Applause roared from inside of the Colden Auditorium at Queens College during Richmond Hill High School graduation 2017.
Jay Sobhraj, Executive Vice-President of Zara Realty, just announced the names of two RHHS graduates who will be receiving a scholarship to study computer science at the college of their dreams.
Estrella Perez will be studying at the Borough of Manhattan Community College and Malik Assad will be studying at the New York Institute of Technology.
"We are so grateful to Zara for this opportunity," said Perez, who is passionate about computer science. "I will not let you down Mr. Sobhraj," Assad proclaimed, as photos were being taken of the two.
The relationship between Richmond Hill High School and Zara Realty began last year when Zara Realty donated a $125,000 computer lab to the school. The computer lab has been used by a plethora of students for everything from curriculum to extracurriculars.
“This is a model for building real community between the school and the private community,” Principal Neil Ganesh said. “We have future leaders in our program and we’re really excited about this new resource for us.”
Recently, Sobhraj and information technology specialist Naresh Singh returned to the school recently to see how the “seed turned into a plant with burgeoning fruit.” Not only have students been able to focus on their passion of computer science, but there has been a trickle down effect into the school’s robotics program.
They found that the computer lab helped Perez, Assad, and the rest of the robotics team focus on enhancing their computer science knowledge, engineering skills, and form a serious direction for their robotics team, Qubit. In just one year, the team has been able to achieve incredible success which includes building their own robot.
Sobhraj and Singh were so impressed with the focus and determination of the these RHHS students, that they decided to announce the plan to award two computer science college scholarships right then and there.
“I really want to give back,” said Jay Sobhraj. “Never forget where you come from and always give back to the community... that's what Zara is focused on.”
Richmond Hill High School offers several pathways, which include computer science and IT, art, criminology and forensics, business and engineering. As a supporter of computer science and IT, Zara Realty plans to grant one or two students with this opportunity each year.
"We are grateful to Mr. Sobhraj and Zara Realty for being an active community partner with their vision set on making a long term change," said RHHS Assistant Principal, Paul Wilbur.
Zara Luxury Homes, the innovative real estate holding company, provides quality homes in both Queens and Long Island. They have been serving the rental community for 36 years. Visit theirwebsite or call them at 718-291-3331 to inquire about their rental properties in Jamaica, Queens and Long Island.
