It’s true that there’s something for everyone at Huntington High School. Junior Naysa Escobar knows this well. That “something” for her is the Virtual Enterprise business course that she’s enjoying and using to help set future college and career goals.
“I have dreamed of taking Virtual Enterprise since the ninth grade,” Ms. Escobar said. “I would see all of the employees functioning as a whole and working to obtain the best of their business. This course is the one I am the most interested and invested in throughout my day. I can spend hours on it and not notice until I see my alarm go off that says ‘it’s 12 a.m. GO TO SLEEP.’”
Ms. Escobar looks forward to working with business teacher Paige Furman daily in the Virtual Enterprise room. “But I have noticed that Mr. [Kenneth] Donavan, an Advanced Placement US History teacher, is amazing as well,” she said. “I never thought I would actually enjoy going to history class, but here I am eager to learn more about it and have more discussions with him.”
The teenager leads a very busy life. “After school you will never find me sitting around starring at my phone,” Ms. Escobar said. “Once the school day is over is when the ‘school day’ begins for me. From 2:30 to 9 p.m. you will find me running around town or joining Google Meets trying to get to all of my extracurriculars. People call me crazy when I say the number of extracurricular activities I’m in, but for the sake of argument I shall tell you. I am in 12 extracurricular activities including AWOD, GrandFriends, Mathletes, Natural Helpers and many more.”
Ms. Escobar is fully invested in her classes, clubs and outside activities. She tries to do everything really well, giving every aspect of her life the attention it deserves.
“The teachers who have mentored me include Ms. Furman, who has been with me since day one and who I know I can always go if anything happens; Mr. [Joseph] Cohen, who has such a big heart and has showed me what it really means to be confident in one’s self; and lastly Mr. Donovan, who has so much patience with me that it is absolutely insane,” Ms. Escobar said. “I am not counting deans, because if I was, Mr. [Robert] Gilmor would absolutely be on my list.”
The teenager said that Ms. Furman has especially “stood out” over the years. “She is a business teacher who I met in my freshman year while taking Sports Marketing,” Ms. Escobar said. “I absolutely loved her from day one and tried to be her No. 1 student since then. I know I’m giving off major teacher pet vibes, but you will understand my statement once you know her. She is so caring and attentive and always gave me a boost when I was having a bad day. Thanks to her I got nominated for the Business Innovation program and got an internship at 3-Industries.”
Ms. Escobar’s advice to incoming high school freshmen? “To quote Benjamin Franklin, ‘Well done is better than well,’” she said “If you want to do something; do it! Don’t let anyone keep you down because if you do this or do that you’re ‘not cool.’ Think about it; while you’re spending all this time on your own, running from clubs to student teaching, what you’re really doing is becoming interesting. And when those kids finally notice you, they’re going to find someone a lot cooler than they thought.”
The teenager said she is “most interested” in attending Cornell University’s SC Johnson College of Business. Ms. Escobar would like to pursue a business major while minoring in design.
“If I’m being honest, I love this school,” Ms. Escobar said. “Not only do I consider it my home, but I see all of the people as my family. They have helped me through the ups and downs and thanks to all of my teachers and friends I am where I am right now.”