She Loves High School
These past four years have been some of the happiest times for Huntington senior Lena Freed. She’s on the high honor roll, an actress in the drama club, bassist in the orchestra and a member of the Blue Devil fencing team that recently finished second in the county finals. These have been sunny days.
“I honestly love high school,” Ms. Freed said – and she means it. “I know that’s hard to believe since most people my age would be more likely to admit that they hate it, but I’ve had a really great four years. I’ve been involved in some amazing extracurricular activities that most definitely defined not only my great experience at Huntington, but also helped to define myself.”
As she waits to hear back from Amherst, Skidmore, Swarthmore and SUNY Geneseo on the status of her applications, one gets the sense that any of those schools would be fortunate to count Ms. Freed among their student ranks next fall.
The senior is interested in studying archaeology in college and it isn’t hard to imagine her becoming tops in that or any field. She’s intelligent, personable, collegial and willing to work hard. Ms. Freed also has a great sense of humor.
At Huntington, Ms. Freed has been faced with many choices as to how to spend her time outside of the classroom. “The decision to join the drama club is probably the best one I’ve made,” she said. “I’ve been in every show that the high school has held, even though my first role wasn’t onstage, which we always joke about. I was a ‘plant’ and proud of it! Though a lot of people have come and gone each play, I have remained a part of the club for eight performances.”
A Unique Personality
Ms. Freed is held in high regard by Huntington’s teachers, who appreciate and value her unique personality. Photography teacher Pam Piffard summed up the thoughts of many when asked about the senior, simply saying that “She’s a great kid.”
The drama club has been a big part of Ms. Freed’s life over the past four years and it’s obvious she considers all the hours she’s devoted to it to be time well-spent. “My roles have been really quite varied,” she said last week. “I have successfully played four characters named Agnes, all with something horribly wrong with them, whether it is stupidity, a horribly nasal voice, or a deranged child, and all appearing in entirely different shows. The drama club brought not only chances to be on the stage, but introduced me to an incredible group of people that I never would have met otherwise.”
It’s true that in the months and weeks leading up to a production, members of the drama club practically live in and around the high school auditorium. “When we’re together, it’s like being with the family,” Ms. Freed said. “We always make comments on each other’s personal lives, and when we start laughing it’s so hard to get us to stop, but even though we have ‘drama,’ we all look forward to when rehearsals start because there’s no better place to be.”
Mentor Always There
Participation in the drama club brought Ms. Freed into contact with English teacher and club advisor, Michael Schwendemann, who she considers her mentor. “Though seeming outrageous at times, Schwendy has been there for me for every occasion,” she said. “If I don’t know how to budget my time for my work or I need to talk about a personal problem, he has always made himself available to help me out, and I will be leaving high school sad because I will be leaving him as well.”
“Lena is a true original with a wonderful sense of humor who is fearless on stage,” Mr. Schwendemann said. “She is willing to take chances and unafraid to try new things.”
Another one of Ms. Freed’s passions at Huntington has been the orchestra. She’s the only senior bassist, having stayed with the instrument since fourth grade. “The bass was always a difficult instrument for me given my height (5’1) and my small fingers, but I’ve loved it since the first time I ever played it,” she said. “I’ve come a long way since fourth grade.”
“I have always held Lena in high regard, due to her precocious bass skills,” said Lisa Leonardi, Huntington’s orchestra director. “When she was in sixth grade Lena was drafted in to the select high school chamber orchestra, where she quickly became a star with minimal effort. She has been a leader in the orchestra for all those years and she will be missed when she goes on to college.”
In each of the past two years Ms. Freed was accepted into the All-State orchestra, which performs in Rochester every December. “All-State is highly competitive and auditioning for it was extremely nerve-wracking,” she said. “I can’t even put into words what it feels like to prepare a piece for six months to play one time that could determine your whole future, if you wanted to go into music at least.”
Last summer she traveled to Canada, Norway, Denmark and Iceland with the Long Island Youth Orchestra, playing in 15 cities and towns along the way. “It was a life changing experience and has prompted me to want to travel in the future, maybe even as a part of my career,” Ms. Freed said.
Another Great Experience
“Another really great experience that I’ve had in high school was making the decision to join the fencing team,” she said. “Throughout my childhood I tried a variety of sports, none of them ever really seeming to stick. I may have joined the fencing team originally because I had a crush on a boy that was on the team, but I surprised myself in coming to love the sport more than the boy. It was difficult, and I had never really used the muscles before that were needed for fencing. My first season was pretty embarrassing, and I can’t say I made the team proud. However, in the years that followed I worked really hard to become an asset to the team, not a hassle.”
All the hard work paid off this winter when Ms. Freed and her teammates finished second in the Suffolk championships. “The girls that I fenced with - Cody Jacobs, Alex Martinolich and Brittany Schmitz - came to be like sisters to me,” she said. “Before every meet I would warm up with Alex. We would do our routine stretches and ‘freak-outs’ consisting of ‘I am definitely going to lose today’ and the response would be some variation of ‘No, you’re going to be great!’ ‘You’ve been improving so much. I’m so proud!’”
When a fencing meet would finally start, Ms. Freed said the teammates were all there for each other. “Johanna Clifford, Cody Jacobs and I would all be the loudest “cheerleaders” on the sidelines, screaming things that were slightly risqué, but heartwarming because they were proof of our team’s closeness.”
Teachers say that students like Lena Freed form the backbone of Huntington High School. As she walks down the hall with an extra spring in her step it’s not hard to understand why.
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