#b#STEM Competition#/b#
A First Lego League team from Community Middle School earned the Champions Award at a recent regional competition in Pennsylvania. Team 22790, known as Team Vulcan, includes eighth grade students Raymond Chang, Aarsh Dadan, Darin Khan, Ketan Sengupta, and Charles Tian; and seventh grade student Rishad Hasan. The team official mentors are Nadeem Dadan and Harry Tian. Team coaches are Kalyan Sengupta and Sarwar Khan.
“Our team’s research solution is an alternative for HDPE [high density polyethylene] and PP [polypropylene] synthetic polymers,” they write. “Our bioplastic (dubbed ‘Eco-PlasTech’) is composed of rosin, beeswax, charcoal, and glycerin. We have begun drafting a patent application.”
#b#Private School#/b#
Pennington School inducted Emma Kramer of West Windsor into the Cum Laude Society.
#b#Annual Culture Show#/b#
India Foundation of Metropolitan Princeton concluded the year with a gala 30th anniversary cultural show on December 19 at High School North. More than 200 students presented folk, classical, and Bollywood dances under the tutelage of choreographers and dance schools. The executive committee includes Sanjay Phanse, president; Priya Sundararaman, secretary; Bharti Shroff. vice president; Bharat Sethi, treasurer; and committee members Pradeep Gupta, Anandmohan Sothi, Ambrish Agarwal, Raksha Tripathi, Shipa Satav, Sangita Datta, Deepika Kohli, Susmita Rao, and Neetu Pal.
“The audience was spellbound and captivated with the beautifully choreographed dance items presented by numerous dance schools participating in the show,” says Phanse. The schools and choreographers included Nupur School of Dance, Madhavi Devasthale; Prerna School of Dance, Beena Shah; Sensational Dance Group, Rashmi Kulkarni, Aaja Nachle, and Uma Kapoor; Nrutyarpan School of Dance, Senha Kulkarni; Archana Fusion Arts, Archana Savkar; Yogeshwari Dance Academy, Mohini Bhave; Exodus Dance, Rohit Girjare; Sarita Joshi School of Dance, Trupti Kotian; Abhinaya School of Kuchipudi Dance, Gayatri Saripalli; Dancing Shiva, Jeanie Berri; Dance4Ever, Naina Raina; and Archana Nrityalaya, Guru Archana Joglekar. “We thank all these choreographers for exposing the next generation to our rich Indian music and dance heritage and preserving our cultural values for ages to come,” says Phanse.
“The annual cultural event was very well attended and was a grand finale for a defining year for IFMP,” says Phanse. Visit www.ifmpnj.org or call 609-297-7116 for membership information or upcoming events.
#b#Warm for Winter#/b#
Attitudes In Reverse, an organization based in Plainsboro, worked with volunteers and social media to collect items, including socks, hand-made beanies, and gloves, to be given away on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to patients in area behavioral hospitals.
“People were thrilled to participate in this simple holiday collection,” says Tricia Baker, co-founder of AIR. “We all need socks for warmth and for good health. Some of the patients are homeless, and these new clothing items were greatly needed and appreciated.”
Participants included Rebecca McLelland-Crawley’s Community Middle School students. “Dr. McLelland-Crawley strongly encourages her students to give back and to always be kind,” says Baker.
“My son, Kenny, spent his last Christmas in a mental health hospital, and on the drive home he shared with me, ‘They made a nice Christmas for us, Mom,’ says Tricia Baker, co-founder of AIR. “Our hope was to make a nice holiday for others.”
AIR volunteers visited along with therapy dogs. “Seventy percent of patients in mental health hospitals never receive a visitor,” says Baker. “Volunteers at AIR, and the AIR Dogs program, want to change that.”
#b#Faith#/b#
Howard and Nancy Alter of West Windsor were honored for their contributions to Beth El Synagogue. They were celebrated at Beth El’s 18th Bonds breakfast, which raises money for Israel.
Howard, the former president, has served Beth El in a variety of capacities, as well as being active in a number of area charities. He also has produced “Contest,” an anti-bullying feature film. He is a managing partner at Roundview Capital in Princeton. A long distance runner, he recently served as head coach for a New Jersey Junior Olympic softball program.
Nancy was honored not only for her work at Beth El, but also for her work at Jewish Family and Children’s Service, where she is the vice president.
The couple, married for 25 years, has lived in West Windsor for more than 20 years. They have three children.
#b#At the Rose Parade#/b#
Mark Meade of West Windsor was selected to ride on the Donate Life Rose Parade float. He received a new heart in 2008 at Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia. “I was given a second chance at life and saying thank you is not enough,” he says. “I have been given a second chance. I have been given time to go snow tubing with my grandsons — to take them fishing or to teach them how to drive. I was able to see our son get married this past August.”
As one of the 24 organ recipients chosen to ride on the float, he and his wife, Terry, celebrated at the Philadelphia hospital’s Second Chance holiday party for transplant recipients who volunteer their time at the hospital.
