison." She hopes that Michaels’ victory will raise awareness and further support for finding a cure for diabetes.

“As a fellow diabetic and a fellow singer, it was great to be able to go backstage and meet Brett Michaels," said Fink. "I think it is wonderful that he uses his fame and music to help people with diabetes and to help find a cure... Sometimes when you see someone on TV you don’t know if you can trust them but you can tell that everything he said on the TV show was very honest and very passionate.”

Being an active member of the ADA is something that has been very important to Fink. “Whenever they need a young person they call her and she’s there,” said Deena’s mother, Cheryl Fink.

“When I was diagnosed at 14 it was a big eye opener to me," said Fink. "I have to give my time to do what I can."

Since she was 16, Fink has sung the national anthem at the opening ceremony for the ADA walk at the South Street Seaport. She also gathered her fellow students at Lawrence High School to work the T-shirt booth at the event and continues to recruit students to help out at the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU, where she currently attends. The Lawrence High School graduate also works with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation as a teen mentor for young people who need to talk about the disease and need support.

"Most of the volunteers are adults, not teens, which is probably why they chose her as a representative for this event,” said

Mrs. Fink.

Being present at the taping of “Celebrity Apprentice” and being an active member of the ADA is Fink’s way of giving back and coping with her disease. “It’s the type of disease you can’t forget about,” said Mrs. Fink. “It really is a life-long maintenance disease.”

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