Colby Martin weighed all his options, talked it over with his family and reached a decision. The Huntington High School will be attending Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh and playing on its lacrosse team.
“I went up for a visit in the fall of my junior year and just fell in love with it,” Mr. Martin said. “The size, the amazing view with it being on the Hudson River and the distance [from home] was just perfect for me. The classes are smaller so I can get to know my teacher instead of just being a number in a class of 300 kids. Many of the people that go there are from Long Island so it has that ‘at home’ feeling.”
The teenager has played on the Blue Devil football and lacrosse teams. A long time ago, Mr. Martin decided that lax is his No. 1 sport and he has always wanted to play on the college level. He feels Mount Saint Mary is a good fit. “It is just what I wanted,” he said.
Mr. Martin is looking forward to his final season in a Blue Devil uniform, but he also can’t wait to start playing lacrosse for Mount Saint Mary. “It is a great program and it made the playoffs last season,” he said. “The guys that I met on the team are great people. The coach is someone who really cares about the person off the field rather than just the athlete. He has a great IQ for the game and coached at Cortland and won a national championship. They just hired a new coach who just graduated as an All-American at Ithaca College.”
Founded in 1959 by the Sisters of Saint Dominic, Mount Saint Mary College boasts an enrollment of 2,500 students, including 1,700 traditional undergraduates. There are 50 undergraduate degree programs offered. Average class size runs about 20. The freshman class totals 430. The school is located in the mid-Hudson Valley, about halfway between Manhattan and Albany.
“Growing up, I always wanted to play in college and once I came across Mount Saint Mary, I knew I was going to be going there,” Mr. Martin said. “Right now I am deciding to major in education or medicine
The teenager will always remember fondly the time he spent in a Blue Devil uniform and his years at Huntington High School. “They were great,” Mr. Martin said. “Huntington is an amazing place and I could not have asked for a better four years of high school.”
