By MOHAMED FARGHALY | mfarghaly@queensledger.com

Charter Communications, Inc., which operates the Spectrum brand of connectivity and entertainment services, today announced it has awarded $80,000 in scholarships to four college students from Queens. Each student will receive $20,000 in scholarships and have the opportunity to participate in a two-year educational and professional development program through the Spectrum Scholars initiative.

Each of the rising college juniors selected for the 2024-2025 program will receive a scholarship for their junior and senior years, a Spectrum mentor, access to networking events, career readiness education, and the chance for a paid Spectrum internship. The program is tailored to the development needs of young professionals, empowering them to expand their skill sets, explore new career paths, and grow their networks.

Spectrum received over 930 applications for the Spectrum Scholars program this year. The 2024-2025 class includes 15 students from eight states and various academic majors. With this $300,000 commitment, Spectrum has provided $1 million in scholarships to students with financial need since 2020. 

The 2024 New York City Spectrum Scholars are Jimmy Chen of Flushing, Queens, attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute for Computer Science; Brian Lin of East Elmhurst, Queens, attending Cornell University for Business Administration; Zhenbin Lin of Flushing, Queens, attending Stony Brook University for Computer Science; and Chidera Okonkwo of Cambria Heights, Queens, attending the University of California, Los Angeles, for Finance.

Chidera Okonkwo of Cambria Heights

The selection criteria focused on financial need and academic achievement. 

“Spectrum Scholars creates a supportive and educational environment that arms students with the experiences and skills to prepare them for the corporate world while actively guiding them towards their desired career goals,” Paul Marchand, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Charter said. “Now in its fourth year, the program builds a better talent pipeline and nurtures next generation leaders through meaningful financial support, mentorship and career development.”

The two-year educational and professional development program goes beyond financial support, offering professional growth opportunities through one-on-one mentorship, access to learning and networking events, and the chance to participate in a paid six-week internship with the company. These experiences are designed to ensure the Scholars’ long-term success by equipping them with essential skills and insights needed to thrive in their future careers.

Jimmy Chen expressed that being a Spectrum Scholar means having the chance to be part of a community of driven individuals passionate about technology and innovation. 

“It means having the chance to be a part of a community of driven and talented individuals who are passionate about technology and innovation,” Chen said. “It’s a wonderful opportunity for me to grow, learn, and make meaningful impacts at Spectrum and ultimately, towards the world.”

Jimmy Chen of Flushing

Brian Lin echoed this sentiment, stating that being a Spectrum Scholar means being part of a network of like-minded students who can help one another throughout college and beyond, and receiving mentorship now so that he can pay it forward in the future.

“Being Spectrum Scholar means being part of a network of likeminded students that can help one another out throughout college and for the rest of our lives, and receive mentorship now so that I can pay it forward at a larger scale in the future,” Lin said.

Brian Lin of East Elmhurst

The Spectrum Scholars program also provides unique access to networking and professional development opportunities, including the Scholars Summit, a three-day event hosted at Charter’s corporate headquarters in Stamford. In December, the 2022 and 2023 classes traveled from across the country for the 2023 Scholars Summit, where they participated in networking activities with Charter mentors and attended keynotes and career development sessions on topics like communicating in a corporate environment and exploring different career paths at Charter.

Mentorship plays a crucial role in the Spectrum Scholars program, with volunteer mentors from various business units, including sales, marketing, and field operations across Charter’s service area. These mentors are nominated by their business and human resources leaders and paired with Scholars based on the students’ major and interests.

 Zhenbin Lin highlighted the importance of mentorship. 

“Having a connection with an industry professional at Spectrum means someone I can look up to for personal and professional mentorship,” Lin said. “I’m looking forward to picking the brains of my mentor for not only technical and career advice, but also on navigating the transition between college and the work force.”

Zhebin Lin

The Spectrum Scholars initiative aims to address the development needs of young professionals by providing comprehensive mentorship, career readiness education, and networking opportunities. Each scholar is paired with a Spectrum mentor, participates in exclusive events with Charter leaders, and gains hands-on experience through paid internships, all designed to equip them with the skills and insights necessary for successful career growth.

Participation in Spectrum Scholars can also open the door to potential Spectrum career opportunities after graduation. Byron Coulter, a Spectrum Scholars alumnus, started a position with Spectrum as an Associate Development Operations Engineer this past May after graduating from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville with a degree in Computer Information Systems.

 “Spectrum Scholars was instrumental in helping to shape my career path, providing not just financial aid but exposure to new career opportunities,” Coulter said. “Initially, I was interested in cybersecurity, but the broad experiences offered by the program redirected me towards data center infrastructure and ultimately, a full-time job offer with the company before I had graduated.”

The benefits of the Spectrum Scholars program extend far beyond financial assistance, offering young professionals the opportunity for professional development and the chance to expand their skill sets, explore new career paths, and grow their networks with a chance for a paid internship with the company.

