North Babylon's Ethan Klenofsky just won another award. He's going for a world record.
Ethan Klenofsky, 25, pictured in September at Babylon Town Hall, recently won the Duke of Edinburgh Award and is seeking a world record for civilian awards.
Credit: Rick Kopstein
A North Babylon man is one step closer to achieving his dream of a world record for civilian awards after snagging an international accolade.
Last month Ethan Klenofsky, 25, who has autism, learned he had won the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which recognizes participants from 14 to 24 years old who complete four kinds of tasks.
The U.K.-based Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation states those seeking the award must do something useful without getting paid, partake in a physical activity that requires a sustained energy level, prove expertise in a chosen skill and train for and complete an unaccompanied, self-reliant expedition.
The organization said it gave out more than 144,000 awards from 2022 to 2023. It took Klenofsky nearly a year to complete the requirements.
He volunteered for 52 hours at a senior center and bowled an hour a week for 13 weeks. He also wrote a public speech on volunteerism he delivered 14 times and wrote about both a family trip to Los Angeles and a virtual expedition of the Colosseum in Rome that he took part in.
“I was so giddy and happy,” Klenofsky said of learning that he had won. “I’ve been working on this for a long time so to see all my hard work pay off, it was just a feeling that’s indescribable.”
Past Duke of Edinburgh Award winner Rosie Westerbeck, 25, of Nashville, Tennessee, who was Klenofsky’s mentor, said she’s watched him blossom.
“At first he didn’t seem super confident in the goals he set, but towards the end I felt like he was pretty confident,” she said. “I think this is just the beginning for him.”
Klenofsky sought the international prize after earning a 2022 U.S. Congressional Award, which has similar requirements and recognizes initiative, service and achievement among young people.
The recent recognition from the U.K.-based organization was award number 104 for Klenofsky.
His mother, Susan Klenofsky, said he began ardently pursuing accolades three years ago as a way of refocusing his grief after a car hit and killed his father, Steven Klenofsky in Hicksville.
The 25-year-old hopes to prove to Guinness World Records that he has broken the record for the most civilian awards, which currently stands at 103, according to the organization's website.
Klenofsky’s award tally is now 110 after he collected six more proclamations from village, town, county and state officials for getting the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
“Getting to know Ethan, there is no disability,” Babylon Town Councilman Terence McSweeney said at a Dec. 21 ceremony, adding that the young man focuses on his abilities. “Ethan gets up every morning and he wants to figure out, ‘How I can go forward and make today a brighter day and a more successful day than it was yesterday?’ ”
Klenofsky, a 2016 North Babylon High School graduate, said while he might pursue a couple more awards, he's going to look for a job next.
“I can’t live off awards, they don’t make me any money,” he said.
A North Babylon man is one step closer to achieving his dream of a world record for civilian awards after snagging an international accolade.
Last month Ethan Klenofsky, 25, who has autism, learned he had won the Duke of Edinburgh Award, which recognizes participants from 14 to 24 years old who complete four kinds of tasks.
The U.K.-based Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Foundation states those seeking the award must do something useful without getting paid, partake in a physical activity that requires a sustained energy level, prove expertise in a chosen skill and train for and complete an unaccompanied, self-reliant expedition.
The organization said it gave out more than 144,000 awards from 2022 to 2023. It took Klenofsky nearly a year to complete the requirements.
He volunteered for 52 hours at a senior center and bowled an hour a week for 13 weeks. He also wrote a public speech on volunteerism he delivered 14 times and wrote about both a family trip to Los Angeles and a virtual expedition of the Colosseum in Rome that he took part in.
“I was so giddy and happy,” Klenofsky said of learning that he had won. “I’ve been working on this for a long time so to see all my hard work pay off, it was just a feeling that’s indescribable.”
Past Duke of Edinburgh Award winner Rosie Westerbeck, 25, of Nashville, Tennessee, who was Klenofsky’s mentor, said she’s watched him blossom.
“At first he didn’t seem super confident in the goals he set, but towards the end I felt like he was pretty confident,” she said. “I think this is just the beginning for him.”
Klenofsky sought the international prize after earning a 2022 U.S. Congressional Award, which has similar requirements and recognizes initiative, service and achievement among young people.
The recent recognition from the U.K.-based organization was award number 104 for Klenofsky.
His mother, Susan Klenofsky, said he began ardently pursuing accolades three years ago as a way of refocusing his grief after a car hit and killed his father, Steven Klenofsky in Hicksville.
The 25-year-old hopes to prove to Guinness World Records that he has broken the record for the most civilian awards, which currently stands at 103, according to the organization's website.
Klenofsky’s award tally is now 110 after he collected six more proclamations from village, town, county and state officials for getting the Duke of Edinburgh Award.
“Getting to know Ethan, there is no disability,” Babylon Town Councilman Terence McSweeney said at a Dec. 21 ceremony, adding that the young man focuses on his abilities. “Ethan gets up every morning and he wants to figure out, ‘How I can go forward and make today a brighter day and a more successful day than it was yesterday?’ ”
Klenofsky, a 2016 North Babylon High School graduate, said while he might pursue a couple more awards, he's going to look for a job next.
“I can’t live off awards, they don’t make me any money,” he said.
Denise Bonilla has worked at Newsday since 2003 and covers the Town of Babylon, including the villages of Lindenhurst and Amityville.
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