John Holly embraces each day with everything he has and the effort has returned many dividends to the Huntington High School senior over the years. He’s one of the most popular and colorful members of the Class of 2021. Since his first day of kindergarten at Washington Primary School, the teenager has been impressing teachers and making friends.
“I’m very happy to be taking all courses that I’m interested in,” Mr. Holly said. “This year I’m taking Advanced Placement Micro/Macro Economics, AP Literature and Composition, AP Environmental Science and AP United States Government and Politics. The class that I am most excited for is AP United States Government and Politics because I love learning about history, the political system and being involved in discussions surrounding these topics.”
The teenager said he is “incredibly excited” to be serving as the school-wide student government vice president. “I’ve been involved in student government since my freshman year and have served as class president as well as a recording secretary. I’m especially excited for this year because now that I have a comparatively larger role in carving the path that the student government will embark on than in the past, I can make positive changes for the school and its student body alike, while helping the local community with things like food drives and fundraisers.”
Mr. Holly defines the term “involved student.” He enjoys taking a leadership role and pursues activities that interest him and help broaden his horizons.
“I’m very involved with Habitat for Humanity, which is the program I definitely derive the most joy from and I’m proud to say that I had the opportunity to go to New Orleans with the club last February,” Mr. Holly said. “The Habitat trip was an incredibly rewarding experience. I was able to help great people who had fallen on hard times, while at the same time sharing great memories with close friends along with people I became closer with during the trip. Getting to explore a city that was new to me was also something I’ll never forget.”
The teenager’s closest friends include Jack Kurathowski, Alex Fascilla, Luke Maffei, Cameron Santa-Maria and Nate Deegan, “but I have a truly great group of friends that I am really close with and are not only always fun to be around, but are also there for anything I ever need help with.”
Mr. Holly’s advice to incoming ninth graders? “Get involved in a lot of programs from the beginning and once you do find a few that you really love, seek leadership positions in them,” he said. “This will help you to become a more integral part of the activity or group that you enjoy and will also teach you great interpersonal skills.”
The senior said that “right now” he is most interested in the University of Pittsburgh, University of Rhode Island, University of Connecticut, Binghamton University and the University of Delaware. “I plan to study business or law,” Mr. Holly said.
While COVID-19 has necessitated many changes to life at Huntington High School, Mr. Holly has strived to make the best of the situation while continuing to pursue his interests.
“My experience at Huntington has been overall positive,” Mr. Holly said. “I’m excited to see what life has in store for me in the future. From my first day at Washington up to this point, Huntington has always provided vast opportunities in many fields of interest and really did a great job at helping me figure out what my next steps in life will be.”