‘Concerned that I lacked the energy to pass the Army’s annual physical fitness test, I still wanted to serve my country, so I went into the state guard.’

Mark Getman, Cedarhurst

“Not many people who served in the Army can say they are also a figure skater, a rabbi, a TV and film actor and a professional photographer. I served nine years in the New York Army National Guard. After being diagnosed in 2014 with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and going through chemotherapy, I said to myself, ‘I don’t want to miss any opportunities, because who knows what could happen?’

“Concerned that I lacked the energy to pass the Army’s annual physical fitness test, I still wanted to serve my country, so I went into the state guard. I was made the director of public affairs, which gave me the opportunity to get back into my passion, photography.

“In the National Guard, I’d gone to rabbinical school and been ordained as a rabbi. I currently serve as part-time clergy at a Brooklyn synagogue. While in rabbinical school, I decided to try acting and got a part in a 2010 movie, ‘Freakonomics.’ That got me into the Screen Actors Guild. My credits include playing a rabbi in ‘Orange Is the New Black’ and a rabbi in ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.’ I play parts that I can relate to, such as a veteran, and, because I have a big telephoto lens, a paparazzi on ‘Succession.’

I’m in remission and go back every six months for blood work.

“Last year, I got back into figure skating, which I did growing up in Long Beach until I was 17. I work as a part-time rink guard at the Long Beach ice arena, the same rink where I learned to skate. I’ve done about eight shows as an adult figure skater at rinks throughout Long Island. Often, I get the loudest applause because I’m the only adult guy out there doing jumps and spins.

“I’m in remission and go back every six months for blood work. Recently my doctor noticed that I’d lost 10 pounds. She checked my lymph nodes and asked what I’ve been doing that’s changed. I showed her videos of me exercising on skates. I’m also a security guard at a yeshiva, which I enjoy because my father was a Holocaust survivor who fought for Israeli independence. My father never gave up hope, and as a survivor myself, I feel the same.”

Interviewed by Jim Merritt

‘I never would have thought that my love for design could make a child at a hospital happy.’

Aliza Zilberberg, Cedarhurst

“I was following a girl on Instagram. Her mother was posting her journey of fighting leukemia. The girl got better, but one of the hardest parts about the girl’s journey was that the hospital room was boring and didn’t feel like home for her. I thought maybe there’s a way that I could take the thing that I love, which is art, and use it for something medical-related and help kids feel better while they’re fighting illness. My high school really helped me with pushing the Jewish concept ofchesed, giving.

“In 11th grade, I got COVID and was really bored. I opened a GoFundMe and started using the funds to buy room decor on Amazon, and I made kits. Each kit has a specific theme: unicorns, dinosaurs, galaxy and color themes for the older kids. Each bag has a blanket, stuffed animal and something to hang on the walls, like stars. We’ve sent three shipments to Mount Sinai South Nassau hospital, which was over 330 bags for all the kids in the hospital. It was really cool to see everything actually work and to hear the stories the head of the Child Life Department told me of how the kids reacted to the items. I really liked hearing that.

Anything you’re good at can be impactful if you’re passionate about it.

“For the younger kids, it was more to make the rooms a little bit less scary because the equipment is probably so terrifying. But for the older kids, it was more about the element of choice because everything’s out of their hands. These are kids staying in the hospital long term. I came up with the name ‘Make It Home’ as a cute double meaning because I wanted it to be, they’re able to make their hospital room home. But I also want them to make it home and get back to where they are.

“Just being able to pick which sort of package they want helps them to have a choice. Each shipment costs about $2,000, and each individual package costs about $20. I’ve gotten sponsors and donations.

“It’s so special to be able to help these kids, and it’s just amazing to hear the stories and to be able to feel like you’re making a difference. I never would have thought that my love for design could make a child at a hospital happy. Anything you’re good at can be impactful if you’re passionate about it.”

Interviewed by Liza Burby

‘I tell people that to this day it’s one of the biggest miracles that happened to me, other than the fact that I wasn’t killed.’

