‘After a year of [volunteering] on an ambulance, I became a certified EMT. It was incredible to be able to help save a life.’

Kaelin McCaffrey, Northport

“I’ll be studying neuroscience in the honors program at Providence College in September while also running on the track team. I’ve always wanted to be a doctor because I like helping people and learning about the human body. My mom has been a nurse for many years. She would tell me stories about working in the ER, and I was intrigued, so I decided to volunteer with Huntington Community First Aid Squad. I joined as a junior, and when I was old enough, I started riding on an ambulance. After a year of riding I became a certified EMT. One of my first calls was for a cardiac arrest. It went from zero to 100 in a matter of seconds. It was incredible to be able to help save a life.

I received the News 12 Scholar Athlete Award this year. They only choose 30 seniors to get the scholarship.

“In high school, I wanted to do a variety of activities. I come from a family of runners, so it sparked my interest in the sport. I found it therapeutic and I liked the feeling of pushing myself, just as I did with academics. On the track it was the same, only more physical. It was a good balance. As a junior, I decided I wanted to run in college, which is late for most track runners. I was so excited Providence chose me for a spot on their team! I currently work at Long Island Fun Runners, a youth running program. I’ve been able to teach kids how to run and inspire them to continue. It has helped me become a better leader and teacher.

“I received the News 12 Scholar Athlete Award this year. They only choose 30 seniors to get the scholarship. I was the only Catholic high school student to win it. It goes to seniors who balance outstanding academic and athletic abilities. I was also thrilled to learn that I was valedictorian at Our Lady of Mercy. I was surprised, but it was rewarding to know that the hard classes and studying paid off.

“I’ve grown exponentially through my experiences. I used to be so shy. It was through academics and athletics that I started connecting with other people. It’s through medicine and running that I keep learning and growing. Everyone should try things outside of their comfort zone because anything can happen. I hope to have an impact on other people in the way that my mom, my coaches and the people I ride with on the ambulance have inspired me.”

Interviewed by Iris Wiener

‘When people heard my name, they all said, “You mean like the winery?”’

Pindar Damianos, Southold

“My dad, Dr. Herodotus Damianos, started the winery in Peconic in 1979. He was an internist with a practice in Stony Brook. I was 3, so I don’t remember when it started, but the vineyard was already rocking and rolling in the ’80s by the time I was 8 to 9, so I basically got to see it from its infancy to where it is now. We were one of the first families known to have helped start the wine industry on L.I. We’re of Greek heritage, and wine has always been an important part of our lives and my father’s life.

“He studied abroad in Italy while in medical school, and he was a terrific doctor, his [former] patients still come by the winery and say as much. I believe he felt L.I. would be good for growing and making beautiful wines. He was a visionary, and it all panned out pretty well.

“Pindar [Vineyards] is one of the first on the North Fork, as my dad thought there was absolute potential for wine-making back then, for L.I. to grow different wine grapes and create different varietals. He was incredible; he had his practice and then started the winery as well. I’m the youngest among five siblings, and we all grew up around the winery. We were born and raised in St. James. It was a 45-minute drive from home, but it was worth it, watching the wines being bottled, to see the harvest. We were immersed in the aspects of wine-making and the business, and you kind of get the bug for it.

Going to the North Fork when I was a kid, it was a completely different from Saint James.

“Back in St. James, there weren’t any other families in the wine business, and Pindar became well-known. When people heard my name, they all said, ‘You mean like the winery?’ Our wines have been a part of presidential inaugurations, and my dad was in Newsday, on TV, the whole thing. He named our first vineyard Pindar because he liked the name and thought it would work for the winery. I don’t think it was named just after me, and there’s never been hard feelings between me and my siblings over it.

“I remember being in high school in the ’90s, and that’s when my dad purchased Southampton Winery and changed it into Duck Walk. He was innovative and always trying different things. Then in 2007, we built the North Fork Duck Walk tasting room, and my family kept things growing as my dad was getting older.”

‘When I was a kid, my first job at the winery was carrying cases of wine out to people’s cars or putting wine on the shelves.’

“Going to the North Fork when I was a kid, it was a completely different from Saint James. I remember going off the LIE, and Riverhead wasn’t as built up as it is now. It was a bit of a shock then, but today I live on the North Fork. I only started living on the North Fork in 2007. I didn’t imagine I would’ve moved out here was I was younger. I thought I’d do the hour commute from St. James back and forth, but I liked the feel of it, and now it’s my home.

