Huntington High School junior Haileigh Smith marched into the new school year with the same confidence and determination that she has become known for since beginning kindergarten at Washington Primary School.
The teenager has won academic and co-curricular awards, displayed kindness and consideration along with a great sense of humor, earned top grades and shown all of her classmates and teachers the respect they deserve.
Following a sensational sophomore year, Ms. Smith was glad to get some “downtime” this past summer. The teenager doesn’t waste much time, preferring to make every day count.
“As my 16th birthday was in July, I spent the first half of my summer getting my permit and learning how to drive, while the latter half was spent traveling with my sister’s soccer team and volunteering to help out at the team’s tournaments,” Ms. Smith said.
The junior has a full agenda and that’s just the way she likes it. “This year I plan to participate in my main three sports; volleyball, fencing and softball,” Ms. Smith said. “I am also looking forward to joining Habitat for Humanity and potentially going on builds now that I am old enough. In addition to that, I will be working as a lab assistant.”
Never one to duck a challenge, Ms. Smith is taking her fair share of tough courses. She sets high goals and works very hard to reach them.
“I have heard overwhelmingly good things about Advanced Placement Biology and Mrs. [Deborah] Beck so I’m excited to take that class,” Ms. Smith said. “I am also glad to be starting my fifth year of Latin with Mrs. [Kristin] Fortunato.”
With graduation still a long way off, Ms. Smith is in no hurry to finalize college plans, but she allows her mind to wander into the future every now and then. It’s during those times that she thinks about what she might want to do with her life and where she might want to go.
“While I haven’t decided where I want to go to college, I am leaning toward a career in dermatology,” Ms. Smith said. “I’ve known for a while now that I want to go into the medical field, but since freshman year of high school, I’ve had my sights set on that particular specialization.”