Ari Schonbrun, Cedarhurst

“That day started like any other. I got to the World Trade Center at about 8:40 a.m. My office at Cantor Fitzgerald was on the 101st floor. You had to take an elevator up to 78, and then you’d take another elevator up to 101. I started walking towards the back elevators that I needed to get to my office.

“I must have been about eight feet from that bank of elevators when there was an explosion. I thought a bomb had gone off in the elevator. The entire building shook, the lights went out, the place filled with smoke, and I was literally thrown off my feet. I was on the ground.

“People were yelling and screaming. I walk to see if I can find a way out, and I bump into a coworker of mine. Her name was Virginia. She was on the elevator that I was about to get on when the plane hit. The walls and ceiling of the elevator collapsed. There was a cable that snapped and was sparking. The jet fuel came down. There was a wall of fire.

“Virginia jumped out and suffered third-degree burns. She sees me and says, ‘Ari, thank God, please help. Please don’t leave me!’ I said to her, ‘Virginia, I promise I will not leave you.’ The irony here is Virginia and I were not good friends. She was an internal auditor, and she didn’t give me very good marks. As a matter of fact, she almost got me fired. And there we were, she and I.

“As an Orthodox Jew, we have mercy on everybody. Our past didn’t matter. She was another human being who was in trouble. I was the guy that God put there. And of course, I said, ‘Come with me. We’re gonna get out of here.’

“We went down the stairwell in a line. I remember that because I said to Virginia, ‘If you have to fall, fall forward on me, and I will catch you and carry you down.’ We got down three flights when suddenly, my phone rings. Meanwhile, there’s no service.

“I tell people that to this day it’s one of the biggest miracles that happened to me, other than the fact that I wasn’t killed. I picked it up, and it was my wife. She was crying, telling me something about planes going into the building. I said to her, ‘I’m on my way down. I’ll call you when I get out of the building.’ I hung up the phone, not realizing, of course, it would be hours until I spoke to her again.”

I thought to myself, you know what, if she sits down, she may never get up. And if she doesn’t get up, she’s gonna die.

“We got down to about the 50th floor. Virginia says, ‘I can’t go on. I can’t do it.’ My first instinct was, I’ll have her sit down and rest. And then I thought to myself, you know what, if she sits down, she may never get up. And if she doesn’t get up, she’s gonna die. That wasn’t on my agenda for the day. I said, ‘No, Virginia, you can do this!’ We had some water, and I gave her a drink. Then I poured it on her arms to give her some relief from the burns.

“Now, I’m turning into a coach. I’m counting down, ‘45th floor, 44th floor — you’re doing great!’ We got down to the first floor and the fire warden who was leading us kept going down. I said, ‘Where are you going?’ He says, we gotta get out through the garage. I turned to Virginia. I said, ‘We already walked down 78 flights of stairs. What’s another four or five?’ We got down two flights when suddenly, the door on the first floor opens and some guy yells out, ‘Where are you people going?’ I said, ‘We’re going out through the garage.’ The guy says, ‘No, you can’t get out through the garage. You gotta come back up here and get out through the first floor.’

“So, I turned to Virginia and said to her, ‘We gotta go back up two flights.’ Now here’s the thing. I later learned there were people in that garage that never got out. Who was that guy? An angel? Who knows? We finally got out of the building. I stopped a cop and said, ‘I have a burn victim here. Where do we go?’ He directed us across the street to a triage center. An ambulance pulled up and they put Virginia in. She turns to the driver and says, ‘We’re not leaving unless Ari comes with us!’ I look at the ambulance driver. He looks at me and says, ‘Fine, hop in the front.’ I get into the front; we pull away. We were one of only a few ambulances that actually got away from the scene that day.

“Let me ask you a question. Who saved whose life? If she wouldn’t have insisted that I get into that ambulance, I would’ve been standing at the base of that building when it collapsed, and I would be dead. But she insisted that I get into that ambulance, and that’s why I’m here. We became very good friends. We stayed in touch to this day.”

Interviewed by Jay Max