Minoff Dedicates Dance to Fellow
H-ton Alum
Annie Minoff is a Marist College junior, but she will always have a special place in her heart for her alma mater, Huntington High School. The Class of 2010 member is a psychology major and is headed to Europe in the spring, but her thoughts are never far from home.
A member of the Marist dance team, Ms. Minoff performs at every college football and basketball game. "We've come such a long way since my freshman year and I'm so proud to be a part of such a great team," she said. "My team is like my family and I'm going to miss them so much next semester while I'm abroad."
The Marist dance ensemble puts on a showcase each semester. "Each dance is choreographed by a student," Ms. Minoff said. "This year, I auditioned to choreograph and got chosen."
Ms. Minoff's dance was performed to the song "From Where You Are" by Lifehouse. She dedicated the dance to her friend Courtney O'Bryan, a member of Huntington's Class of 2011 who was killed last December in a tragic car crash on an ice-slicked highway in rural Pennsylvania while on a charitable fundraising trip with fellow Penn State students.
"I got so much positive feedback from it and I was so happy I decided to do it," Ms. Minoff said about the dance. "Courtney and I were friends through sports and Natural Helpers. She also lived just a few houses down from me. I felt that there was no better person to dedicate a dance to. She touched so many of our lives in such a positive way that I was truly honored to create my piece for her."
Highsteppers Produce Memories
Ms. Minoff entered the Huntington School District as a kindergarten student. She tasted a little bit of everything in high school from two years of soccer and one season of softball to the Highsteppers dance team, Spanish Honor Society and Key club.
"Some of my best memories come from being involved with the Huntington Highsteppers," Ms. Minoff said. "We had so much fun every year and became like a family. It also opened me up to the world of dance, which I am now heavily a part of. If I had not joined the Highsteppers, I probably would not be so involved in dance today."
Lora Ayala, one of the Highsteppers' coaches at the time, owned Platinum Performance Dance Academy, which Ms. Minoff started attending as a junior. "I have to thank her for everything she's done for me," the Huntington grad said. "She gave me a new passion that I felt I was missing after I stopped gymnastics in eighth grade. She gave me all the confidence I needed to pursue my love for dance in college."
Ms. Minoff still thinks about her one year of high school softball, saying she had the "best time" with some of her friends. "I had played when I was younger, but in tenth grade a few friends and myself decided to join JV," she recalled. "We had so much fun with each other and our coach, Jade Edwards. We ended up doing pretty well, which a lot of people didn't expect."
Five courses are currently keeping Ms. Minoff busy this semester, including Research Methods and Principles of Psychological Testing for her psychology major; Criminology and US Courts for her criminal justice minor and Ethics.
Three Favorite Teachers
Huntington High School prepared Ms. Minoff well for college. One of her favorite teachers was James Graber. "I took AP US History and AP Economics with him and they were a true challenge," she said. "I struggled a lot, but he was an amazing teacher and always pushed me because he knew I could succeed. I ended up getting a 4 on the US History AP and a 3 on the Economics AP, so the credits were accepted here at Marist. I loved his classes even though they were really tough. He helped my self-confidence a lot."
Another favorite from her Huntington years is Michael Graziano. "I don't even really like math, but he made my ninth grade math class actually enjoyable," Ms. Minoff said. "I remember being really shy at the beginning of ninth grade and his class helped me become more outgoing."
Huntington social studies faculty member Camille Tedeschi "was one of the best teachers I ever had," Ms. Minoff said. "I had her for Honors Global in ninth grade and Women's Studies senior year. Global was challenging, but she was always pushing me to do my best. The Women's Studies course was one of my favorites during high school."
The Huntington grad admits she was shy when she first arrived on the Marist campus and she wasn't happy about it. "I would tell incoming college freshmen to not be so afraid," Ms. Minoff said. "The first semester of freshman year I was very quiet and I did not adjust well. But then I became more involved by trying out for the dance team and joining Marist Dance Ensemble. I made some of my best friends through those activities."
Ms. Minoff said she "could not be more excited" about studying abroad in Florence, Italy during the spring semester. It will be a welcome reprieve after a grueling fall.
A Stressful Semester
"This semester has been pretty stressful with a lot of tests and papers, but next semester is going to be absolutely amazing," Ms. Minoff said. "I hope to travel as much as possible. I'm so grateful to have this once in a lifetime opportunity. The only downside is that I will miss my family, friends and my boyfriend."
She's been dating fellow Huntington Class of 2010 member Dan McGale for almost two years. "We were friends throughout high school and started dating a little bit after we both coincidentally chose Marist College," Ms. Minoff said. "It's going to be weird being apart from him for a semester, but I know we're both going to have such an amazing time. He's going to England, so we plan on visiting each other and possibly meeting up in Europe somewhere."
The future is still up in the air for the Marist junior. "I'm not exactly sure what I want to do yet, but I know that I want to work in a field that mixes psychology and criminal justice," Ms. Minoff said. "I will definitely be applying to graduate schools, probably closer to home. I'm especially interested in working with adolescents. I plan on applying for internships senior year at either a correctional facility or a courthouse."
As her junior year continues to "fly by," Ms. Minoff finds it a little hard to believe she will be a college senior before too long. "My sister Allie, who's a sophomore at Huntington, is almost 16 now and I refuse to believe it," she said. "Soon she'll be looking into colleges while I look into graduate school. I've learned to appreciate everything you have in life and take advantage of every opportunity you are given. You never know what can happen, so it's important to let the people you care about know how much you love and appreciate them."