Rashiem Sexton has a heart of gold. Just ask his teachers and classmates. The Huntington High School senior is a wonderful young man with an endearing personality. He plans to pursue a career in the hospitality industry.
Mr. Sexton is a kind and friendly presence around the high school building. Classmates love learning alongside him and teachers genuinely enjoy having him in their classroom. He’s a funny, charismatic teenager who displays a caring and compassionate personality.
It’s difficult for the senior to pin down one or two classes or teachers as his personal favorites. He’s had so many memorable experiences. But Fashion & Design Illustration is one course that particularly stands out. He never realized how much he would enjoy it. Check that; he really loved the class.
Mr. Sexton also loves math and building his vocational skills in the PAES lab with Mrs. [Maureen] Yostpille, and Mrs. [Kelly] Trites. The lab has helped the teenager identify and develop many work and career related interests and abilities.
The senior holds down a part-time job after school. He’s a hard worker and responsible and he likes being held to high expectations. Mr. Sexton enjoys playing sports with his friends and family, especially basketball or badminton in physical education class. He is athletic and has participated in after school sports, too.
“Rashiem is a great kid, who Coach [Timothy] Witt and I have had the privilege to coach on our lacrosse team,” teacher Anthony Troffa said. “He brought an enormous amount of positivity to our team in many ways. Rashiem has a magnetic personality, and he consistently rallied the players on our team to work harder and to do better during times when we needed words of encouragement to lift the team’s spirits.”
The teenager’s experience with the Blue Devil lacrosse squad is sure to be a happy memory for the rest of his life. “Rashiem helped our team in many ways and always went above and beyond for his teammates,” Mr. Troffa said. “On the field, he worked hard at practice to build his endurance and improve his stick skills and by the end of the season, he managed to score a few goals in games. Even though his JV lacrosse days are over, I still get daily visits to my classroom where we chat and he fills me in with how he’s doing and what’s going on in his life. It’s a pleasure to see him do well and we will miss him at the high school as he moves on to his next chapter.”
Mr. Sexton has made many friends over the years thanks to his kind and outright charming personality. Aside from his lacrosse buddies, he especially enjoys hanging out with classmates James Brown and Maikol Arreaga.
“Rashiem is affectionately known as ‘Sheemy’ among his teammates,” Mr. Witt said. “He has a personality that radiates positivity and his teammates rallied around his unwavering support of the team. Rasheem saw time in several games and scored multiple goals. He showed tremendous commitment and participated in workouts with the team. both at practice and in the off-season weight room program during his several years as member of the JV boy’s lacrosse team. He was a great teammate and overall was a very welcomed member of the lacrosse program.”
This year, Mr. Sexton has chosen to participate in the Wilson Tech hospitality education program. Although the pandemic changed the experience to a fair degree, the teenager was still able to derive many benefits from the program and he has decided to pursue a career in the hospitality industry.
The senior wants incoming freshman to know that “the teachers at Huntington High School are great. They help you with everything you need.”