“Spectrum Scholars is tailored to the development needs of young professionals, providing comprehensive mentorship, career readiness education, and networking opportunities,” Shelley Loo, Spokesperson said. “Each scholar is paired with a Spectrum mentor, participates in exclusive events with Charter leaders, and gains hands-on experience through paid internships, all designed to equip them with the skills and insights necessary for successful career growth.

by Marcus Ramos | news@queensledger.com

Six campaign volunteers were indicted on July 25 for voter fraud charges for allegedly submitting counterfeit absentee ballots during the 2023 New York City Council elections. The suspects are being charged for tampering ballot applications for the campaign of Yu-Ching James Pai, who was a Republican candidate in the June 2023 Primary for New York CIty Council District 20.

The defendants of the case are Sydnee Pai (19), who is the daughter of Yu-Ching James Pai; Li Zhen Wan (46); Yee Ping Yam (53); Lisbeth Cheng (24); and Crystal You (20). Each defendant was arraigned before Supreme Court Justice Leigh K. Cheng, with an order to return to court on September 19. A later date is anticipated for the arraignment of a sixth defendant. 

Defendants Pai and Cheng face two counts each of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree; falsifying business records in the first degree; illegal voting; offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree; falsifying business records in the second degree; and offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree.

Defendants Wan, Yam and You are charged with four counts each of criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree; falsifying business records in the first degree; illegal voting; offering a false instrument for filing in the first degree; criminal possession of a forged instrument in the third degree; falsifying business records in the second degree; and offering a false instrument for filing in the second degree.

The defendants each face up to a seven year sentence if convicted.

Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz released a statement on the issue.

“Our democracy relies on integrity at the voting booth, and we will not allow that to be compromised in Queens County,” Katz said. “As alleged in this case, the defendants went to the Board of Elections and filed fraudulent absentee ballot applications on behalf of 23 voters they had never met.”

According to the charges, the defendants volunteered for Pai’s City Council Campaign between approximately March 1, and June 27, 2023. The defendants went to the Forest Hills office of the New York City Board of Elections during that period in order to retrieve ballots for voters who allegedly wished to cast absentee ballots in the primary election scheduled for June 2023. When a voter complained that they had been informed they had already cast their ballot when they arrived at their assigned polling station, the Queens District Attorney’s office launched an investigation. After speaking with a number of people whose names and personal details were on the ballot applications, Queens DA investigators learned that the voters had not filled out or signed the application, had never met the defendant designated authorized to pick it up, and had never gotten an absentee ballot. In total, 23 Queens County voters were affected.

Yu-Ching James Pai is currently not believed to be involved in the scheme.

 

 

 

By Alexander Bernhardt Bloom | alex@queensledger.com

 

The Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria, on a scorching midweek afternoon in the mid-summer, has a great deal to offer the casual visitor seeking a brief respite from the afflictions beyond its gates.

Mothers settle into benches there and let their children run in the shaded underbelly of the garden’s cluster of trees. Construction workers take their midday meal. Older men in weathered baseball caps cast fishing lines into the bend of the northern leg of the East River that the garden sits up against.

Others, perhaps less casually, on a scorching midweek afternoon recently, wandered among the elements in the sculpture exposition on view there this summer, engaged in reflection of the sort to recall the memory of the great, Greek thinker for whom the park takes its name.

Suchitra Mattai’s We are nomads, we are dreamers, installed there until August 25th, gives one a lot to think about.

It all begins rather playfully, some of the artworks engaged in a game of hide and seek with a visitor, dangling from trees like beehives in unexpected corners of the garden. The tone shifts in Becoming, whose elements are arranged in a circular constellation that sweeps across the park’s northern lawn.

Described in an explanatory panel at the park’s entrance as “a monument to the journey of becoming,” what the sculptures literally are, are sedan-sized constructions of net and metal in the form of a woman’s wedge sandal. From particular angles they resemble Claude Monet’s famed haystacks: colorful, squat in whimsy, peaceful and prominent at once.

The base of each of the six pieces is woven with saris, many hundreds of them. The sari is not, of course, a conventional artists’ material but a traditional mode of dress for women from India whose descendants, including Mattai, carried the garments with them as diaspora brought them to new and unfamiliar corners of the world. Mattai assembled a collection of them large enough to weave into the tapestries that wrap the bottom of each sculpture, about 40 feet long a-piece, thereby constructing a new story of the thousands of distinct stories each of the saris carried with it before.

The result is arresting; to look is to become lost. The colors and textures are so varied, and the conditions they are in too, subject to the wear and tear of weather and other acts of god out in the open air where they have been presented. How very many roads must each have traveled before its arrival to here and now.

In stark contrast are the sleek, reflective metal faces that seal each piece on the top. On this scorching midweek afternoon the sunlight they returned to the visitors who got close enough blinded and burned; a midday meal of fried eggs might have been realized on their surface.

