As students in one of the top-performing school districts in New York State, Roslyn young people win their fair share of scholarships as they prepare for college. However, a scholarship recently bestowed on Roslyn Heights resident Michael Reisman stands out as something special.
Last week, Reisman was one of only 25 students nationwide to receive a scholarship from The National Law Enforcement & Firefighters Children’s Foundation (NLEAFCF). The award is based on academic merit and financial need. The recipients are all children of a law enforcement officer or firefighter who was killed or permanently disabled in the line of duty. Reisman’s father passed away June 1, 2014. Lt. Steven B. Reisman, FDNY, succumbed to cancer that stemmed from his service as a first responder at the World Trade Center site on Sept. 11, 2001.
Reisman received the scholarship in recognition of what NLEAFCF officials terms as his “exceptional leadership, community service and scholastic achievement.”
“I am honored, once again, to be a recipient of the National Law Enforcement and Firefighters Children’s Foundation (NLEAFCF) Scholarship,” Reisman said. “Thanks to the generous support of NLEAFCF, the burden of college tuition on my mother is lightened, and I can concentrate more fully on my education. Losing my father, FDNY Lt. Steven Reisman, to a 9/11 related cancer the summer before I left for college hit my family hard. NLEAFCF has not only helped support us financially through scholarship funding, but has helped lift our spirits by hosting a wonderful Thanksgiving Day breakfast for the families of fallen law enforcement officers and firefighters. This event is a way for families like mine to come together and enjoy a holiday that would otherwise be very sad with the loss of a loved one. I’m currently a sophomore at the University of Chicago pursuing degrees in Physics and Mathematics. I will be graduating in 2018 and when I succeed in my own career, I hope to pay this kindness forward by helping others achieve their education dreams like NLEAFCF has helped me. I am extremely grateful for their generosity.”
“First responders have given so much to defend and protect us. How better to honor their commitment to all of us than to ensure that their children achieve their full potential. Helping to better pay for their college and complete their higher education is the least we can do to honor these law enforcement and firefighters’ families,” said Al Kahn, NLEAFCF president and founder. “Michael has demonstrated leadership among his peers and exceptional scholastic achievements as well as community service.”
At Chicago, Reisman is a member of the Society for Physics Students and on the Executive Board of the Maroon Capital and Undergraduate Investment Banking Group. Faculty members at Chicago have described Reisman as “possessing incredible academic aptitude and intellectual promise, plus inimitable character and integrity.” They further describe him as a natural leader with notable compassion, fortitude and grace.
In high school, he maintained a 4.0 weighted cumulative GPA and took 10 advanced placement classes. Reisman was a member of the National Honor Society, an AP Scholar with Honors, received a National Merit Scholarship Commendation and is a Davidson Institute Young Scholar.
Over the years, Reisman’s volunteer work includes working with the United Way Youth Advisory Board, organizing a Bullying Awareness Walk in the Town of North Hempstead and tutoring in American and world history. This past summer, Reisman worked at Merrill Lynch as an intern, and he is continuing to work for Merrill Lynch on an academic year internship. Reisman has also worked in a research lab at the University of Connecticut as a research assistant on exotic mesons. He has also participated in the Summer Institute for the Gifted at Princeton University, Concordia Language Village to study Spanish and at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s DNA Learning Center.
