Students and community connect to create spot dedicated to remembering loved ones

Niskayuna residents now have a special place they can visit when they want to remember family members, friends and classmates who have passed away—thanks in large part to an idea proposed by Van Antwerp Middle School student Quinn Desiderio.
The effort began a little more than a year ago when, as a seventh-grader, Desiderio penned a composition that was among the winning essays selected by judges in the annual GE ELFUN Society essay contest. In their essays, students described how they would use $500 to make a difference in their community. Desiderio wrote about establishing what she called a Memory Spot dedicated to Niskayuna residents “who were gone, but not forgotten.”
Desiderio said the inspiration for her essay – and the subsequent creation of a memorial spot – was Stephanie Bomeisl, a Niskayuna High School who died in 2004.
“This project is not about me," Desiderio told those attending the dedication ceremony, "but about families and friends who now have a place where they can sit and reflect on their lost loved ones.”
During the year-plus process, Desiderio and her GE Volunteers mentor, Michelle Woodley, met with Niskayuna Town Supervisor Luke Smith to get approval for the project and to discuss possible locations. Desiderio and Woodley also set out to purchase a plaque and flowers for the site.
Because seating was part of the memorial spot's plan, Supervisor Smith, in turn, reached out to Niskayuna High School senior Kevin Ryan who was looking to complete a community service project to earn his Eagle Scout Badge.
“Mr. Smith suggested that I design and build a bench for community members to use when visiting the spot,” Ryan explained. "It sounded interesting to me."
Meanwhile, Frank Gavin of the Niskayuna Highway Department transported five large boulders and the bench to an area along the Mohawk River Bike Path, near the Old Niskayuna Train Station, that would become the memorial spot. The plaque was affixed to one of the boulders, the flowers were planted and, on a sunny afternoon in mid-June, the Desiderio, Ryan and Bomeisl families along with town officials and friends gathered for the dedication ceremony.
"Steph was the type of person who successfully encouraged others to become involved,” said Steven Bomeisl, Stephanie's father, “and I often think that her spirit of encouraging others to perform community service is part of that connection that inspired Quinn, which connected her to Kevin, which connected Kevin to me, and which will connect all members of the Niskayuna community."

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