Emily Geller set the stage for her senior year at Huntington High School with a busy summer. The teenager has big plans, both short-term and long-term and she is well known for not letting anything stand in her way.
“This summer was particularly busy for me as I worked as an intern for the third summer at Palacios Law Group, along with tutoring incoming fifth graders in Spanish,” Ms. Geller said. “For my internship this year, I was able to attend a criminal court proceeding with Xavier Palacios, who I consider to be one of my mentors. It was a very unique and educational experience as I got to witness real courtroom proceedings firsthand.”
Ms. Geller has been one of the stars of the high school’s mock trial team so she fit in well around the law firm. “I am very lucky to have been able to work alongside Mr. Palacios the past three summers and I have definitely learned a lot about what it takes to be an attorney,” she said.
The teenager also worked with elementary school age dual language students, helping them prepare for the upcoming FLA Spanish exam. “As a past dual language student, I used my experiences from the program as well as my proficiency in the language to familiarize the students with the curriculum that they will be seeing in the upcoming school year,” Ms. Geller said.
The incoming senior said she is “very much looking forward to this upcoming school year although it is bittersweet.” Ms. Geller plans to play on the varsity tennis and lacrosse teams and continue participating in the mock trial program.
“All of these teams are extremely important to me and have shaped me into who I am today, so it will definitely be difficult to play/compete with them one last time,” Ms. Geller said.
The teenager is the 2021/22 president of Huntington High School’s National Honor Society chapter. “I hope to get students involved in our community (both in and out of school) as much as possible,” Ms. Geller said. “I cannot wait to see what we are able to accomplish collectively this year. I know we can make a difference together.”
With the new school year just days away, Ms. Geller is enthusiastic about getting started. “I am most definitely looking forward to working alongside Mr. [Kenneth] Donovan for my [credit bearing] internship with his Advanced Placement U.S. History class,” she said. “I learned so much from him last year in AP US History and I am very excited to continue educating myself on our nation’s history, as well as current events.”
The incoming senior is also enrolled as a student in a separate class with Mr. Donovan: African American Politics. “It’s a class that I am very much interested in taking,” Ms. Geller said. “Especially with the current state of our nation in terms of race relations, I feel obligated to learn more about these issues and I know I will gain lots of important perspectives from this class.”
The teenager said she is also “very excited” to be studying psychology with social studies teacher Lauren Desiderio. “I had her as my teacher for AP World History in my freshman and sophomore years, so it will be fun to learn from her again,” Ms. Geller said.
An exceptional student academically, Ms. Geller the top colleges on her current list include Georgetown University, George Washington University, University of Virginia and New York University.
“I visited all four of these schools this summer and I believe I could thrive at any of them,” Ms. Geller said. “I know that I will definitely be majoring in political science/government and potentially double majoring in Spanish wherever I end up as I see myself practicing law in the future, then hopefully obtaining a position in public office later on. These schools all have amazing programs tailored to my exact career path, which will definitely prepare me for a job in these fields in the future.”