And while the sari-woven tapestries beneath them remain fixed in their arrangement and static in their appearance, the image one sees on the surface up top is changing constantly. Drifting clouds, passing avians, the visitors themselves, all become a part of the artist’s installation in a breath, Mattai insisting that the future, even with so much recorded behind it, remains ours to make.

Last week a major political party in our country nominated, for the first time, a woman who counts South Asian among the lines of descent that make up her identity. Mattai’s sculptures remind us that her’s is an example of a characteristically-American story; and also, that none of us are simply the sum of our demographic parts; and also, that in our achievements we stand on the shoulders of many, many others who came before.

A casual visitor to the Socrates Sculpture Park this summer should find respite there and much more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By Alexander Bernhardt Bloom | alex@queensledger.com

 

At the time of this column’s presentation to press the Olympic games in Paris had been on less than a week but many a neck had been hung, yet, with heavy metal. 

The Republic of Moldova, for example, was awarded two, bronze in color and merit, for its athletes’ outstanding performance in competitive Judo. Sweden’s amounted to three, two thirds of which celebrated its teammates’ success in Target Shooting and Womens’ Cross-Country Mountain Biking.

China and Japan led all of the rest in golds at six apiece, but it was our own Team USA, ever the outsized presence, with the most medals overall at twenty. That’s nothing to shake a baguette at.

All twenty of them will return with hometown heroes to hometowns someplace, but a few merit special recognition here for their winners’ proximity to our own metropolitan area.

Lauren Scruggs, Queens native, Harvard scholar, and Fencing phenom, receives first mention. On her way to the championship match Scruggs faced Italy’s Arianna Errigo, ranked number one in their Foil field worldwide. In a heated contest the two fencers did frequently remove their flag-stamped protective masks to reveal faces marked with anguish and determination. Tied at fourteen strikes each the two advanced along the jousting strip toward one another and leapt at the same moment, each making contact on the torso of her opponent. 

Off came the masks, Errigo screaming into the air in satisfaction, for she was sure she’d won it. But the judges went to review and in the moments in between as they deliberated the Queens came out in Scruggs, composed but indignant, her gesturing with her arms in a language we in the boroughs understand well: ball don’t lie. The judges ultimately agreed.

On went Scruggs, and she’d face USA teammate Lee Keifer in a match for the gold less volatile and more decisive, Scruggs defeated 15-6, and followed by the two embracing and hoisting American flags side-by-side with their coaches on hand. We’ve surely not seen the last of the foil from Ozone Park.

Olympic Swimmer Nic Fink is from Morristown, New Jersey. Close enough. 

Like Scruggs, Fink made his debut on the Olympic stage this week, and his glory would arrive in the Men’s 100-Meter Breaststroke event. All races in the Olympic pool are nail biters, but if you didn’t catch Fink’s come-from-behind dazzler in this one please request a replay from your search browser. 

The burden of high expectations, in this case, rested mostly on the enormous shoulders of China’s Qin Haiyang and Briton Adam Peaty, and they led the race for most of the way. But, executing the turn and slithering into the return length it was Italian hotrod Nicolo Martinenghi leading them thereafter, and Fink was a good extended arm’s length behind him and the rest. 

Breaststroke swimmers have the appearance of the devout in enthusiastic prayer, rising and bowing in supplication then repeating again, an image that will leave you visually awestruck. Fink may have been praying in earnest, because, in an impossible last push to meet the wall, his fingers arrived at the precise moment as did Peaty’s, and the two were awarded matching silver medals.

Fink’s wife Melanie, a competitive swimmer and former Olympian herself, was watching at home, carrying the couple’s first child. She’d asked him to remind her to breathe as he took to the pool.

“I’m very speechless right now,” he explained in an interview afterward. Well, us too.

Kassidy Cook is not from anywhere near the tri-state area in Plantation, Florida, outside of Fort Lauderdale. But many New Yorkers vacation and retire there, and those who watched her performance in the Women’s Synchronized Springboard finals last week would unquestionably offer the diver a key to our city.

In this event, team members climb to the top of a diving platform which extends two planks in parallel out over the pool below. Just over ten feet to fall, the thrill is not in the speed or distance so much as the beautiful connectedness and precise grace exhibited by the divers who do it well.

Cook and her diving partner Sarah Bacon do it better than that. In the first round they approached the edge of the springboard backwards, securing their toes in a stoic moment before Cook’s firm countoff began their flexing of the ground beneath, finally catapulting the two divers up. They hinged their bodies at the highest moment before plunging head over heels to be swallowed gently by the deep end.

They were only getting started, the three dives to follow seeing them approach head on, in some cases dancing toward the bouncing edge before flying off it, diving inward and outward both, adding pirouettes to the flips which became hard to count in number before the duo finally met, and always with a slicing immediacy, with the chlorinated depths beneath.

They finally finished a near second to the pair of divers from China, a testament to the level of competition that rises to the 3-meter altitude, but Cook and Bacon will carry home heavy metal as hometown heroes, nevermind the color.