BFS Seniors Featured For Their GSI Work
UPDATED ON 12/2/25
Two weeks ago, Brooklyn Friends School seniors Derrick W. and Beckett Z. were featured in The New York Times and brooklynfriends.org for their innovative website to assist with the affordable housing crisis in New York City. Over the holiday weekend, the dynamic duo was featured on CBS News New York. “Listening to Derrick and Beckett speak about how they took the summer to teach themselves how to code in order to build their platform is inspiring,” said BFS Director of Global Social Impact, Kevin Murungi, who was on hand for the interview, which took place Tuesday in the BFS Upper School library.
BFS Seniors Featured in NYT
The last line of the Brooklyn Friends School mission statement reads as such: Our graduates are compassionate, curious, and confident global citizens who let their lives speak in the spirit of leadership and service. We may have to edit that a bit, since students at BFS are not waiting until graduation to make a true impact in our world.
Our Global Social Impact pillar has been standing very tall in recent months, leading with passion and intention when it comes to food justice work across our learning communities, directly addressing the real-time food insecurity crisis of the moment. In addition, there is the Social Justice Incubator Project, which addresses multiple issues in our city.
Now, we have the work of two BFS students that was highlighted in The New York Times on Friday, in a feature about an online portal they have created to address New York City’s affordable housing crisis. Seniors Derrick and Beckett were inspired to start this initiative after a Socratic seminar discussion they had in economics class about the affordable housing shortage in the United States.
“BFS has really amplified our voice and has given us the confidence to do these things,” Derrick said. “The BFS culture really teaches how we can impact others using the resources we have here, and to see opportunities not just in our lives, but in other people’s lives, and that has driven us to create this work.”
Their venture is consistent with the great work being done within our Global Social Impact pillar and a clear indication that BFS students are not just hearing about these world issues, but taking action. BFS’ Director of Global Social Impact, Kevin Murungi, leads all students in various social justice work, but is quick to direct all of the credit for this project to the students themselves, who took what they learned at BFS and are making a difference.
“What they’ve created is impressive and a useful tool for those looking for housing below market and I am very proud of them,” Kevin said.
For their part, Derrick and Beckett deflect being in the spotlight, and instead want everyone to focus on the problem at hand—the affordable housing crisis—and are hopeful that their work will resonate with our leaders and spark real change.
“I think it is really important for people to feel stability and I feel housing is the foundation of that,” Beckett said. “This is a huge issue in New York City and If you are struggling to afford to live in a home for you and your family, it can derail a lot.”
Added Derrick, “The bottom line is, we want more New Yorkers to know about the tool that we created and hopefully bring more awareness to the affordable housing crisis.”
You can read the entire New York Times article here: http://bit.ly/4pakCo8