Dix Hills Eighth Grade Student Impresses Pal-O-Mine Staff

Dix Hills, N.Y. (June 17, 2019) – Drew Trinagel of Dix Hills, an eighth grade student at the East Woods School, so impressed the staff at the Pal-O-Mine Equestrian Center that he was offered an opportunity to participate in the organization’s “King’s Herd” program this summer.

The eighth grade students of the East Woods School recently participated in a brand new Leadership Program established by Head of School, Laura Kang. The East Woods Leadership Program is modeled after the Leadership Huntington program for adults. Mrs. Kang attended their meetings and interviewed the program’s organizers as she was creating her version of the program for her students.

As part of the program, students met and heard from the executive directors of seven non-profits in the fall. After learning about the mission, programs, financial structure and goals of each program, they had the difficult task of choosing one to support with their year-long project. The students chose to help and support Pal-O-Mine located in Islandia, NY.

Drew was especially excited to volunteer at the facility.While the students were completing their work at Pal-O-Mine, the staff suggested that Drew reach out to them about continuing his involvement with their organization. When asked what he most liked about his experience at Pal-O-Mine, Drew said “I enjoyed getting dirty and really understanding what it takes to take care of a horse. Helping the staff do their everyday jobs was very eye-opening since we got to see how much work goes into maintaining this place.”

At the completion of the program, the East Woods students traveled back to Pal-O-Mine to deliver almost $2,000 worth of cash, gift cards and wish list items to Lisa Gatti, CEO and Founder of Pal-O-Mine. “The leadership program is a great way for people to come into their own and figure out what their best at when it comes to group projects,” said Drew. “It’s a great way to find out who you are in the group and what you can do to help benefit everyone in the process.”

Drew will be starting the King’s Herd program in July, working at Pal-O-Mine every other Saturday. Drew hopes to do a complete summer internship at Pal-O-Mine when he reaches the required 16 years of age.

For more information about the East Woods School, please visit: www.eastwoods.org.

For more information about the Pal-O-Mine organization, visit www.pal-o-mine.org.