South High School graduate and Academy Award®-winning producer Deborah Oppenheimer returned from California to receive South’s Distinguished Alumni Award on May 17, 2002, with a large contingent of family and community friends in attendance. The Oppenheimers have deep roots in Valley Stream and are three generation owners of Central Avenue hardware; her father Eric Oppenheimer is a 1942 graduate of Central High School.

Motivated after her mother’s death in 1993 to learn more about her childhood experience on the Kindertransport—the World War II rescue mission which saved nearly 10,000 children from Nazi-occupied territories in Europe through relocation to foster homes and hostels in England—Deborah Oppenheimer researched the subject and produced the film “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport.”

“I had never made a movie or documentary before,” said Ms. Oppenheimer. “The Oscar is a tremendous accolade which changed my life.”

Ms. Oppenheimer accepted the Oscar® for Best Documentary Feature at the March 25, 2001 Academy Awards®. The film received historic accolades from German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at the Berlin premiere and from HRH Prince Charles at the Royal Premiere in London.

In introducing Ms. Oppenheimer, South High School principal Dr. Stephen Lando showed clips from the London premiere and from her Academy Award® acceptance speech.

Simultaneous with his presentation of the Distinguished Alumni Award plaque, a surprise bouquet of flowers arrived from Ms. Oppenheimer’s good friend Jamie Lee Curtis.

In accepting the plaque, Ms. Oppenheimer presented South High School with a copy of the two-hour documentary in both video and DVD format. The film has a study guide, which was distributed beforehand to Central, Memorial, North and South High social studies department heads, and a companion book and soundtrack. A German edition of the study guide has been created as part of the compulsory Holocaust education in Germany, and a United Kingdom edition is currently being edited for release throughout schools in Great Britain.

“For me, the legacy of an entire gymnasium of students learning about the Kindertransport is the best legacy of all,” said Ms. Oppenheimer. “Ninety percent of the children on the Kindertransport never saw their parents again,” she said sadly.

In addition to her film accomplishments, Deborah is also one of the most prolific producers in television and is President of Mohawk Productions. She serves as executive producer of the hit ABC comedy series “The Drew Carey Show,” now entering its eighth season; the new ABC comedy series “George Lopez”; and “Wanda At Large,” a pilot for Fox starring Wanda Sykes.

Ms. Oppenheimer explained that after graduating in 1975 from State University College at Buffalo, where she majored in English, she began a career in publishing as an editor for John Wiley & Sons in New York. “I went into publishing because of a love of literature and reading,” she said.

However, she soon became interested in producing and entered the field without any connections. Starting at HBO, by 1981 she had become a development and production executive at Lorimar, where she developed and ultimately produced programming for pay television and PBS.

Ms. Oppenheimer then segued into feature and television production as Vice President for Production at Lorimar Productions, where she oversaw features, made-for-television movies, miniseries, and episodic and half-hour television. In the late 1980’s Lorimar merged into Warner Brothers, where Deborah Oppenheimer still works today. She is currently writing a children’s book about her mother for Scholastic Press.

“A strong work ethic, and the loyalty of family and friends got me to where I am today,” she said.

After the assembly, Deborah spoke in the South library to students interested in writing, film and production careers, and hosted a special viewing of a 40-minute version of the film that was open to the community.

Students inspired by her appearance were thrilled to hold the golden Oscar®. Many could be heard throughout the day, already practicing their acceptance speeches.

Enthusiastic and highly-energetic CosmoGirl! Magazine editor-in-chief Atoosa Behnegar Rubenstein from the North High School Class of 1989 was honored as North’s seventh recipient of its Distinguished Alumni Award in a school assembly on April 26, 2002.

“This is an incredible honor for me and my family…. How does an ordinary girl from Malverne get to be here?” she asked modestly in amazement.

Spending the day at North accompanied by her husband and mother, Atoosa proved that she is anything but ordinary. Originally planning to be a lawyer, Atoosa who graduated from Barnard College in 1993 with a B.A. in political science, explained that she realized in college that she had always loved magazines instead, and took an internship at Sassy Magazine. After graduation she was offered a job as a fashion assistant at Cosmopolitan Magazine and worked “like it was brain surgery, like it was the most important job in the world.”

