Roslyn Native Receives Multiple Honors at Princeton

Princeton University student Alec Urbach from Roslyn was recently awarded with two honors by the school.

Urbach, a freshman, was recently chosen for a diplomatic fellowship to Israel in December with nine other Princeton students. The program is offered by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer.

While in Israel, Urbach will get unique access to high level Israeli and Palestinian officials for the purpose of sharing perspectives in the discussion of foreign policy, according to an official from the National Society of High School Scholars. 

The process for selection for the fellowship consisted of a series of academic essays about the Middle East region. Students had to describe interest in foreign policy and write about values they could offer in the fellowship program. 

Additionally, Urbach was also one of 21 students selected to take part a one-week entrepreneurial trip to Silicon Valley for tours, lectures and one-on-one meetings with CEOs in the tech industry, venture capital and start-ups.

Attending 20 meetings in five days, Urbach met business celebrities including Jack Dorsey, founder of Twitter; Paul Graham, founder of Y Combinator; and Meg Whitman, CEO of Hewlet Packard, according to the NSHSS.

To qualify for the program, Urbach wrote a number of short essays on subjets including business of the future, ways entrepreneurship is viewed and entrepreneurs who inspire.

"Urbach, an entrepreneur himself who started his own company in high school, is an outstanding student who is diving in and taking advantage of all opportunities Princeton has to offer," said NSHSS in a press release. 

Urbach is a Claes Nobel Scholarship recipient from the National Society of High School Scholars with plans to join the NSHSS student council, consisting of outstanding college members who act as role models and mentors for high school college-bound members.