Ari Moskowitz's Amazing
Four-Year Run
Ari Moskowitz came to the Huntington School District as a high school freshman. He will graduate as one of the top members of the Class of 2013 before heading off to Northwestern University next fall. He hopes to study mathematical methods in the social sciences.
As co-editor in chief of The Dispatch, Huntington High School's student newspaper, Mr. Moskowitz has his finger on the pulse of the school. He is immersed in activities, from the athletic program to honor societies to various academic, after school, community and personal pursuits.
Mr. Moskowitz attended Solomon Schechter Day School from kindergarten through eighth grade. He spent his early years in Dix Hills, moving to Huntington as a third grader. The teenager transferred into the district in September 2009 with his sister Shira, a member of Huntington's Class of 2011 who is now a University of Michigan sophomore.
After working as a reporter for The Dispatch as a sophomore, Mr. Moskowitz has been the paper's co-editor in chief with classmate Molly Prep for the past two years. He's also served as an officer with the student government, including the post of Class of 2013 corresponding secretary in each of the past two years.
"I have been involved in a lot of clubs over my years at Huntington High School," Mr. Moskowitz said. "Along with all the honor societies, I have most enjoyed participating in The Dispatch and student government and, of course, soccer. I feel very accomplished when I see my own work published in the school's newspaper."
Mr. Moskowitz and Ms. Prep have worked well together, boosting The Dispatch's prestige and popularity. "Three of our largest initiatives were expanding the readership, restructuring the staff and finding a way to generate revenue," Mr. Moskowitz said. "The paper did not reach the English as-a-Second Language students. To maximize readership, we started a Spanish page with original Spanish articles. We expanded and restructured the staff and our article production soared making the average issue 16 pages rather than eight. To generate revenue, we began an ad campaign and solicited local businesses. Our budget doubled enabling a much needed technological update."
Proficient in Hebrew and Spanish
At one time or another, Mr. Moskowitz, who is proficient in Hebrew and Spanish, has been a member of the varsity crew, tennis and winter track teams, but he has really made his mark as the Blue Devil soccer team's two-year starting goalie, starring in a thrilling playoff shootout victory this past fall at East Islip. He earned All-League honors in the sport and was named to the Academic All-County team.
Mr. Moskowitz, who recorded four shutouts in goal, captained the 2012 soccer squad along with teammates Grixon Moreira and Jeremy Gelb. "This past year our team won the school's first soccer playoff game in a very long time," Mr. Moskowitz said. "It was incredible." He is Huntington High School's recipient of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America's Senior Excellence Award.
The teenager has been heavily involved in the North American Federation of Temple Youth (NFTY), a Reform Jewish youth group, serving as the Long Island membership vice-president of the organization's New York area region and also in Budding Friendships, where he has worked one-on-one with an autistic teenager. Mr. Moskowitz has helped coordinate NFTY fall and spring weekend retreats, participated in a leadership training institute and in the group's Social Justice Day and served as a delegate to the national convention.
Engaged in Extensive Travel
The senior has engaged in quite a bit of travel over the past few years, including a unique 36-day U.S. teen tour with Etgar 36 (the word means "challenge" in Hebrew) last summer that focused on politics, history and activism, with an emphasis on civil discourse and meeting politicians, advocates, activists and inspirational leaders. Mr. Moskowitz participated in Project Understanding's interfaith trip last winter, which provided a 10-day experience in Israel for Jewish and Catholic youth to learn about both religions.
Following his sophomore year, Mr. Moskowitz went with NFTY to Israel and Poland for L'Dor V'Dor. He spent one week in Poland followed by four weeks in Israel, exploring and studying the ancient and modern cultures in the two countries.
Some of the senior's community activities have included sorting clothing and food pantry items at the Gerald Ryan Outreach Center, raising money for the American Cancer Society at last spring's Relay For Life at Huntington High School, helped run the tennis tournament at the Special Olympics' Spring Games and cooking and serving food at the Interfaith Nutrition Network's and St. Hugh's soup kitchens.
A member of the National Honor Society, Mr. Moskowitz has also been inducted into four other honor societies. He co-founder Huntington's MSG Varsity/community club, serving as its president last year. The senior has also participated in Science Bowl, Quiz Bowl, Mathletes and the yearbook's business club.
Loves All Subject, but Especially Math
The senior is a 2013 National Merit Commended Scholar and has picked up many other academic awards along the way, including certificates of honor, Pride awards and the Science Olympiad Ornithology Award with partner Rebecca Palladino.
Mr. Moskowitz captured the Jeffrey Zukerman Award for Excellence in Leadership for exemplary leadership skills and commitment and has participated in essay contests sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace and the Japan Center at Stony Brook University. He's an AP Scholar with Honor who has also won a Long Island Science Congress Certificate of Recognition.
"My favorite subject in school is definitely math, but I really love all subjects," Mr. Moskowitz said. "My favorite courses this year are probably AP Microeconomics, AP Government and AP Calculus BC. I am also taking AP Physics, AP Statistics, Spanish V Honors, AP Literature and physical education.
The teenager's favorite courses over the past four years have been AP Chemistry with Dame Forbes and AP World History with Camille Tedeschi, "who are some of my favorite teachers," Mr. Moskowitz said.
While it's hard for the senior to select a specific "favorite memory," a few do seem to stand out. "One that sticks out in my mind is probably homecoming of freshman year because I didn't really know that many people, but I just danced and met a lot of people and had a lot of fun," Mr. Moskowitz said. "Another is winning our playoff game against East Islip in penalty kicks."
The Huntington senior will call start calling Northwestern University in Illinois home next fall. He had applied to the college as an early decision candidate and applied for "early action" to the University of Michigan and the University of Chicago.
Mr. Moskowitz believes Huntington's incoming class next September should capitalize on their four years of high school. "My advice for freshman would probably be to take advantage of the opportunities in and around Huntington," he said. "We live in a really unique place in that it has a town, it has old people and young people and we are only an hour from Manhattan. This sets up a plethora of opportunities from youth groups to school clubs to sports. At Huntington you can really be involved in as many different activities as you want. You never have to feel restricted."