Her Grandfather Would Be Proud: 4th Grade Winner Of Earth Day Contest Praised By Senator Murphy

Yorktown, NY - Haashini Velmani, a 4th grader who attends the Carrie E. Tompkins School in Croton-on-Hudson, had a memorable after-school visit to Senator Terrence Murphy's District Office on May 21. The Senator presented Haashini with a certificate and framed version of her artwork, which placed first in his 2018 Earth Day Poster Contest. Haashini's entry beat out nearly 100 other entries from schools throughout the 40th Senate District.
 
The annual Earth Day Poster Contest is for grades K-6. This theme of this year's contest was "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." Students were encouraged to create a poster that could be used as part of a campaign emphasizing the importance of recycling and waste reduction
 
"Haashini is absolutely amazing. She approached designing her poster almost like a math problem, being analytical in what she wanted to convey while still being creative," said Senator Murphy. "Haashini has quite a bright future ahead of her, no matter what she decides to do with her life."
 
"My poster represents both the good side and the bad side of our planet," said Haashini. "The bad side of our earth is oil, industrial, and electric waste. The good side features recycling, solar and wind energy."

 2018 Earth Day Poster Contest Winner
Senator Murphy congratulates Hasshini Velmani and her family for winning the 2018 Earth Day Poster Contest.
 
Haashini's father, Velmani Natarajan said, "It's encouraging to have a program like this for children. As their parents, we want to leave a healthy world for them to live in. This contest helps them understand why clean water, clean air, and clean energy are so important."
 
Haashini's grandfather is an artist, who loves to draw and paint. Her mother is also interested in art. Haashini hopes to continue to be an artist like them. She would also like to be a writer someday as well. That is, of course, unless she pursues her interest in dancing. Her father, Velmani Natarajan, is an engineer, and her mother, Mahalakshmi Natarajan, works in the Anatomical Pathology Department at Westchester Medical Center. Her brother, Aadish, may be in high school, but he's already taking college-level courses, focusing on how to extract heavy metals from coal ash.