Juniors Elizabeth Diamond and Rachel Lipsky were recently selected to serve as student liaisons on the board of the Education Enrichment Foundation.

The EEF has a crucial, but behind the scenes role in enriching the educational experience of students within the science department. They provide grants and sponsor projects that take place in the environmental science classrooms. 

“I value any sort of authentic experience that we can provide the students… Part of my goal is to try and inspire students to become the next generation of environmental stewards. Being able to protect endangered species like the terrapins or watch a baby chick hatched out of an egg are some pretty powerful experiences,” Zachary Rittner told The Fanscotian. “Watching the students connect with those moments goes a long way in inspiring them to want to care about our natural resources, preserve biodiversity and become those environmental stewards.”

Rittner has demonstrated excitement over the different projects that he has integrated in his classroom. Earlier in the school year, he was asked to join the EEF board and since then, he has carved out his own role as a teacher liaison. 

Rittner believes that it is important to convey staff and student perspectives to the board, which led him to elect Diamond and Lipsky as student liaisons. 

“I was looking for students who stand out from the crowd. Obviously there are a lot of great students in the school, but I was looking for students who are a little bit more vocal in class and a bit more insightful and motivated to go the extra mile,” Rittner said. “When you’re acting kind of like an ambassador, you really want to represent the best aspects of the student body.” 

Rittner is building a team, thinking about the different ways they can advertise to the staff and student body about all the good that the EEF is doing for our community. 

“The EEF contributions add more creativity and innovation to the school community. I’ve personally benefited from it and I’ve seen other people benefiting as they’ve made so many programs possible,” Lipsky said. “It’s a great organization in our community and I’m really proud and excited to be a part of it.”

There are a number of programs approaching including a faculty basketball game against the Harlem Wizards, Hackathon and Moot Court, a program where students learn to competitively debate.