“I live in Southold now, and I’ve raised my son here, and I’ve gotten involved in the community. I ended up joining the Southold Fire Department, where I’m a chief now, and I really enjoy where I live, but still have roots in Saint James and Port Jeff, where my mom lives. My girlfriend lives in Smithtown.

“I’m a North Fork transplant now, putting my roots down, even though the winery’s been there 50 years. When I was a kid, my first job at the winery was carrying cases of wine out to people’s cars or putting wine on the shelves. I worked there on the weekends growing up, and it was a labor of love. I went to school in California to study viniculture, but me and my whole family have found their niche in the wine business. I always enjoyed the growing of grapes, and the farming aspects of the winery.

“As I got older, when they were bottling wine, if they needed help over the summer or when I was off from school, I’d work with the winemaker; I had school during the week. I’ve worked on the bottling line, driven tractors, done sales, worked in the vineyard. Once I turned 21 is when I could really get involved with wine and pour wine, do things like that.

Going to college, though, was important, as I was able to see the California wine industry, got a plant science degree in viticulture, and with what I learned come back and manage the vineyard for over 15 years. I always liked the farming part, growing plants. I never saw myself in a suit and tie; I always enjoyed growing vines and growing grapes, even from a young age. I still do, but since my dad passed in 2014, I have picked up his pieces, doing more of the managing and keeping a hand on all aspects of the winery.”

‘You knew if you wanted to hang out with Dad, you would jump in the car with him in the morning and head out east.’

“I was inspired by my dad’s own inspiration. When my dad passed away, I started taking on a lot of what he had been handling. I now oversee the operation as general manager.

“Also, the L.I. wine industry is 50 years old, and I’m 48, so I’m sort of like the timeline of it. I knew the original owners of the other early North Fork wineries growing up, and I see the new owners now. It’s a great honor. When I introduce myself, people still say, ‘Oh, like the winery?’ I feel like Long Island and New York State has always put its arms around the winery and supported it.

“Do I hold the winery close to my heart? Absolutely. I enjoyed my time there when I was young, as my dad would be there on a Saturday or Sunday because he still had his practice. You knew if you wanted to hang out with Dad, you would jump in the car with him in the morning and head out east. It was an opportunity to be a part of my dad’s vision and to spend time with him. We’d do some hard work, but it was nice.

“From him starting a business from nothing, with no grapes, to planting grapes, making wine and building a well-known brand, and helping to build Long Island’s wine industry, that’s amazing. Seeing him work, seeing his drive, seeing him build his dream from nothing was inspiring. He instilled in us work ethic, following our dreams, working hard for what you have, enjoying life. I try and instill that in my son, too.

“My mom, Barbara Damianos, is a part of what made me, too. She was a rock who was a nurse for many years before stopping that to help raise five kids while allowing my dad to be a visionary, running us around while he was being a doctor or at the winery. She held down the fort, and I’d say that behind every great man is a great woman. She supported my dad and needs to be acknowledged as well.

“My son helped when he was younger, carrying cases of wine at about the same age I did. He’s got a summer gig outside the winery now, but I think when he’s old enough to pour wines, he’ll come back around. We plan to keep the winery’s legacy going for the next generation.”

Interviewed by Ian J. Stark

‘There’s a phrase we use when we go out there: We’re the third team … And we’re the only team out there that doesn’t care who wins or loses.’

Patty Richter, Three Village

“In 2014, my neighbor approached me and said, ‘You’re into sports — have you considered sports officiating?’

“In junior high, I did a bit of officiating … and I’d played volleyball and coached varsity volleyball, so I signed up for a class. Then, when a soccer class came up that summer — I’d played soccer all my life — I took that one and started officiating in 2014. Then I took the basketball class. And then a friend said, ‘You played softball,’ so I took the softball course.

“I love being out there. I love staying in the game. I love staying active. I love the challenge of the new rules — they modify the rules every two years, and we have to stay certified.

There’s just not a lot of females officiating female sports.

“I became only the second female varsity softball umpire in Section XI’s history … Section XI is the governing board for Suffolk County sports. There’s just not a lot of females officiating female sports. And that’s probably why I only recently stopped officiating girls’ softball and volleyball — because it’s so important for those athletes to see women officiating. And I’m always encouraging young players to get into refereeing.

“I have three people I’m working on now recruiting. I tell them not to let what they hear from the stands influence whether they’ll do this. That’s the hardest part for new officials — not letting the ‘noise of the gym’ get into their heads.

“Right now, I’m officiating girls’ soccer, girls and boys basketball, girls lacrosse, and I’ll be certified soon for field hockey. I do public and CYO [Catholic Youth Organization] high school games, and I began officiating NCAA Division III junior college in 2019. I was also part of WCBOO [Women’s Collegiate Basketball Officials Organization], where I was vice president.

