Positive role models: Inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award recipients announced
The Northport-East Northport school district’s first ever Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are, from left, Dr. Elizabeth Chilton, Jason King and Dr. Eric Meyerowitz. Photos courtesy of the Northport-East Northport Union Free School District.
Three Northport High School graduates whose professional achievements, service and leadership have made a lasting impact in their fields and communities will be recognized by their alma mater in October, as part of the Northport-East Northport school district’s newly created Northport High School Distinguished Alumni Award program.
The inaugural Distinguished Alumni Award recipients are Dr. Elizabeth Chilton, president of the University of New Hampshire, recognized for her contributions to higher education; Jason King, founder, president and CEO of Turning the Page, recognized for his contributions to social justice; and Dr. Eric Meyerowitz, attending physician at Montefiore Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, recognized for his contributions to the field of medicine.
The alumni award program recognizes alumni whose accomplishments reflect integrity, service and a commitment to improving the lives of others while serving as positive role models for current and future Northport High School students.
The inaugural class will be inducted during a two-day celebration this October. On Friday, October 16, the inductees will return to Northport High School for a tour of the building, meet with students and visit the school’s new Distinguished Alumni display area. A public induction banquet will be held that evening.
On Saturday, October 17, the inductees will march in the Northport High School homecoming parade and will be recognized during the homecoming football game.
Chilton, who serves as the 21st president of the University of New Hampshire, has dedicated her career to higher education and academic leadership. Before assuming her current role, she served as the inaugural chancellor of the Washington State University Pullman campus, dean of Harpur College of Arts and Sciences at Binghamton University and inaugural associate vice chancellor for research and engagement at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
“I am honored to be among the first of Northport High School’s Distinguished Alumni Awardees,” Chilton said. “My high school experience significantly influenced my college experience and set me up for success in my chosen career, both as an archaeologist and university administrator. But it also prepared me for a full life, full of twists and turns. The academic rigor and my AP classes prepared me well for college, and my choral and musical theater experience was the foundation for my engagement in the arts, which continues to this day. My four siblings and I all graduated from Northport High School, and four of us became educators in institutions ranging from kindergarten through doctoral programs. That says a great deal about the foundations we built in the Northport school system.”
King founded Turning the Page in Washington, D.C., in 1997 to strengthen family engagement in education and improve educational outcomes for children. Under his leadership as president and CEO, the nonprofit has served more than 10,000 families, expanding its work to Chicago in 2017.
“I am thrilled and honored to be receiving this recognition from Northport High School,” King said. “My experiences there, especially within the P.A.T.C.H. program and Students for 60,000, were instrumental in shaping my core values and career.”
Meyerowitz serves as an attending physician at Montefiore Medical Center and an associate professor of medicine at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. A summa cum laude graduate of Harvard College, he earned his medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania as a member of the Alpha Omega Honor Society. He has also been recognized for excellence in teaching and mentorship, receiving both the Montefiore/Einstein Fellow Teaching Award and the Outstanding Mentorship Award.
“I am humbled by this honor,” Meyerowitz said. “I was extremely fortunate to attend Northport High School, where I learned the importance of critical reading, open-mindedness, compassion and continual engagement with others, and that strength is using privilege to stand with marginalized people, to break down barriers and to find common ground. I would not be who I am today without these lessons and will always be grateful for and indebted to my Northport teachers.”
The Northport High School Distinguished Alumni Award program is expected to become an annual tradition. For more information, including sponsorship opportunities and tickets to this year’s banquet, visit the district’s Distinguished Alumni webpage. The deadline to register is October 9.
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