The Navy Yard is a beautiful place with a vibrant community. There are many young people brought up here ready to make their mark. One of those youths is Mitchell Geffin. Mitchell is a 15-year-old sophomore at the Landmark School in Beverly and has lived in the Navy Yard his entire life with his parents, Alison and Michael Geffin and his sisters Abigail and Ariana who are currently attending Washington University in St. Louis. Mitchell is a very active young man, seen frequently at the basketball courts in the Yard thrashing his father in games of one on one. During the school year Mitchell catches the 6:35am commuter rail to Beverley to get to school and returns each day in the early evenings. Besides being an excellent student, Mitchell plays basketball (he is a three-point specialist) and runs track (200 meters).
Prior to the pandemic, Mitchell noticed that positivity was in short supply and decided to do something about it. Mitchell started a Positivity newsletter at his school. Mitchell observed, “The news tends to focus on the negative aspects, rather than the uplifting parts of life.” The newsletter took off during Covid, attracting many contributors and bringing much needed positivity to the Landmark community during some dark times. As a result, Mitchell has become adept at coining positive phrases to contemplate such as, “happiness is contagious” and “if you are disciplined, your future self will thank you.”
Mitchell hopes to expand the newsletter to the Navy Yard community someday. In the meantime, to keep the momentum going, FCNY is sponsoring a photo contest. Send us your most positive Navy Yard picture and if Mitchell decides it is the most positive image sent in, you will win the original watercolor by Navy Yard artist, Norris Strawbridge, pictured.
Just send your most positive pictures to [email protected] by Monday, August 15. Multiple entries are encouraged, but please no more than three entries per person. Good luck and look for more positive messages from Mitchell soon!