Christopher Martin is a practical teenager who rolls with the punches. The Huntington High School senior makes the best of any given situation and always finds the bright side of everything. He’s excited to be heading to the University of North Carolina at Asheville and studying for a career in engineering.
Mr. Martin’s long trek through Huntington UFSD began in a kindergarten classroom at Washington Primary School. He’s dabbled in a little bit of this and a little bit of that along the way, ruling in and out college and career interests along personal tastes.
Huntington High School senior Christopher Martin.
“I decided to apply to UNC Asheville because my number one pick was North Carolina State, but the problem is that NC State applicants have a very tough time getting in if they don’t live in North Carolina,” Mr. Martin said. “UNC Asheville offers a 2-plus-2 program with NC State, thus my choice was clear. UNC Asheville was going to be a stepping stone to get to my goal. NC State’s engineering program is one of the best in the nation and they’ll give me my best chance of getting a job straight out of college.”
Mr. Martin’s athleticism was spotted by his Washington School kindergarten physical education teachers during his first week there. He’s played in three different Blue Devil sports programs over the past four years.
“During high school I played football in my freshman year, but had a concussion and began to play volleyball in tenth grade,” Mr. Martin said. “In the middle of my junior year, I was named a captain of the varsity team. For spring sports I’ve always played lacrosse. I played three years of varsity and wouldn’t trade time spent at practice for homework or studying; there’s no regrets there.”
Mr. Martin is currently interested in mechanical engineering and he’s charted out a clear path to accomplish his academic and career goals. He can’t wait to get started with the next phase of his life.
UNC Asheville enrolls about 3,900 undergraduates and offers more than 30 academic majors. By comparison, North Carolina State has 34,000 undergraduate and graduate students studying on the campus. Located in Raleigh, it has more than 300 undergraduate and graduate degree programs and 65 departments.
The teenager has some favorites on the high school faculty. “I’ve gained a great relationship with Ms. Pazienza, who was my physics and engineering teacher in eleventh grade,” Mr. Martin said. “I remember her getting on me one day because I insisted on doing an engineering project instead of studying for a test and she got on me even more when I got 100 on that test. The other close bond I have is with Mrs. Biagi. This year I became her intern and handle anything she needs me to do.”
Honored earlier this spring as a Distinguished Senior, Mr. Martin has earned an academic average of 90 or higher during every semester of high school. He cites his ability to manage his time between work, clubs and sports as the key to his success.
“I think the most resonating time for me at Huntington was on Senior Day of both lacrosse and volleyball,” Mr. Martin said. “I’ll always remember stepping out on the court or the field one last time and fighting adversity to maybe, just maybe, prove everyone who doubted us wrong.”
