Archives of the Mayor's Press Office

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: June 11, 1996

Release #264-96

Contact: Colleen Roche (212) 788-2958 or Nydia Negron (212) 788-9364

MAYOR GIULIANI PRESENTS "QUALITY OF LIFE SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS"
Praises students’ ingenuity, research skills and creativity

Mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani today presented scholarship awards to finalists and semi-finalists of the “Improving the Quality of Life Scholarship Competition” co-sponsored by the Office of the Mayor and Smith Barney. The Mayor was joined by Schools Chancellor Rudolph Crew and James Dimon, Chairman and CEO of Smith Barney. During a reception at City Hall, the top winners presented their ideas on improving bilingual education, finding solutions to gang violence and easing our garbage disposal problem by composting and selling organic waste.

“This contest has been a wonderful experience for all of us,” said Mayor Giuliani. “It reminds us that enhancing the quality of life in the City is everybody’s job and underscores the great things that young people can accomplish. I wish to express my gratitude to Smith Barney and Travelers Group for their generous support and initiative in providing our students with this unique opportunity.”

“Scores of young people from New York City’s public schools are beacons for our future,” said School Chancellor Crew. “They are innovators and problem solvers who will be among our greatest governors, educators, journalists and artists in only a few years to come. Thanks to Smith Barney and Travelers Group, we have the rather rare opportunity to tell one of the many good stories about our public school students.”

James Dimon, Chairman and CEO of Smith Barney said, “Travelers Group and Smith Barney have always been committed to community involvement and to education programs that benefit young people, especially here in New York City. Our employees enjoyed working with some of the city’s brightest students. Everyone was impressed with their energy, idealism and level of dedication to their studies and to improving their communities.”

Over 500 students from 20 participating New York City High Schools entered the competition. They were required to answer a deceptively simple question: “If you could improve the quality of life in New York City, what would you do?” The objective of the competition was to motivate students to explore realistic ways of improving New York City and gain the knowledge necessary for them to become active and effective citizens. The competition also offered the opportunity for them to develop and apply the critical research, writing, organizational and thinking skills required for college and the workforce.

Working as individuals or in teams of two or three, the students chose their own topics and were required to examine a specific aspect of that issue. Education improvements, immigrant and racial tolerance, community service and the environment were among those topics that emerged as important to participating students.

Teddy Hervias, a Peruvian-born Forest Hills High School student, who researched and developed recommendations for revising the City’s bilingual education system, was awarded the top prize consisting of a $10,000 scholarship.

The list of finalists, including their research subjects and scholarship awards, is as follows:

$5,000
Sarah Moon, Thomas Ng, Edward Yang, “Gang Violence Prevention”
Christy Kim, Helen Kim and Janice Lee, “Intergenerational Child Care”
Fen Fen Chen, Sheg Ju Wei, Ya-Ching Yu, “Composting”
Christopher Ghazaryans, Kara Tiffany Lazarus, “Vocational Education”
$1,000
Jenny Cheung , “Racial Harmony”
Brenda Liz Cortes, “Homeless Children”
Magdelyn Noboa, “Serving to Elevate People”

Smith Barney developed the idea as part of its Community Investment Program. The creation of the Improving the Quality of Life Scholarship Competition represents a collaboration between the business, government and education communities. The competition was designed by a working committee composed of school administrators, city agency officials and Smith Barney managers.

Smith Barney, a wholly owned subsidiary of Travelers Group (NYSE:TRV) is the nation’s second largest securities firm, with 11,000 Financial Consultants located in nearly 500 offices across the United States. The firm offers a full range of investment products, including stocks, bonds, CDs, mutual funds, IRAs, and annuities.