Gillian Grabowski (center), who will attend Lafayette College, received the Harrison Apar 2026 Scholarship Award from Harrison’s mother Elyse Apar and father Bruce Apar of the Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation. Gillian’s brother Ethan won the same award in 2022.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation

Yorktown High teacher and baseball coach Mike Rubenfeld (right) presented the Harrison Apar YAC PBA Senior Sports Award to Rocco Lore, who will wrestle at Ithaca College.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation

Chase Rodriguez received the Harrison Apar Award presented by the YAC Golf program, run by Skip Marini (right) and co-founded by Bruce Apar.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation

Yorktown High School varsity baseball coach Mike “Coach Ruby” Rubenfeld presented Yorktown Athletic Club’s Harrison Apar Baseball Award to Brandon Manchess, who will play baseball at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation

Yorktown Schools

Honoring scholars and athletes

Posted Tuesday, June 30, 2026 10:23 am

Looking Up by Gillian Grabowski

A world without cellphones is one that my parents and grandparents grew up in, but it is not an environment I imagined I would see. Phones have been the way that I connect with people and entertain myself. That's why the 2025-2026 New York State cellphone ban intimidated me and my classmates.

Entering my senior year of high school, I became afraid of what this year would look like. How could I adjust to living without something I had grown so reliant on? At the same time, I doubted the ability of the regulation to lead to any real change. I figured that any adjustment would be limited to when we were in school. I was surprised to learn that the very loss of the digital connection that I had been so reliant on would create new connections that have brought new meaning to my life.

The first few weeks were an adjustment. I felt uncomfortable and suddenly became aware of how much I relied on my cellphone as an escape. Between classes, my eyes had always been looking down at a screen. Now, they were forced to meet the eyes of others. I discovered the moments of connection my phone previously prevented me from experiencing. I watched as my classmates came to these realizations as well. Slowly, the environment of our school changed.

The "in-between time" before and after class became an opportunity for communication and real, live conservations, rather than texts with a friend in a different classroom. At lunch, I stepped outside of my comfort zone, meeting an entirely new friend group and playing a variety of card and board games every day (my favorite is Bananagrams!).

As I've noticed this growth in relationships among my peers, I have also noticed a difference in the attitudes of my teachers. Looking back, minutes of my classes were often interrupted by a student on their phone and a teacher becoming frustrated. Now, my classes are free from these distractions, and my teachers are able to remain passionate about their class topics rather than focused on confiscating devices. My classmates and I have grown more connected through the absence of digital distractions, and my teachers have made use of these connections to foster engaging discussions.

Surprisingly, this change has extended beyond the school day. At home, I now put down my phone for longer periods. I see those around me but also notice the world around me. Lately, I have had more interest in planets and stars. I'm sure it is in part because of my physics class and the recent Artemis space launch, but I know it is also because of this change. I look up more, and as a result, I now see more of the world, in and outside of the classroom.

By Bruce Apar

Guest Contributor

Updated on July 27 at 4:08 p.m.

Each year at this time, we present awards to graduating students at Yorktown High School in memory of our son Harrison. Twenty-three years after his passing, we like to think Harrison continues to inspire others, and we make every effort to honor young people who embody his indomitable spirit. Harrison was born with a rare form of dwarfism that stunted his vertical growth at about three feet, even at 15 years old, when he succumbed a day after his third heart surgery.

Harrison personified the expression “size doesn’t matter.” He excelled in school, was a published writer, played baseball and basketball, and loved to perform on stage, where he felt 10 feet tall.

The recipients of the awards presented by the Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation are selected for their mirroring the attributes that set Harrison apart, having nothing to do with his size.

The sports awards presented in Harrison’s name at the annual Yorktown High School Huskers Senior Sports Dinner value strength of character over statistics, which don’t measure the will to succeed in the face of adversity, including devastating tragedies that change a young person’s life forever.

At this year’s June 16 Huskers awards dinner for senior athletes at Putnam National Golf Club in Mahopac, which I could not attend, Harrison’s boyhood friend Mike Rubenfeld — a Yorktown High teacher and varsity baseball coach — presented the Harrison Apar Yorktown Athletic Club/Police Benevolent Association Senior Sports Award to wrestling phenom Rocco Lore, who will continue his grappling career at Ithaca College.

Yorktown Athletic Club annually presents a Harrison Apar Baseball Award to a player on the Yorktown High varsity squad. This year it was given to Brandon Manchess, whose impressive credentials were highlighted by Mike Rubenfeld (aka “Coach Ruby”). Brandon is headed to Fairleigh Dickinson to play baseball.

For the younger set, YAC Golf instructor and Yorktown High varsity golf coach Skip Marini, who gave Harrison his first set of golf clubs, presents a Harrison Apar Award to a player in the YAC program who shows true grit. The 2026 recipient is Chase Rodriguez.

In the academic sphere, the Harrison Apar Field of Dreams Foundation presents a scholastic award to a Yorktown High senior. This year’s winner is Gillian Grabowski, who will be attending Lafayette College in Pennsylvania.

As part of the selection process for the award, we ask candidates to write an essay on a timely topic. This year, the assignment was to comment on the newly legislated statewide ban on K-12 students using their smartphones during the school day.

Bruce Apar is a journalist, actor and community volunteer who lives in Yorktown Heights. Reach him at bapar@me.com or 914-275-6887.