Way to Go: Justin Ryan King, Uniondale

Justin Ryan King has been honored as a promoter of peace in his community.

The Uniondale High School freshman was among a handful of Long Islanders younger than 25 to receive a 2011 Next Generation of Peacemakers Award from the nonprofit Long Island Alliance for Peaceful Alternatives, based on his dedication to peace and justice.

King, the youngest honoree, was nominated and selected based on his participation during the 2010-11 school year in a public service announcement about bullying prevention. The announcement, created by a local organization called the Uniondale Peacemakers, aired in some Uniondale schools.

"I was a new kid in school getting made fun of and some classmates stood up for me," King said of his fictitious role in the two-minute video. "We did a good job. We got the message out."

King said he was invited to appear in the public service announcement based on his previous participation in a district program called TASKS, which allowed Uniondale pupils to engage in school extracurricular activities, sports and tutoring.

He also is in the high school's Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps and is a junior fireman in the Uniondale Fire Department.