Aidan Forbes is headed to Vanderbilt University in the fall. Huntington High School’s Class of 2018 valedictorian reached his decision after recently visiting the Nashville campus and carefully considering his options, which included some of the best colleges in the country.
“Vanderbilt will provide an academically and intellectually stimulating environment located in one of the best college towns I could possibly ask for,” Mr. Forbes said. “The seemingly endless supply of restaurants and live music in Nashville are sure to make my college experience incredibly enjoyable. It also has a beautiful campus and is consistently voted as having some of the happiest students in America.”
Huntington High School Class of 2018 valedictorian Aidan Forbes.
A National Merit Scholarship Finalist, Mr. Forbes considered Middlebury College, Northeastern University, Fordham University, University of Michigan and the University of Rochester, before choosing Vanderbilt.
“I plan on majoring in economics,” Mr. Forbes said. “I am thinking about minoring in computer science and Spanish.”
Since his first day of kindergarten at Flower Hill School, Mr. Forbes has been cherished by his classmates and teachers. The personable young man is one of the most well-liked members of Huntington’s senior class.
If any student is well-rounded, it’s Mr. Forbes. President of both the Math Honor Society and the high school’s Mathletes club, he’s volunteered at Huntington Hospital and even accompanied the concert choir on piano for three years.
Mr. Forbes’ senior year academic schedule includes Advanced Placement Chemistry, AP US Government and Politics, AP Microeconomics/Macroeconomics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Calculus BC and Spanish V Honors.
Some of the teenager’s favorite faculty members have been social studies teachers Kenneth Donovan and Lauren Desiderio, science teacher Stacey Byrnes and Flower Hill teacher Brenda McManus.
“I was not a particularly good student until Mrs. McManus’ second grade class,” Mr. Forbes said. “She convinced my parents that I had potential despite my mediocre kindergarten and first grade report cards.”
Mr. Forbes captured first place honors in the State History Day competition in Cooperstown as a junior. He went on to claim third place in the national championship at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The senior started at defense on Huntington’s first varsity boys’ soccer team to win an outright league championship in 28 years. Mr. Forbes was named Suffolk Academic All-County following the sensational season.
By any account, Mr. Forbes is quite a guy. Besides his academic and co-curricular commitments, he set aside time to study classical piano and play travel soccer during high school. In addition to Math Honor Society, he held down memberships in the National Honor Society as well as the English and Science Honor Societies.
As he looks ahead to the next step in his life, the teenager will be leaving behind many wonderful memories. “I have had so many great teachers at Huntington High School that I have genuinely enjoyed connecting with over the years,” Mr. Forbes said. “They are people I continuously looked to as sources of both wisdom and insight.”
