Catching up with Sarah Whitney
As Class of 2006 President Sarah Whitney looked out at the standing room only graduation day crowd, she was convinced that her Huntington High School classmates had the potential to accomplish just about anything they set out to do. She’s living proof of this truth.
Now in her third year at George Washington University, Ms. Whitney is a senior and looking forward to graduating next month. How is it that she can graduate college after only three years? The credit goes to hard work in a series of Advanced Placement courses during high school, which allowed her to enter GWU with a substantial number of college credits.
The Huntington alum will leave GWU with a Bachelor of Arts degree in international affairs and global public health and a minor in sociology. “I have had a wide range of experiences since I left Huntington, but have used my experiences at Huntington High School to shape what I have accomplished in and out of the classroom,” she said.
Duplicating the frenetic pace she maintained in high school, Ms. Whitney has hardly rested at all the past three years. “Last year, I served as an AmeriCorps member, teaching in an after school literacy program at a DC elementary school,” she said. Last fall she interned in the office of District of Columbia Public Schools’ Chancellor Michelle Rhee.
“During such an exciting time in DC, I was fortunate enough to celebrate the election of President [Barack] Obama in front of the White House on November 4th and experience the excitement in the central office of District of Columbia Public Schools as Chacellor Rhee was featured on the cover of TIME magazine to highlight her efforts to transform DC schools and the future of urban education,” Ms. Whitney said.
During her years at Huntington High School, Ms. Whitney rarely stopped long enough to take a deep breath. She was an integral part of the school’s student government, a member of the national, math and foreign language honor societies and the Huntington Outreach Peer Educators, a field hockey player, fencing team captain as a senior and all-county honorable mention in the sport. She was an Advanced Placement Scholar with Honors.
“I was involved in a lot at Huntington, but I am most proud of the time I spent with my classmates to bring the Challenge Day program to the district,” Ms. Whitney said. “It is exciting to hear that the program has become a recurring event at Huntington High School. My younger brother even participated in the program in the fall.”
At the senior academic awards night in June 2006, Ms. Whitney was recognized with the Political Action Committee Award and Rotary Club and Alumni Association scholarships.
Recently, Ms. Whitney took time out from her busy schedule to reflect on her years in Huntington. “The support of our faculty is one of the strongest parts of the Huntington School District and I owe much of my success at Huntington High School, and still today, to those teachers who truly shaped my experiences and interests at Huntington,” she said. “Two of the most influential teachers in my life, Ms.[Camille] DeCanio and Mr. [Michael] Schwendemann, were incredibly important to me during my time at Huntington High School and are two people who I continue to count among my role models today. I also owe great thanks to Mr. [Joseph] Leavy, Ms. [Suzie] Biagi, coach [Alan] Kuver and coach [Stephen] Henry, and of course, Dr. [Carmela] Leonardi, my principal for eight years in the district. They work so hard and without them, Huntington grads wouldn't be where we are today.”
At GWU, Ms. Whitney found several opportunities for growth when she combined her dual interests in education and global health. “In 2007, I volunteered in Haiti at a high school with the Haitian American Friendship Foundation and last winter I spent a week working in New Orleans with Habitat for Humanity,” she said. “This past summer I interned in South Africa with Student Movement for Real Change (SMRC), working on health and education programs in local schools.”
Now, a new adventure looms. “In September, I was accepted into SMRC's Global Development Fellowship program, after proposing a project that I began developing with an eleventh grade student at Manyangana High School in South Africa while living in the community this past summer,” Ms. Whitney said. “After fundraising and planning over the course of this past school year, I will be moving to Uta, South Africa in June to begin this project on the ground. Uta is a rural community struggling to fight poverty under the legacy of apartheid. With my youth partner and a committee of local residents, I will be supporting the construction and development of the Uta Community Center, which will serve as a physical structure for projects in health, education, community development, and youth and women’s empowerment.”
Ms. Whitney said the center in Uta “will provide a gathering place for community meetings and locally-developed projects and be a resource for community groups in development and outreach efforts. With SMRC, I am working hard to raise the final funds required to build the community center and develop its programs.”
More information about Ms. Whitney’s project can be found online at www.studentmovementusa.org/center, along with pictures of the community and a blog that follows the community center's progress. Donations can be made through the website and “are greatly appreciated,” the Huntington grad said.
She may be on the cusp of departing America’s friendly shores for distant lands in Africa, but Ms. Whitney will never forget where she came from and the town she affectionately calls home.
“My whole life is literally shaped by the Huntington School District,” Ms. Whitney said. “My dad graduated from Huntington High School in 1976, my grandfather, Jack Whitney, was the principal at Finley [Junior High School] for many years and many members of my family have taught in the district. I love hearing stories about the high school from my younger brothers, Sean and Matthew, who are members of the senior and junior classes, respectively. With all that my class has accomplished in just three short years, I can't wait to see what the future has in store for all of Huntington's graduates.”
At Huntington’s 2006 commencement exercises, Ms. Whitney announced members of her class were giving the high school various items to freshen up the main entrance area including new brickwork, flowers and benches. “We’ve given our all to this school and I hope this gift can add one more thing for everyone to remember us by,” she said on that warm June evening three years ago.
As she marches off to help make the world a better place, it’s a sure bet that Ms. Whitney’s one of those graduates her alma mater will always remember.
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