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www.desitalk.com – that’s all you need to know 6 CITY VIEWS June 20, 2025 MLK Elementary Students From Edison, NJ Make History With Odyssey Of The Mind World Championship Win I n a groundbreaking achievement, students from Martin Luther King Elementary School in Edison, New Jersey, have etched their names in history by winning the 2025 Odyssey of the MindWorld Cham- pionship. This marks the first time a team fromMLK Elementary has captured the coveted title, a feat that has brought pride to the students, their families, educators, the Edison community, and the entire state of New Jersey. The young team of 4th and 5th graders not only clinched the world championship but also swept the regional and state competitions, showcasing their excep- tional creativity, engineering prowess, and teamwork. Their victory came in Division 1 of the “Save the Struc- ture” challenge, one of the most demanding categories in the international creative problem-solving competition. Held fromMay 21 to 24 at Michigan State University in East Lansing, the 2025 Odyssey of the MindWorld Finals attracted over 600 teams from across the United States and countries including Sweden, Poland, China, Singa- pore, India, South Korea, and Mexico. The MLK Elementary team, coached by teacher Kim Kai-Cheng Poon, demonstrated extraordinary problem- solving and engineering skills by designing a balsa wood structure capable of holding 1,095 pounds— the highest weight recorded in their category. The challenge required the structure to be built using only wood and glue, testing the limits of ingenuity and structural integrity. In addition to the engineering task, the students wrote and performed a creative skit, which was a required element of the “Save the Structure” challenge. They designed and constructed all the costumes and props themselves, earning accolades from the judges for their artistic expression and theatrical presentation. The panel was particularly impressed by the maturity and polish of the performance, with one judge remarking it resembled work typically seen at the high school level. The winning team comprised Aarika Shukla, Akshara Deshpande, Amay Maheswari, Anika Dubey, Burhanud- din Jaorawala, Sahashra Saravanan, and Saket Kalangi. Throughout the competition, they exhibited remarkable collaboration, resilience, and innovation, earning not only a world title but also widespread admiration. Their accomplishment stands as a shining example of the core values that Odyssey of the Mind encourages: creative thinking, collaboration, and perseverance. The triumph of these young students has become a defining moment for MLK Elementary and a source of inspiration for future participants in this global program. By a StaffWriter Divya Pathak Receives Dual Honors In Field Of Data Leadership N YC Health + Hospitals announced June 11, 2025, that Chief Data and Artificial Intelligence Officer Divya Pathak has been recognized in Becker’s Hospital Review’s “Women in Health IT to Know 2025” and Chief Data Officer Magazine’s “Top 100 Data Leaders in North America 2025”. According to the hospital system, the dual honors reflect Pathak’s leadership advancing data, artificial intelligence, and health technology to establish guidelines for safe and responsible use of AI and to drive innovation and equity across the na- tion’s largest public health system. “Divya’s commitment to innovation, equity, and excellence is helping trans- form our system into a leader in AI- enhanced healthcare and how we can use data to improve public health,” said NYC Health + Hospitals Senior Vice President and Corporate Chief Information Of- ficer KimMendez, EdD, ANP, RN. “Her leadership exemplifies our mission and ensures that cutting-edge technology and compassionate care advance together — enabling us to leverage the power of AI to better serve our patients, support our frontline teams, and uplift the communi- ties we are privileged to care for.” “I’m honored by these recognitions, which reflect the incredible work of so many members of our data, AI, and information technology teams across the public hospital system,” Pathak said. “To- gether, we’re using innovation not for its own sake, but to build a more equitable health system where every NewYorker receives care informed by data, compas- sion, and precision.” As Chief Data & AI Officer, Pathak spearheads NYC Health + Hospitals’ system-wide strategy for using data and emerging technologies to improve care delivery. It credits her with being instru- mental in embedding AI and data-driven solutions across clinical and operational domains, helping the public health system deliver smarter, faster, and more equitable care. Pathak oversees a multidisciplinary team that partners across departments to turn data into actionable insights that improve patient outcomes. She brings nearly two decades of expe- rience spanning healthcare systems, aca- demia, and industry, including leadership roles at Mayo Clinic and IBM Research, where she led enterprise-scale initiatives in AI and analytics for health systems, medical centers, and digital health orga- nizations. Her contributions have been recog- nized with several prestigious awards, including the 2024 MachineCon “AI In- novator” award and IBM’s “Outstanding Technical Achievement” award. Pathak also sits on the NODE.Health global advisory council and VALID AI, where she helps shape national standards for the responsible use of AI in healthcare. By a StaffWriter PHOTO:NYC Health + Hospitals System Divya Pathak. PHOTO:Martin Luther King (MLK) Elementaryschool New Jersey Man Sentenced To More Than 6 Years For Involvement In Elder Fraud Scheme P ranav Patel, 33, of New Jersey, was sentenced to six years and three months in federal prison June 11, 2-25, for conspiracy to commit money laundering. U.S. District JudgeWilliam F. Jung in Tampa, FL who sentenced Patel, also entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $1,791,301, the proceeds of the offense. Patel pleaded guilty on December 23, 2024. According to court documents, between October and December 2023, Patel was involved in a fraud scheme targeting senior citizens. Conspirators involved in the scheme called from call centers abroad and fraudulently identified themselves as government agents such as of- ficers from the United States Department of the Treasury. In some instances, the conspirators told victims that there were outstanding warrants for their arrest, and they needed to pay to clear the warrants. On other occasions, the conspirators told victims that they needed to provide their money and gold to the officers for safekeeping. Patel served as a money mule in the fraud scheme. He drove from New Jersey to pick up money and gold from senior citizens in the Middle District of Florida and elsewhere along the east coast of the United States. Dur- ing the sentencing hearing, one victim from whom Patel picked up fraud proceeds advised the court that because of the scam, he was unable to afford his mortgage pay- ments, had to sell his house, and had to depend on Social Security benefits for all his living expenses. In December 2023, Patel traveled to a residence in Hillsborough County to retrieve what he believed was a box of gold. Unbeknownst to Patel, he did so while under law enforcement surveillance, and Patel was promptly arrested after picking up the box. In total, Patel laundered $1,791,301 as part of the fraud scheme. “Preying on vulnerable, unsuspecting elderly victims to rob them of their hard-earned money is despicable. Even worse, the defendant’s co-conspirators posed as government agents to defraud victims of nearly $2 mil- lion, threatening them with arrest if they didn’t follow their demands,” U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Robert Engel of the Tampa Field Office is quoted saying in the press release. This case was investigated by the United States Secret Service, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. By a StaffWriter