When Huntington School District teachers and administrators learned that retired Assistant Superintendent Steven Tribus had passed away suddenly on January 28, 2013, the spirits of his former colleagues who closely collaborated with him sank.
The ultimate professional who was proud of his chosen career, Mr. Tribus enjoyed his time in the Huntington School District, energetically interacting with teachers, students and parents and making notable contributions toward new initiatives designed to enhance the quality of classroom instruction.
Mr. Tribus was just 69 years old at the time of his passing. His family quickly decided to create a scholarship in his honor and designated the award for a graduating Huntington senior planning to pursue a career as a teacher.
The inaugural recipient of the $1,000 Steve Tribus Memorial Scholarship Award was Anna Garfinkel who went on to graduate from Skidmore College. The 2015 honoree was Katie Duval, who studied literature at Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts. The 2016 scholarship recipient was Jeannie Morgenstern, who is entering her senior year at New York University. Kathryn Dara, who is currently studying English at the University at Albany was the 2017 award winner. Joel Alfaro, who is preparing for a career as a social studies teacher at Colgate University garnered last year’s scholarship.
This year’s recipient of the Steve Tribus Memorial Scholarship Award is Ilsi Martinez Euceda, who will begin studies later this month at Suffolk Community College.
Huntington High School English teacher Michael Schwendemann and Chairman of Humanities Joseph Leavy presented the Tribus scholarship to Ms. Euceda at the Class of 2019’s senior academic awards ceremony in the high school auditorium.
Ms. Martinez Euceda was among 200 students selected statewide to participate in the Angelo Del Toro Puerto Rican/Hispanic Youth Leadership Institute in Albany last winter. She represented Assemblyman Steve Stern in the mock State Assembly and earlier met with him to get his point of view on the bills under consideration.
Steve Tribus was a veteran educator
Steven Tribus earned a BA in history at Hofstra University and a master’s degree in administration and supervision at St. John’s University. He came to Huntington in January 1995 and retired June 30, 2000. The final months of his career in the district were spent serving as interim superintendent, following the departure of Kevin Colpoys.
At the time of his passing, Mr. Tribus was residing with his wife, Marilyn in Henderson, Nevada, near Las Vegas. A member of Far Rockaway High School’s Class of 1961, he participated in the school’s 119th commencement exercises on Thursday, June 29, 1961. He received the Henry Koslan Memorial Medal for excellence in health education.
Steven Charles Tribus began his career in 1965 as an English teacher at Canarsie High School in Brooklyn. In 1973 he moved to Grover Cleveland High School in Queens, where he worked as an assistant principal and English department faculty member.
In 1982, Mr. Tribus was promoted to director of English, K-12 for the New York City public schools, a post he served in until 1991 when he was named director of curriculum and program development for New York City.
A talented high school pitcher at Far Rockway and a baseball fan his entire life, Mr. Tribus was given tryouts by the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies organizations. The retired educator also enjoyed playing golf and was a wine enthusiast. Traveling was another favorite pastime, as Mr. Tribus and his wife of 45 years traveled throughout the world, thoroughly enjoying the experience of learning about new cultures.
A funeral service was held for Mr. Tribus on January 31, 2013 at King David Chapel in Las Vegas with interment immediately following. In addition to his wife, he was survived by sons Craig (Melissa) Tribus of Henderson, NV and Evan (Alison) Tribus of Montclair NJ; and grandchildren Jaelyn and Jordyn Tribus of Henderson.
A nurturing educator who was known for encouraging young people to pursue their dreams, there is little doubt that Mr. Tribus would have been quite pleased to meet with Ms. Euceda and hear all about her goals and career interests.
