Huntington’s Distinguished Seniors Honored at Dinner

Valedictorian Todd Colvin & Salutatorian Molly Prep

The top members of Huntington High School’s Class of 2013 were honored last Thursday night during this year’s Distinguished Senior Dinner in Louis D. Giani Gymnasium.

During the three-hour long affair, the exceptional teenagers recognized a set of teachers who have meant the most to them through the years. A large crowd numbering about 330 attended the tenth annual dinner that recognizes Huntington’s best.

Huntington High School Principal Carmela Leonardi saluted the 107 leading students for their exceptional academic performance and for their remarkable efforts outside of classes and the regular school day.

“I was very excited about the large number of students that qualified for this particular recognition,” Dr. Leonardi said. “The fact that the students maintained a 90 or better GPA for the seven semesters that we used for our calculations is impressive.”

School Board President Emily Rogan, Superintendent James W. Polansky, PTA Council President Bari Fehrs and Assistant Principal Brenden Cusack took turns at the microphone, offering the seniors hearty congratulations for a job well done.

The honorees included:

Matthew Angeliadis, Ashley Angstadt, Kelly Askerberg, Jessica Baik, Claire Beach, Matthew Beeby, Lauren Bialkowski, Thomas Boisclair, Rachel Bosco, Jamie Brown, Hannah Burnett, Nicole Burton, Conor Byrne, James Byrnes, Monica Casabona, Andrea Cerini, Taylor Choy, Emily Coleman, Todd Colvin, Jacqueline Contino, Joseph Corcoran, Mark Curley, Allegra DePasquale, Samantha Dever, Caroline Doscas, Sarah Feltman, James Ferraiolo, Brent Filippini, Erica Flor, Daniel Gallagher, Kerri-Ann Giambruno, Caroline Glowacky, Gabriel Goldman, Debbie Gomez, Alexandra Grabowski, Wendy Granados-Lopez, Francesca Gray, Judith Greco, Samantha Greenidge and Melanie Grossman.

Lucinda Gulino, William Hannon, Megan Hansen, Kathleen Healy, Richard Hermer-Fried, Laura Ironman, Samuel Johnson, Kaylyn Johnston, Nolan Johnston, Holden Kata, Antonia Keddell, Emaad Khwaja, Kylee Kiesel, Ryan Lader, Samantha Lai, Courtney Lawrence, Samantha Levine, Katherine Lopez, Nicholas Lupi, Brian Marek, Pauline McGlone, Emily McGoldrick, Melena Mills, Josh Morris, Ari Moskowitz, Daniel Moya, Anne Nugent, Christine O’Grady, Rebecca Palladino, Taylor Palmer, Soyeon Park, Marisa Pashkin, Michelle Pechar, Kathryn Petrozzo, Margaret Petryk, Jennifer Polster, Katelyn Postiglione, Molly Prep, Stephanie Rafuse, Alexandra Reinertsen, Collin Richardson and Melissa Rosenberg.

Ana Ruzic, Elizabeth Sager, Christopher Schoen, Danielle Schultz, Thomas Scott, Grant Siele, Annabel Smith, Nicole Smoot, Joshua Solomowitz, Kevin Solomowitz, Alexa Sperduto, Eric Sze, Aryan Tafreshi, Alexis Thompson, Joshua Toor, Daniel Tuohey, Joey Tuozzo, Emal Wafajow, Alexis Weitzner, Anna Wertheim, Elizabeth Whitcher, Adelia Witt, Jonathan Wood, Frank Yeh, Scout Ziegler and Aaron Zimmerman.

“What is so special about this group of seniors is that they intentionally put their intelligence and effort into improving things in our school and community,” Dr. Leonardi said. “They are service minded and they continue to come up with ways of supporting others. This includes tutoring students here in school, raising funds for organizations, (most notably Relay For Life) and individuals, collecting food for local pantries and visiting the seniors. I admire their spirit and dedication and cannot help but think that this group will address many of the social and economic issues that face us.

The distinguished seniors were asked to select one teacher from the first school they first attended in the district and from each of their subsequent schools. The teenagers took their responsibility seriously and made their selections based upon personal experiences that struck a chord with each of them, individually and collectively.

The teachers that were recognized included Kathleen Kraus, Joan Marie Balsari, Leticia Cuthbertson, Meghan Kenny, Christopher Dugan, Heather Flaherty, Susan Tuohey and Patricia Dillon. Seniors introduced each of the faculty members with touching and heartfelt remembrances. The teachers each spoke, recalling some humorous experiences with the now-seniors and repeatedly stating how proud they are of their former students.

The selection of Mrs. Balsari, a longtime Washington School classroom teacher, was especially emotional since she passed away in October 2011 after a battle with breast cancer. The educator’s daughter, Denielle, a Huntington graduate and herself now a teacher in Commack, told the seniors how much her mother loved working with them.

The Huntington High School chamber orchestra under the direction of teacher Lisa Leonardi entertained the crowd during the hors d’oeuvres hour. The musicians included Christian Jamison, Ashley Melgar, Monica Owen, Sara Goldenbaum, Gabrielle Goodridge, Melany Lanham-Ciancia, Leeana Madera, Gisselle Martinez, Annalise Mozer, Margaret Petryk, Annie Trousdell, Brian Gilbert, Holly Grabowski, George Gabriel, Katherine Gerdes, Samuel Latt, Elisa Medina-Jaudes, Suzanne Petryk, Brendan Wirth, Benjamin Nikodem and Jessica Straub.