STUDENT INTERNS WHO CAME TO THE UNITED STATES FROM IRAN AND CHINA  AND WHO NOW LIVE IN EDGEMONT AND DOBBS FERRY FOCUS ON IMMIGRATION

CYBER SECURITY WAS ANOTHER TOPIC THE STUDENTS WORKED ON

            This summer over 30 students from around the town have been participating in a summer internship program at Town Hall. Town Attorney Tim Lewis, Town Clerk Judith Beville and I oversee the program. The students are lobbying state lawmakers to repave NYS owned roads in Greenburgh in bad shape, producing public service announcements and interacting with community leaders and other officials. This morning the students met with Assemblyman Tom Abinanti. In August they will meet with Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins. They have attended work sessions of the Town Board and some are researching funding opportunities for the Odell house. Others have been assigned to different departments at Town Hall.

          Prior to the summer internship program we had a spring internship initiative.  The 2018 Town of Greenburgh spring Interns produced three videos, which focus on two very important issues that affect us today as a society. The first being immigration, particularly within this political climate, the interns felt it was necessary to interview immigrants from the community in order to get a comprehension of why they migrated to the United States, and how the town of Greenburgh can improve for the newer waves of immigrants to come.

            The first video titled “The Immigration Experience with Ricardo Juliano”, involves Ricardo, one of our interns interviewing his fellow peer Mr. Arsh Tavi. Arsh is an immigrant from Iran, which currently in this day and age is catching a lot of attention from not only the United States but also the entire global society. Arsh discusses the culture shock and language barriers he had struggled with growing up here in the United States but recognizes that America is a place of liberty and freedom which he believes is the greatest that any country can have.

            The next video titled is “The Immigration Experience with Lawrence Xue”; this video focuses on the Evergreen Society that is currently present within the Theodore D. Young community center. The Evergreen Society is a place for all elderly immigrants that come from Asia, in particular Taiwan, and China. Lawrence Xue is an Edgemont intern who is from China as well; he developed a curiosity to understand why they immigrated to the United States as well. In the interview, he interviews the President of the Evergreen Society, Mr. Yam-Nam Chung and one of the fellow members Ms. Kathy Liu. Mr. Yam-Nam Chung who is from Hong Kong and Ms. Liu who is from Taiwan discuss their trials and tribulations in their journey for success in America. Overall what can be learned from immigrants in general is that they come for the opportunity that America can provide to them unlike their respective countries. Immigrants prove that although the pursuit of happiness is guaranteed in America, you have to work hard at achieving it, which is a main value that the town of Greenburgh really believes in!

            Another issue that is touched upon is cyber security, with the recent allegations of the 2016 presidential elections being rigged through cyber hacking, an intern with a strong curiosity for this field has decided to take it upon himself to inform the public through a public service announcement.  Arsh Tavi who was seen in one of the previous videos decided to dedicate his time on cyber security for this project. The video stresses the importance of the protecting your personal information because through current technology, hackers who are willing to use and abuse your information to their benefit can compromise that information. Arsh explains carefully how one can be secure and protected without having to worry that something can happen. The Greenburgh 2018 Spring Interns really felt passionate about their projects because to them they want to find solutions to their respective issues.  

CLICK THE LINK BELOW TO WATCH THE INTERNS IN ACTION!!!

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfKSjLk5dDfsme9KndWpYJw

Russell Branch, Arsh Tavi, Lawrence Xue, and Ricardo J. Zamudio - The Town of Greenburgh Spring Interns

PAUL FEINER