“There’s a phrase we use when we go out there: We’re the third team out there. And we’re the only team out there that doesn’t care who wins or loses. But we’re all working toward the same thing — officials, players and coaches, we all want to have a great game.

“The bottom line is we’re all doing it because, one, we love the game, and two, we’re doing it for the student-athletes. Without us, there aren’t going to be any games. And that’s when the student athletes get hurt.”

Interviewed by Rosemary Olander

‘In ninth grade, my want for knowledge of history was cultivated by an English teacher who taught us about Black authors.’

Ayanna L. Moore, Roosevelt

“I’ve been interested in history since my seventh-grade gym teacher, Dr. Emily Moore in the Roosevelt School District, talked about what she had done with the civil rights movement and leaders she had met. It was the first time I heard about Black history beyond what you learn in school. To hear somebody who did the work was very appealing.

Being able to preserve and to educate hundreds of people about these historic sites… I’m glad I can be a champion in that.

“In ninth grade, my want for knowledge of history was cultivated by an English teacher who taught us about Black authors. In 12th grade, I began to think about becoming a history teacher. I loved the way my teacher taught participation in government class and broke down who we are as Black Americans. After I graduated college as a history major, I did assistant teaching in Uniondale. But I felt like I needed to see and experience more to be a history teacher.

“Since then, I’ve served in AmeriCorps NCCC Southern Region as a construction team member, where I was able to provide services during the flood of Baton Rouge, facilitate new builds and rehab low-income housing. I received the bronze Congressional Medal and the president’s Volunteer Service Award. I’ve worked as a compliance specialist for FEMA’s Environmental Historic Preservation as a reservist. I received a secretary’s commendation award for my services on the Volunteer Force in collaboration with Customs [and] Border Protection. I joined the Student Conservation Association as a historic preservation team member to help restore Penn Center’s Darrah Hall in South Carolina.

“Currently, I’m a member of Conservation Legacy, serving as a park ranger to places like Fort Washington Park and the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site. Being able to preserve and to educate hundreds of people about these historic sites, especially now when schools are trying to erase Black history, I’m glad I can be a champion in that. I still want to be a history teacher, but I’ll have to go back to school, so for now I’ll do more hands-on work. Meanwhile I had the opportunity to write a biography of my first inspirational teacher, Dr. Moore. It gave me a sense of knowing I can commit to something. She is very big on, if you say you’re going to do something, then do it, so I wasn’t going to let her down.”

Interviewed by Liza Burby

‘Creative writing lifted me out of my negative home life and into a college environment where I could begin to heal and thrive, to start over.’

René Bouchard, Huntington Station

“I struggle with developmental and relational trauma from childhood – pretty extreme neglect and abuse. I’ve been living with the effects of that my whole life.

“In college, I majored in creative writing, and I started focusing on songwriting and learning to play guitar. I’d always been a writer. I won some big writing awards in high school, which is why I was recruited to a really good creative writing college, even though I didn’t have the best grades. Creative writing lifted me out of my negative home life and into a college environment where I could begin to heal and thrive, to start over.

“My dad gave me his guitar years ago, and I took it with me to college. I’ve always loved music and singing, so I realized that if I could teach myself to play guitar, I wouldn’t have to depend on anybody.

“After graduating from college, I traveled a bit and I worked as a singer-songwriter all over the country. I also took other jobs, like being a bartender and a waitress, to make ends meet. I performed in little clubs, bars and restaurants in cities like Austin, Sedona, and New York City.

“I moved to New York City in the ’90s, and played at some indie venues. I was part of the anti-folk movement in the ’90s. I started working with a guitarist named David Romanelli. He’s a genius guitar player, and we independently produced some albums. “My husband, Cliff Ferdon, is also a musician. You know, I’m playing all these clubs, putting out albums with my guitar player, but I got tired of the grind. I wasn’t enjoying it anymore. I decided to pivot and went into nonprofit. Now I’m the director of development at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington.

“I really missed music, so I started doing it again for myself. Unfortunately, I started having recurring symptoms after a retraumatizing event, including flashbacks and self-harm impulses. It made life harder. I began doing research and read about complex post-traumatic stress disorder [C-PTSD]. It was the first time that I read about a psychological model that I felt described me. I saw myself in it. I wanted to understand C-PTSD and then learn how to deal with it.”

I thought I needed to fix myself, but now I know I need to just be myself.

