Local Student Recognized As An 'Upstander'

Katelyn Maher, an eighth grade student at Oldfield Middle School in Greenlawn, recently received the 2013 Friedlander Upstander Award  by Glen Cove-based Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center.  

The award is given to those who act on behalf of other students as agents of change and tolerance.  

According to the center, Maher witnessed several instances of repeated harassment of special needs children who may have been unaware that they were being bullied. Maher told the others to leave those students alone and informed adults about the incidents to help prevent them from happening again.      

By seeing to it that that the special needs students received the care they needed, Maher demonstrated both empathy and courage, the center pointed out.   “Her bravery is accentuated by her decision to become the only female on her school football team and the only girl quarterback in the history of her school,” according to a press release.  

Maher was recognized on at the Holocaust Memorial and Tolerance Center benefit and auction on May 1 at Carlyle on The Green in Bethpage.  

Also receiving the award that evening was Caitlin Calio, a junior at The Wheatley School in Old Westbury. Growing up with an older brother on the Autism spectrum, Calio was recognized for her work with students and younger children with special needs. After the Sandy Hook gunman was said to have had Asperger’s, Calio informed her classmates and teachers that those on the Autism spectrum are rarely violent, and helped to educate the public.