A new tradition is set to unfold at Huntington High School as officials and students plan to transition from a June junior/senior prom to a junior banquet at the school for members of the Class of 2021 and a traditional prom for seniors.
While plans for the new junior banquet in the high school’s Louis D. Giani Gymnasium are still taking shape, the initiative received a significant boost when members of the recently graduated Class of 2019 decided to gift a significant sum of monies to be used to support what is expected to be a very special evening for the eleventh graders.
The Class of 2019’s gift was announced at the high school’s 158th commencement this past June by Dominick Stanley and Ashlyn Case, who served as class president and vice president, respectively.
“Each year, the junior class is tasked with the responsibility of fundraising for a joint junior/senior prom,” Ms. Case told a crowd of more than 2,000 at the commencement. “However, beginning in 2020, a separate junior banquet and senior prom will be introduced to ensure that each class has its own unique experience. To offset the costs associated with a second event we are presenting the current junior class (Class of 2020) with funding to kick start the new tradition. A portion of our funds will also go to the current sophomore class (Class of 2021) to aid it in organizing the first junior banquet.”
Ms. Case’s message was well received by the crowd. “It is our hope that this will serve as a memorable finale for the seniors and that in the future Huntington High School will continue to make lifelong memories with this new tradition.”
A member of the National Honor Society and English Honor Society, Ms. Case plans to study communications at the University of Rhode Island.
Mr. Stanley also took the opportunity as the Class of 2019’s president to address his fellow seniors. “We as a class and as individuals have gone through a lot these past few years,” he told the overflow commencement crowd. “We lost our friend, Eli Mollineaux, who was an inspiration and source of strength for us all. We’re strong; we’re endearing and we are diverse. We watched as the Huntington Blue Devil marching band soared to victory at the state championships. We saw the Class of 2019 bring victories to the Huntington robotics team. We saw our seniors run like there was no tomorrow at the New York State track and field championships – and so much more.”
An Advanced Placement Scholar, Mr. Stanley is headed to Lawrence University in Wisconsin. He is interested in a career as a social studies teacher.
“Diversity here is not limited merely to race, but a diversity in direction, in academia, in philosophy and in thought,” Mr. Stanley told the commencement crowd. “Don’t believe me? Look around you; at the students in front of me and behind me on this stage. In the hard times we live in, Huntington’s Class of 2019 has remained respectful, cohesive, pensive and open-minded.
Here at Huntington, the true lessons are taught from those small talks with your teacher, not just the lectures. Huntington is truly a place unlike any high school you see in the movies.”