For Mark and Terry Meade, participating in Donate Life Rose Parade activities is the culmination of the couple’s years of support for organ and tissue donation. Mark Meade speaks from his experience as a transplant recipient and Terry Meade speaks from her experience as a caregiver. “We always say they did not open my chest, but in a way they ripped my heart out, too,” says Terry.
The couple, married for 50 years, often speaks at University Medical Center of Princeton at Plainsboro, Capital Health, CentraState, and Our Lady of Lourdes Medical Center. They share their journey with physicians, nurses, and other medical professionals. They also speak to schools as part of the New Jersey High School Heroes Program to educate young people about donation.
“When we heard we were selected to participate on the Donate Life Rose Parade Float the tears just started flowing,” says Terry. “It will be such an incredible experience to be there with transplant recipients, donor families, and living donors from across the country — all coming together for this amazing event.”
NJ Sharing Network sponsored the couple’s trip to Pasadena. “Mark and Terry have done so much to further our life-saving mission and we are grateful as an organization for all they have done and proud to sponsor their trip to Pasadena,” said Elisse Glennon, vice president and chief administrative officer of NJ Sharing Network and executive director of the foundation.
The couple write letters of gratitude and thanks to the family of Mark Meade’s donor and accept the family’s decision to remain anonymous.
“Mark and Terry have done so much to share the life-saving message of organ and tissue donation. They are tireless supporters who share their story to let people see, firsthand, how organ donation truly saves lives,” said Joe Roth, president and CEO of NJ Sharing Network.
Mark Meade, who with his family owns Meade & Associates Promotional Consultants, said everything they do to support the mission is a way to honor his donor. “It’s our way to honor the gift and we do it as if our donor is watching everything we do,” says Mark. “We must give back for this incredible miracle we received. We have done something right if anyone who hears us signs up to become an organ donor.”
Visit www.NJSharingNetwork.org for information, to get involved, or to register as an organ and tissue donor.
#b#History Discovered#/b#
Jinny and Bill Baeckler, former longtime residents of Plainsboro, now live in the south, where they discover new roads and more. Jinny, the former executive director of Plainsboro Library, is now a butterfly expert at the Durham Museum of Life and Science in North Carolina.
“This is actually a New Year’s resolution now complete,” she writes. “I had to tell you about a stop I made this summer, on the way back from Staunton, Virginia, where the Black Fryars perform Shakespeare with engaging flair. Husband Bill misguided me off the main road, onto a sort of by-pass type road, and we found a delightful local diner in the wee town of Gretna — the Crossroads Family Dinner. We partook of the buffet, and moved into the back room to munch. Slowly, slowly, I realized that a photograph on the humble wall said Walker Gordon Dairy, Plainsboro, NJ. I nearly exploded with curiosity. There were about five locals there, all of whom got equally excited of my connection, but couldn’t answer my question: What was it doing on the wall down there?”
“Being the delightful southern, helpful folk they were, two of them got on their phones and called the owner to come down,” she says. “In a flash, he was there, and explained that during the depression, when many of the farmers in the area were out of work, Walker Gordon hired some of them to come up to New Jersey and work for WG. Some, he said, married and stayed in the Plainsboro area; some returned south, when times were better. He mentioned a police chief in the Plainsboro area who was a native ‘Gretnan.’”
“I think it is an incredibly rich historical tale about Plainsboro, that folks probably don’t know a thing about,” she says. “That was a long, long time ago.”
For information about the exhibit and the history contact Fred Ingram, Crossroads Restaurant, 1300 Rockford School Road, Gretna, VA 24557.
#b#Wedding#/b#
Kate DeProspo and William Marych III were married October 17 at St. David the King Church in West Windsor. Pastor Timothy Capewell officiated. The reception and wedding breakfast were held at Nassau Inn in Princeton.
The bride is a 2004 graduate of High School North. She graduated from University of Maryland School of Nursing with a bachelor’s degree and works in the intensive care unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of John DeProspo and Marilyn DeProspo, both former residents of West Windsor.
The groom graduated from Loyola College with a bachelor’s degree in communications and works for Morgan Stanley in Baltimore. He is the son of Charles and Christine Marych of Philadelphia.
Bridal attendants included former West Windsor residents, Haley Ward Finewood and Valerie Depelteau Oberweiss; and Chelsea Aro, Natalie Farmer, Erin Duffy, and Mary Marych. Groomsmen included Will McMaster, Brian Nelson, JV Zampetti, Patrick Douglas, Brad White, and Michael DeProspo. The greeter was the bride’s aunt, Stacey Scannelli. Readings were presented by George Scannelli, the bride’s uncle; Sandra Williams, the bride’s godmother; and Kathleen Montgomery, the groom’s cousins.
Following a wedding trip to Barcelona and Paris, the couple lives in Maryland.
#b#In College#/b#
Penn College of Technology: Nicholas Benfer of West Windsor is on the dean’s list. Majoring in automotive engineering, he is a 2013 graduate of High School South.
Tufts University: Students from West Windsor in their first year include Liam Knox, Shreya Marathe, and Tenriaji Sjamsu. Evaneet Sachar of Plainsboro is also a first-year student.
