Arielle Harvey has a heart of gold. The Huntington High School senior is one of the kindest, most compassionate and caring souls in the Class of 2019.
A remarkably talented young woman, Ms. Harvey has been a standout since her first days as a kindergartener at Jefferson Primary School. All these years later, the teenager is still impressing her classmates and teachers.
Huntington High School senior Arielle Harvey.
Ms. Harvey’s senior year academic schedule includes classes in Advanced Placement Environmental Science, AP 2D Photography, Calculus, Multicultural Literature, Holocaust in Literature, Economics, Participation in Government and Symphony Orchestra. She is also engaged in a credit bearing internship with high school orchestra teacher Nicole Castaldo.
The teenager’s favorite faculty members include Stacey Byrnes, Amelia Saggese, Michael Schwendemann, Nicole Castaldo, Pamela Piffard, David Moriarty, Erik Bruckbauer and Robert Gilmor III
“Arielle is a wonderful young woman,” Mrs. Piffard said. “She is a creative artist and an incredibly talented musician. She is kind and has a heart of gold.”
Ms. Harvey was a key player on Huntington varsity field hockey team. She is also involved in the high school’s Tri-M Music Honor Society chapter and will be performing with the chamber orchestra and pit orchestra.
A member of the Gemini Youth Orchestra program, Ms. Harvey has been studying in the Mannes Prep pre-college music program at The New School in Manhattan.
Ms. Harvey’s college plans are not yet finalized. Her career path is also still taking shape, but she does have an idea of the direction should would like to take. “I’m still unsure of exactly what I would like to do for a career path, but I am interested in the education and music fields,” she said.
Among Ms. Harvey’s closest friends are Alexis Smith, Ashley Anderson, Morgan Minicozzi and Hannah Bailin. But, her circle of warm acquaintances is quite wide and for good reason. She’s a popular young woman who others trust and enjoy being around.
“Arielle has honestly been my best friend since elementary school,” Ms. Minicozzi said. “She has always been my shoulder to cry on and has always been there for me when I needed it most. She is such a dedicated, hardworking and kind girl that will always chase her dreams. She is such an amazing violinist and I know she will do something amazing with it in the future.”
There is no doubt that Ms. Harvey has captured the respect and admiration of her classmates. “Arielle is the type of person that will always push herself to the next level,” Ms. Minicozzi said. “During the field hockey season she always worked so hard on and off the field and she provided so much support to our team. I do not know what I will do without her in college, but I hope that our friendship will be even stronger in the future years.”
Many of Ms. Harvey’s friendships have stood the test of time and only grown stronger. “Arielle and I met in the first grade and she is one of my best friends,” Ms. Bailin said. “She’s the most genuine person I’ve ever known; always there when you need someone to talk to. She’s a very talented musician and I know she will do amazing things.”
The senior is very well-liked around the high school building and she’s known for her smile and sense of humor as well as her towering talents.
“I am happy with my experience in Huntington,” Ms. Harvey said. “Over the past four years I’ve made friendships that will last a lifetime. Huntington has shaped my character for the better through organizations like Natural Helpers, field hockey and Tri-M. I am sad my time at Huntington is coming to an end, but I will carry the memories with me for the rest of my life.”
Ms. Harvey has deep roots in Huntington’s music program. “Arielle has been an orchestra student of mine for the past four years and in that time she has grown into a true leader in the orchestra,” Mrs. Castaldo said. “Currently, she is the concert master of the symphony orchestra and is in an honors string quartet, which has already performed numerous gigs in the Huntington community this year. Outside of school, Arielle studies at the demanding Mannes pre-college program in Manhattan, which speaks volumes to her commitment to music. It also just so happens that two of the Mannes teachers with whom she has studied violin are teachers I studied with when I was in high school myself.”
The teenager and Mrs. Castaldo are working closely together during the Ms. Harvey’s internship this year. “It has been an absolute pleasure to have her as an intern,” the teacher said. “Besides being a wonderful person and an extremely talented violinist, she is constantly tuning instruments, changing strings, conducting warm-ups and doing whatever else she can to help our large rehearsals run as smoothly as possible. Arielle set a goal for herself to perform on viola, cello and bass in the string orchestra and she has already spent some time playing all of those instruments this year. She is going to perform one piece on cello with the orchestra at our upcoming winter concert. It’s certainly an accomplishment in such a short amount of time.”