“In 2022, I started therapy. I wanted guidance in my journey and to take my mental health seriously. I thought I needed to fix myself, but now I know I need to just be myself. I continued researching and learned about the model of structural dissociation. Dissociation is a coherent response to trauma that your brain does to protect you. I don’t want people to feel broken. It’s just how brains respond. Dissociation is a common and normal thing, but when someone has complex trauma, it can become more intense and lead to structural dissociation. A person with trauma may develop ‘parts,’– the ‘normal’ and ‘emotional’ parts, where they store the trauma. They may have multiple emotional parts, which act as trauma responses. I started to see my symptoms in a different way. If I had a flashback, instead of trying to push it away, I understood that the flashback might be the expression of one of these parts. They were trying to tell me something. They wanted me to acknowledge what I went through. As I began to recognize this, I gave that part my compassion rather than dismissal and judgment. It’s now been over a year since I’ve had a flashback.

“I’m a visual artist as well as a musician, so I wanted to engage my parts in a multimedia event which I premiered at the Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington. I’ve worked at that cinema since 2009. The space just means so much to me, so I wanted to have my premiere there. I want to create community connections. Huntington is such a vibrant arts community, and I feel so lucky to be part of it and add to it. I repeated the show at Industry in Huntington.

“One song turned out to be angry. It came from my fight part. I went back and forth with my normal part and emotional parts and ended up with nine songs. It’s a nine-song dialogue between the parts; each one is so different. I created collages for each of the parts with song lyrics, which became the program for my shows. I started writing these songs in the summer of 2023 and finished in December.

“Afterwards, I sought funding through a grant. I reunited with my guitar player, David. I’m really excited he was able to join and elevate the songs. We’re going to keep playing shows together.”

My goal is to develop inner compassion and less conflict between all of my parts.

“After I started therapy, I began playing guitar every day again. In the past two years, I’ve probably written 50 songs. I like the open nature of songs. The openness allows the meaning to change over time for both the writer and the listener. It allows people to assign their own meanings to the songs.

“I’ve changed since doing this project, and the songs are able to change with me. Songwriting is a wonderful medium. It’s a human right to make art. Anyone can be an artist. There’s no reason you can’t make art. You don’t have to have any special talent or skill. You’re allowed to just make things and be creative; it’s part of the human experience.

“Whenever I write a song, I always record it and try to write it down or put it up on YouTube so it’s not forgotten. David and I are working on making an album of some of these songs, and we want to record the dialogue songs from the show and release it with the art print book.

“I didn’t share a lot of details about my trauma in the shows because I didn’t want others to compare their own traumas. You’re allowed to have grief and heal and feel like your trauma had an impact. You don’t have to feel like it was too small or doesn’t count in comparison to anyone else’s. Your experience is valid.

“I don’t recognize myself sometimes. I have a lot of dysmorphia about what I look like, and it can be really triggering. I challenged myself with these shows. Rather than go into a shame cycle like I used to, I’m more able to treat myself with compassion. Shame is the biggest obstacle to healing. Sometimes it’s easier to look at other people and think they don’t have any of these issues, but a lot of people do. I’m not the only person who’s had trauma. I’m not the only person who has body issues. I want to reduce the stigma and encourage people to have more compassion with themselves. I want to model that by doing it for myself and showing growth. I’m finding a lot more moments where I realize that I can handle triggers. My goal is to develop inner compassion and less conflict between all my parts.

“My life looks a lot how I want my life to look. I just want to keep going.”

Interviewed by Melanie Gulbas

‘It was striking to see so many of my classmates dropping out because they were told they couldn’t go to college.’

Osman Canales, Mastic

“I am originally from El Salvador. I came to Long Island when I was 10 years old with some part of my family. Another part of my family was already here. Like my father was already here, some of my siblings were living here on the Island already. So we came here with my mom and some of my siblings in 1999.

“I’ve never been undocumented. I came here with a visa, and then I was able to get my green card.

“However, I’d like to focus on and be an advocate for undocumented immigrants. I made this decision when many of my classmates in school were undocumented. I started my advocacy journey in high school. I started assisting and pretty much mentoring other high school immigrants like myself for them to graduate and continue their education after high school.

My goal is to bring the Latino community together and develop new leaders to achieve equity.

“I’ve seen the challenges of the Latino community on Long Island. Many saw no future in terms of education after high school because of their lack of a Social Security number, so they dropped out.

“I started my organization called Long Island Immigrant Student Advocates, which provides support to immigrant youth so they can continue their education after high school. It’s a mentorship program where we visit high schools and middle schools to motivate immigrant students to continue their studies and provide resources for higher education.

