Cristian Avelar-Romero is a young man of many talents, including an impressive creative streak that helped make him one of the top artists in Huntington High School’s Class of 2022.
Mr. Avelar-Romero was honored last June by the Huntington Town Board as Huntington High School’s male recipient of the town’s scholar-athlete award. He was a contributing member of three Blue Devil sports teams all while earning top grades and participating in the after school club program.
Robert Potter was a proud Huntington High School art teacher.
It’s easy to imagine Mr. Avelar-Romero in a high school classroom hitting it off with art teacher Robert Potter, who enjoyed helping to facilitate the emergence of a student’s creative side.
Mr. Potter passed away suddenly in November 2010, dealing a terrible blow to his family, colleagues and students. The Associated Teachers of Huntington, the professional organization of the district’s teachers, decided to create a scholarship to honor the cherished faculty member’s devotion to the young people of the community.
Mr. Avelar-Romero is this year’s recipient of the $1,000 Robert Potter Memorial Scholarship Award. The criteria for receiving the scholarship states the recipient needs to display an ability to think creatively and to express their unique “voice” in their work, along with showing perseverance and growth in school work, a willingness to challenge oneself and an ability to inspire others.
ATH President James Graber said that Mr. Potter “epitomized the true educator and believed that all of us, teachers, parents and students alike, should work to inspire those around us. The selection committee that reviewed this year’s scholarship applications believed that Mr. Avelar-Romero has the talent and enthusiasm to carry Mr. Potter’s torch forward into the world.”
Mr. Avelar-Romero has worn a Blue Devil uniform with Huntington’s soccer, winter and spring track and field teams. He has volunteered with the Key Club and the New World club, mentoring English as a new language students who recently immigrated to the United States.
Inducted into five separate academic honor societies, he has mastered many Advanced Placement courses and captured a spot on the high honor roll. He plans to participate in the Cornell Tradition Fellows program, whose members contribute over 50,000 hours of work and over 40,000 hours of service in the campus, local and home communities annually.
Robert Potter Left Indelible Impression
When Mr. Potter passed away suddenly, teachers and students reacted with stunned disbelief. He left behind his wife, Jan and young daughter Isabel. Described as a “brilliant art teacher and one of the most remarkable people I have ever had the privilege to know and work with,” by then district director of fine and performing arts Joan R. Fretz, Mr. Potter left an indelible impression on the young people in his class.
When a student would hear that Mr. Potter would be their ceramics teacher, a smile would typically come across their face. The more students learned about the creative and caring teacher the more they wanted to be in his class.
Mr. Potter, who taught ceramics (pottery) and sculpture, began working in Huntington in September 2006 after embarking on a major change in his career as an artist. After completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Pratt Institute, he worked for 17 years for famed artist Peter Maxx.
While employed as a practicing sculptor and studying for a master’s degree in art education at Adelphi University, Mr. Potter came to Huntington High School to observe art teacher Kristin Singer’s class. “We knew immediately that he was an incredible artist and teacher,” Mrs. Singer said. “We followed his career and after student teaching, we were thrilled to welcome him to our Huntington art faculty.”
Huntington art teacher Ayallah Jeddah came to Huntington the same year as Mr. Potter. “He was such an inspiration for all of us,” Ms. Jeddah said. “He cared so deeply about his kids and pushed them to express themselves. He made me want to be a better teacher. He was a true teacher through and through.”
Although he was only in his fifth year of teaching at the school, Mr. Potter had developed a notable devotion to everyone at Huntington High School. “He was a great listener and took time to help everyone with anything that they needed,” Ms. Fretz said. “He embraced every child that entered his classroom and took special interest in those who were not succeeding elsewhere. Everyone had a home in Robert Potter’s classroom. Students found a constructive and meaningful way of expressing themselves there. He encouraged them to create art that was symbolic of their thoughts, interests and beliefs.”
“Teaching was his calling,” Mrs. Singer said. “Rob was meant to be a teacher. He was so passionate about his work and helped his students think on a whole different level. In the short four and a half years he was with us, he touched so many lives.”
The Robert Potter scholarship award stands today as one of the most prestigious that any Huntington senior can win.