With her talent and enthusiasm, she quickly rose through the ranks of associate fashion editor and fashion editor to senior fashion editor in just five years. In 1998 she was asked to develop a prototype for a new teen magazine, CosmoGirl!, and presented a product so compelling that she was offered the top job on the spot, becoming the youngest editor-in-chief of a Hearst magazine.

Launched in August 1999, and the first magazine to be started simultaneously with a Web site—www.cosmogirl.com—CosmoGirl! is one of the few magazines to be growing in this economy and has expanded to five international editions.

“I stayed away from distractions and kept my head down,” said Atoosa, in explaining the hard work and love of her job that accounted for her success. Later in a small group session in the library with students interested in related careers, Atoosa answered questions about her daily responsibilities on the magazine with the beauty, art, fashion and other editors; the meetings with advertisers; the approval of copy; the approval of models for photo shoots; the planning of upcoming issues; the many lunches and dinners; and her interviews with various teen idols.

Atoosa also revealed that CosmoGirl! has launched “Project 2024” to have a CosmoGirl! reader elected President of the United States by 2024. “I won’t be happy until a woman is President,” said Atoosa, who stood out at North as chairperson of the Model Congress. Her Model Congress advisor Dr. Harry Levine even flew all the way up from his retirement home in Florida to see Atoosa receive the alumni award.

In high school Atoosa was also a talented viola player in the North select string ensemble Opus, District Festival Orchestra and Long Island String Festival and an accomplished singer in North’s select show choir Spectrum, the All-County Chorus, and North’s production of “West Side Story,” where she played the lead as Maria.

“I never had any connections” in the work world “so I will always keep one internship open at CosmoGirl! for a North High School student,” Atoosa graciously announced at the end of the assembly. “Now you’ll always have that connection.”

This summer one lucky, connected, North High senior will be selected as the first recipient of this internship for the 2002-03 school year.

Professional football player Stephen Boyd from the Class of 1990 returned to his roots on Friday, March 1, 2002, to receive Central High School’s Distinguished Alumni Award in a school assembly in Keller Auditorium.

“Stephen Boyd has represented Central High School on and off the field in a manner second to none,” said Principal Joseph Pompilio in his introductory remarks. Praise for his character and family was also bestowed by local officials at the ceremony.

In his acceptance speech, Boyd spoke of his dream from the age of nine to become a football player and reminisced about his high school years and the Eagles’ goal to win the county football championships.

“Entering the 1989 season,” he said, “we had high expectations. My teammates and I made many sacrifices that summer, working out rather than hanging out with friends.”

“I have received many awards,” he said, “but there was not one I cherished more than beating Garden City, 12-6, in the county championships at Hofstra Stadium.”

Boyd also spoke about his philosophy of setting “realistic” and “action” goals, which he followed throughout college and NFL. He advised students to “surround yourself with good people and listen to their advice.”

Boyd, co-captain of the Central Eagles football team coached by Dan Tronolone, received the prestigious Thorp Award as most outstanding high school football player in Nassau County and the Daily News All-Suburban Award as most outstanding football player in the entire tri-state suburban area.

A star player for Boston College, where he earned a B.S. in human development in 1994 and was named to the All-America First Team in defense, Boyd was drafted by the Detroit Lions in the spring of 1995. He earned a berth both in 1999 and 2000 on the National Football Conference’s Pro Bowl squad.

After seven years as a Detroit Lions linebacker, Boyd became a free agent again on February 27.

Boyd has donated thousands of dollars of football and weight training equipment to the Central, North and South High School sports programs. With an uncle, grandfather and great grandfather who were all New York City firemen, Boyd was inspired to raise nearly $150,000 from his teammates and coaches for the widows and children of fallen firefighters and police officers in the World Trade Center tragedy.

After the assembly, Boyd spoke informally and met with students interested in sports and marketing careers and answered their many questions. He made a strong impact on Central students.

Attending the day’s festivities was a large contingent of his large family, including parents Richard and Joan Boyd (Mrs. Boyd works as principal account clerk in the district business office), brother Richard Boyd (a Special Education teacher and award-winning boys varsity soccer coach at South High School), sisters Jean Marie Killeen and Mary DeMatteis (Central grads from the Classes of 1981 and 1984, respectively), and many aunts, uncles and cousins.