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HERALD VOL. 28 NO. 20
MAY 14 - 20, 2026
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Two candidates and one seat Board race centers on classrooms and community engagement nies such as eBay and Visa, along with positions in the finance sector. In addition to his professionTwo candidates are competing for one open seat on al work, Khondokar said, he the Elmont Union Free School founded Builders, Innovators District Board of Education on and Thinkers of North America, or BITNA, in 2017 to help May 19. Incumbent Trustee Angel underserved communities gain greater access to Ramos is seeking technology educaanother term tion. Through the against challenger nonprofit, he said, Moshiur Rahman he has organized Khondokar, with coding workshops, both candidates A.I. boot camps and emphasizing stutechnology awaredent support and ness programs community engageacross Long Island ment while offering and New York City. different priorities Khondokar said for the district. Khondokar, who MOSHIUR RAHMAN t h at o n e o f h i s main goals would has been living in KHONDOKAR be to prepare stuthe Elmont commu- Candidate, dents for a worknity for the past Elmont Board of force increasingly decade, has worked Education shaped by A.I. and in the technology emerging technoloindustry for 16 years. He described his cam- gies. He added that schools paign as being centered on need to begin introducing stuexpanding science, technology, dents and families to A.I. tools engineering and math, or now so that students are preSTEM, and artificial intelli- pared for future careers. “We gence education in district have to get our classrooms schools. His professional back- ready,” he said. Khondokar, who volunteers ground, he said, includes working as a software engineer and as a STEM educator, said he engineering leader for compaCONTINUED ON PAGE 5
By HAILEY FULMER
hfulmer@liherald.com
Courtesy Devin Grant
During his collegiate career, Grant played in 45 games total. In December 2023, he transferred from the University at Buffalo to Syracuse University, where he appeared in 22 games and made 16 starts.
L.A. Chargers call, a dream answered for Devin Grant By HAILEY FULMER hfulmer@liherald.com
For Devin Grant, of Elmont, the dream of playing in the NFL — which he had been working toward since childhood — was realized last month when he signed with the Los Angeles Chargers as an undrafted free agent. Following the 2026 NFL draft, the Chargers called the former Syracuse defensive back, marking the end of a long journey that started in Queens, continued through Long Island, and wound through two college programs before reaching professional football. Grant, 21, first picked up a football at age 4, which, at the time, felt natural given his family’s connection to the game. His uncle, former NFL defensive back Dean Marlowe,
helped shape his earliest understanding of what a professional career could look like. Grant credits his early passion for football to being around his uncle, observing Marlowe’s career and day-to-day professional approach up close, an experience that ultimately inspired him to pursue a career in the NFL. “I first started playing football when I was 4 years old,” Grant said. “I was always around football.” That early ambition never wavered, and even as a child, he said, it showed up in small classroom exercises about future goals. Over time, what started as a childhood answer in class became a serious pursuit. Grant, who grew up in Queens and now CONTINUED ON PAGE 8
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work with people, process and technology in my community.