Banana Kelly HS student Emmanuel Ankomah is the Bronx high school winner of the Nat Geo Mundo Student Explorer Contest sponsored by Optimum Community and Nat Geo Mundo. For his winning essay, he received a full scholarship for summer travel to Australia with the 2015 National Geographic Student Expedition where he will experience Australia’s Outback, rain forests and reefs through projects in wildlife and conservation. Assemblyman Marcos Crespo participated in the recent award ceremony. Pictured (l. to r.) are Fox Cable Networks Director/Affiliate Marketing Casey Schick, Assemblyman Crespo, winning student Emmanuel Ankomah, Guidance Counselor Susan Bobb, Optimum Community Emcee Devale Ellis.
Eleventh-grader receives full scholarship for summer travel experience with the 2015 National Geographic Student Expedition; recognized by Assemblyman Marcos Crespo
Optimum Community is pleased to announce that Banana Kelly High School student Emmanuel Ankomah is the Bronx high school winner of the 2015 Nat Geo Mundo Student Explorer Contest sponsored by Optimum Community and Nat Geo Mundo. He will receive a full scholarship for a summer travel experience with the 2015 National Geographic Student Expedition. Participating in the award ceremony today was Assemblyman Marcos Crespo. The contest was open to the following high schools in the Bronx – Banana Kelly High School, Felisa Rincon de Gautier Institute for Law and Public Policy and Holcombe L. Rucker School of Community Research.
Emmanuel’s award-winning essay described how after volunteering with BuildOn in Burkina Faso in West Africa on a park restoration project last year, he realized his passion … to work in the field of environmental conservation. He also noted that participating in the Nation Geographic Student Expedition this summer will enrich his knowledge of plant and animal conservation and provide an invaluable life experience. Emmanuel, who is from Ghana, is a top-notch eleventh-grader with a 96.35 GPA. At the award ceremony, Assemblyman Marcos Crespo congratulated Emmanuel for his excellent essay and spoke of the benefits of world travel with regard to learning and enrichment.
“I congratulate Emmanuel on his award-winning essay and on being a true role model for other young people,” said Assemblyman Marcos Crespo. “You are about to embark on a terrific summer adventure and I am sure you will make the most of it. Remember that travel changes the way one relates to the world and empowers one to take on new challenges. I would also like to thank Optimum Community and Nat Geo Mundo for bringing this initiative to the students in our area.”
Cablevision Vice President of Public Affairs Jennifer Ostrager noted, “Cablevision is pleased to partner once again with Nat Geo Mundo in bringing this exciting opportunity for educational travel abroad to high school students. We wish Emmanuel Ankomah all the best in his future endeavors. You are clearly a motivated and focused young man, one who will make the most of this exciting educational experience.”
Sponsored by Optimum Community and Nat Geo Mundo, the Nat Geo Mundo Explorer Contest invited juniors and seniors from select schools in the Bronx and Newark, NJ, to apply for a full-scholarship summer travel experience with an emphasis on learning and enrichment. Nat Geo selected one student from the Bronx and one from Newark to participate in the 2015 National Geographic Student Expedition, with program tuition and air travel paid. All trips are led by qualified trip leaders and a National Geographic expert and are provided by National Geographic Student Expeditions. Applicants were required to complete a student travel award application, including personal references and a 300-word essay on what he/she “hopes to accomplish through world travel and why they should be selected.”
About Optimum Community
Optimum Community, a Cablevision initiative formerly known as Power to Learn, connects schools and communities in the company’s footprint with a broad range of services. Cablevision offers thousands of schools and libraries across New York, New Jersey and Connecticut with free access to its popular Optimum-branded cable TV and Internet. Hands-on, educational programs presented by Optimum Community include Internet Smarts, Knicks Summer Reading, Student Lens, and Charity Champions. Optimum Community also keeps Optimum subscribers informed about important events and issues through expanded local programming, including Neighborhood Journal and its signature public affairs show, Meet the Leaders. Additional information and content is available at: www.optimum.net/community.
About Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) is a leading media and telecommunications company, serving millions of households and businesses throughout the greater New York area. Providing quality products that keep customers connected, Cablevision offers Optimum-branded digital cable television, high-speed Internet and phone services as well as Optimum WiFi, the nation’s most robust wireless Internet network. Cablevision’s Lightpath subsidiary is a premier provider of integrated business communications solutions for larger companies. Through its local media and programming properties – News 12 Networks and Newsday Media Group – Cablevision also delivers news and information created specifically for the communities it serves. Additional information about Cablevision is available at www.cablevision.com.
About Nat Geo Mundo
Launched in 2011, Nat Geo Mundo is a nonfiction entertainment network that features high-quality original programming focusing on nature, science, culture and history. A joint venture between Fox Networks Group and National Geographic Ventures, the mission of Nat Geo Mundo is to inspire U.S. Latino families by expanding their horizons through entertainment about the world that surrounds them. Nat Geo Mundo is a contemporary extension of the National Geographic Society, which has been inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888.
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