Roosevelt Island Youth Program GIRLS Visit Legal Aid Society Lawyers And Watch Trial At Queens County Criminal Courthouse

Roosevelt Island Youth Program (RIYP) Beacon Director of Operations Adib Mansour reports:

The RIYP/Beacon has created the GIRLS Team (Great Inspirational Role Model’s Leadership through Soccer) at the end of 2014 to promote female leadership, healthy habits, and social well-being through soccer.

The RIYP GIRLS TEAM recently learned about the criminal justice system during a visit to the Legal Aid Society and the Queens County Criminal Courthouse.
 

 Image OF RIYP GIRLS Team At Queens County Courthouse From You Tube Video

Jaden Luna, a member of RIYP GIRLS shares what happened:

On April 10, the Roosevelt Island GIRLS’ soccer team gathered at PS/IS/217 on our way to visit the Queens criminal court.

First, we met with defense attorney by day, soccer coach by night, Quincy Auger at her office in Kew Gardens. We went to the conference room for lunch and met many of Auger’s co-workers at the Legal Aid Society office.

Lawyer Mani Tafari talked about his occupation and also showed the RIYP GIRLS his juggling skills. We then met Samantha Seda, another lawyer, who gave us a very inspirational speech about how she was the first person in her family to complete high school, and had went to college, then dropped out because she was going to have a daughter, and having her daughter made her realize that she should go back to school. She then continued school and became a lawyer.

The GIRLS also met Susan Crile, Aviva Michelman-Dumas, Tiffany Malcolm, Nikki Herts-Cook, Diane Akerman, John Kalinowski, Anthony Posada, and Tarini Argyaswa who are all attorneys. They also met Keisha Godfrey, an integrated domestic violence attorney.

Afterwards, the RIYP GIRLS went to Queens County Criminal Court House and watched Mihea Kim and Ariel Schneller work during a trial. The trial was about three men who robbed a Popeyes and the witness was the cashier. After the trial, the RIYP GIRLS team met judge Koenderman who explained to the girls what inspired her to become a judge.

At the court, they also met Gina, a stenographer, who showed the RIYP GIRLS her stenotype machine and explained that when she gets the feel of each key, she immediately knows what she is typing.

Last but not least, the GIRLS met Rob, a court officer. Rob explained to the girls that he has to maintain order in the court room.After gathering all of the information they had just learned, I could say that ALL of the RIYP GIRLS want to be lawyers when they grow up.