“I’ve been doing this for almost 12 years now. Being an advocate for the Latino immigrant community for so long, I see the need to create a platform for advocacy for the Latino community in a unified form.

“My goal is to bring the Latino community together and develop new leaders to achieve equity. We advocate for the advancement of Latinos on Long Island, for access to opportunities and resources, and for equal representation in government and various industries on the Island.

“It was striking to see so many of my classmates dropping out because they were told they couldn’t go to college. Not just because they knew it, but because they were told by people who were supposed to support and guide them in school. They were told, ‘I’m sorry, you’re undocumented, you don’t have a Social Security number, so you cannot go to college.’”

Interviewed by Christian Spencer

‘I just randomly picked up a camera and started shooting videos, just recording and documenting life.’

Torrel October, Roosevelt

“I was born in Brownsville, Brooklyn. My mom moved us to Long Island for me and my sisters to have a better life. Brownsville wasn’t the best place to be, especially for a black male. A lot of my friends back in Brooklyn are not doing too well. I could thank my mom for moving us to Long Island because I would probably be in the same predicament as them.

“When I was younger, during summer, my parents used to take us away to different countries and spots like amusement parks, just so we won’t be home all the time and to keep us active. My parents sparked my interest of doing different activities in different places when I do have free time. I like to travel a lot, but the times I can’t travel, I like to go out and do different things – which led me to being a tourist in my own city. I’m pretty good at taking videos. I just randomly picked up a camera and started shooting videos, just recording and documenting life. Every place I would go, I would record different things to reflect on.

Every place I would go, I would record different things to reflect on.

“I started @nycsneakylinks during the pandemic, when a lot of restaurants and businesses were closed. On my regular page, @rellysmacks, I would be outside every day doing different things and posting on my story. I was overwhelmed at the amount of people who were interested in the things I would do on my regular page. So, I’m like, ‘Let me just make another page to let people know what’s open and what’s not open’ — basically a New York update. At the time, Long Island was very strict, so they didn’t have many places that were open. But Manhattan and Brooklyn had less rules. So I would go outside and explore New York City. My first video I did blew up. That probably got a hundred thousand views in one day. It originally started with me doing art galleries. Then I soon ventured off into doing restaurants.

“I’m trying to get more corporate things going. I’ve worked with Google and Samsung. I am the filmer, editor and voiceover artist. I’m really into technology, cameras and gadgets. Social media has grown a lot and is new to a lot of people. With these Instagrams and TikToks bringing out different platforms and subdivisions in the app, it makes creating more fun.”

Interviewed by Victoria Bell

‘Returning to school as an older adult is something I highly recommend to everyone.’

Nancy Coffey, Locust Valley

“I was never a good student in foreign languages — art, science and music were my favorite subjects. But in 2006 at the age of 51 and after 28 years as a portrait painter, I decided to go back to study at Hunter College, part of CUNY, with art history as my major and classics as a minor. And for my first classics course, mythology, I was required to take an intensive Latin course and … it certainly was intensive! After gaining reasonable success in the basics, I moved on to Ovid, Virgil, Catullus and Cicero — all in Latin!

While my fellowship is designed to lead to graduation with a PhD in 2028, I expect to continue to take courses that pique my interest well into the future.

“During the summer of 2009, I began studying ancient Greek. Plato, Xenophon and the ancient tragedians were becoming accessible in their original form. It was quite something for someone who wasn’t good at foreign languages! On a roll now, I applied for and was accepted into the MA [master of arts] program in classics, after which its chairwoman suggested that I would be a good candidate for the PhD program. A doctorate by my 73rd birthday? Yes! I have just finished the first year of a five-year fellowship and am preparing for the required translation exams in both ancient Greek and Latin before moving on to the dissertation process.

“This past spring, I took the very challenging ancient Greek rhetoric and stylistics, which is designed to study the various prose writers’ styles with the goal to produce my own compositions in that style. The final assignment was to write a philosophical argument on love in the style of one of the ancient Greek philosophers. I chose Aristotle. Composing in a foreign language is definitely more challenging than translating it into English, but one’s understanding of the grammar and syntax is certainly reinforced.

“Returning to school as an older adult is something I highly recommend to everyone. Not only does it keep your mind supple with learning new subjects, but it also gives you the opportunity to take those courses you missed the first time around or wished you had been able to pursue further. And in the CUNY system, it’s also quite affordable!

“While my fellowship is designed to lead to graduation with a PhD in 2028, I expect to continue to take courses that pique my interest well into the future. As we say in Latin, ‘Per sapientiam ad astra!’ (‘To the stars through wisdom!’)”

Interviewed by Saul Schachter