Assemblyman Curran celebrates RVC young leaders in RVC

Assemblyman Brian Curran recently recognized a group of 19 young leaders in the district who made a positive difference in their communities — including Ella Burbige and Noah Feigenbaum of Rockville Centre.

“Young people are powerful. All throughout history, youth movements have had a tremendous impact on the way society thinks, acts and runs,” Curran said in a statement. “I want to encourage young people to be bold. Change the world. Don’t be afraid to be a part of something bigger. Young people are a powerful group, and with great power comes great responsibility. Use your powers to make our small planet a better place.”

Ella Burbige, a junior at South Side High School, is a role model for others, who exemplifies what it means to be a leader through her involvement with the schools and community.

She is secretary of student government, a member of the National Honor Society and co-founder of the Public Health Club. Burbige is also the 11th-grade president of the South Side DECA club. She is a two-time state qualifier and this year, will be competing at the International Career Development Conference in Anaheim, California in the Community Awareness category.

Burbige is also South Side scholar-athlete—she plays for the Cyclones girls' varsity basketball team and is a high honor roll student. 

She said she was inspired to create the Heart and Sole Foundation, a student-run nonprofit organization, following an incident in December 2022, when her friend, PJ Kellachan, suddenly collapsed on the basketball court while running drills. Thankfully, he was resuscitated by Chaminade High School’s coaching staff using CPR and an automated external defibrillator.

Through her efforts with the Heart and Sole Foundation, Brubige has promoted heart health by raising money for the purchase of life-saving AED devices. Cardiac arrest is the No. 1 killer of student-athletes and affects roughly 23,000 youths each year.  As a student-athlete herself, she knew she could make a change and put her leadership skills and passion to work towards making a difference in the community.

Her organization also hosts free EKG screening events in the schools and community to provide student-athletes the opportunity to detect any heart abnormalities before it’s too late. These screening events have helped save young lives and emphasize the importance of knowing the risks of sudden cardiac arrest. In addition to spreading awareness, the foundation also has helped raise money and donated four lifesaving AEDs to facilities in the community.

Noah Feigenbaum, a senior at South Side High School, is vice president of the senior class, president of the Mock Trial team, vice president of the National Honor Society, and a varsity baseball player.

Outside of school, Feigenbaum has fostered a deep connection to Sunrise Day Camp, a free summer camp for pediatric oncology patients and their siblings. He has volunteered as a camp counselor for the last three years and participates in fundraising and year-round camp activities. One he is particularly proud of is “Smile 4 Sunrise” which he founded to help generate donations for the camp. 

Feigenbaum used the high school woodshop to create and design over 100 wooden signs with the word “smile.”  The signs were hand-painted by campers, counselors and Wood Design students. The project would help generate more than $1,000 in profit for Sunrise.

This past summer, he also interned at the public benefit company Vesta, a group which utilizes the natural processes of Coastal Carbon Capture to accelerate the removal of carbon dioxide while simultaneously strengthening our coastlines. His project was one of six with the South Side High School science research program entered into the 2024 Regeneron Science Talent Search, the nation’s oldest science and math competition.

Driven by his keen interest in mathematics and science, and his love and concern for the planet, Noah plans to study engineering in college this fall.