At the end of the winter of 2003, Division graduate John Rosenberg passed away. John graduated from Division with the class of 1997.

While at Division, John was a standout baseball player. He was the starting left fielder on Division's undefeated 1996 New York State Championship baseball team as a junior and a senior, and he started and starred for the 1997 Nassau County Championship Team. He was selected as an All Conference player for his hitting and defensive skills. Besides being a quality player, "Rosie" was also one of the most liked and well respected players that ever put a Division uniform on. It did not matter if it was a teammate, another student or a faculty member, Rosie was loved by all who came in contact with him.

His mom and dad are also Division graduates and his cousins, the Sbarras, attended Island Trees. His other cousins, the Tripps, attended MacArthur and like John all were also fine athletes.

It came as no surprise that when he passed away, all his teammates and friends wanted to start a scholarship in his honor. When the time came to determine who the award winner would be, it was decided that more than baseball would determine who received the scholarship. John was more than just a baseball player and a good person, he was also an outstanding student who excelled in the classroom. After graduating from Division, John went onto Binghamton University, where he played baseball for a year before devoting all his energy to academics. It was decided that the winner of the John Rosenberg Scholarship Award would be the senior who had the highest four year academic average of the graduating seniors on the baseball team.

This year's winner is senior catcher James Hickey, who was also selected as an All County player. James completed his four years at Division with a 95 average along with a 1240 SAT score. While James was an outstanding student, he was also a fierce competitor on the field and wound up hitting .453 for a season with 31 runs scored and 20 RBIs in a 25-game season. James was a perfect fit as the second annual John Rosenberg Award winner. He will be attending the University of Albany this coming September.