Alumni Association Presents
Senior Awards
The Huntington High School Alumni Association presented four graduating seniors with special honors during last month’s academic awards night ceremony.
The alumni association presented this year’s coveted alumni cups along with $250 stipends to Cynthia Gowani and Brian J. McConnell. The cups are given to students who “represent the very best in character, leadership, sportsmanship and scholarship,” said Tony Fiore, New York Auto Giant’s marketing and advertising director, who presented the alumni awards.
Mr. Fiore was on hand to represent 1987 Huntington High School alum Michael Brown, partner/owner of New York Auto Giant, which consists of 22 separate dealerships. Mr. Brown serves as the company’s vice president of operations. He earned undergraduate and graduate degrees at Boston University, where he also played football.
Ms. Gowani is headed to the University of Connecticut where she intends to study biology. During her years at Huntington High School she was very involved in a variety of community service initiatives. She was even crowned Homecoming Day queen last fall.
Secretary of the National Honor Society and a member of the Math, Science, Italian and English honor societies, Ms. Gowani was the corresponding secretary of the Class of 2014 for three years before serving as G.O. vice president as a senior. She was also the Key Club’s vice president and captained the volleyball team. A member of the Blue Devil marching band since eighth grade, the teenager played in the wind ensemble.
Known for his positive attitude and ability to “roll with the punches,” Mr. McConnell will be attending Johns Hopkins University in the fall. He intends to focus his academic efforts on mathematics and film studies. The teenager was the master of ceremonies at last month’s commencement exercises. A drum major with the Blue Devil marching band, the 2014 alum was also a member of the fencing team and he even led the JV Quiz Bowl team to an undefeated season.
Two Alumni Scholarships Presented
Alumni scholarships were presented to Chanelle Brown and Taivon LaPalmer. The $250 awards are based upon “character, citizenship, willingness to help others and academic potential,” Mr. Fiore said. Scholarship recipients must have at least one parent who is a Huntington graduate.
Ms. Brown will be attending the University of Alabama where she plans to study public relations and pre-law. She developed many close relationships with Huntington teachers during her time in the district. Captain of Ready Step, Huntington’s step team, the teenager also participated in Natural Helpers and the club known as A World of Difference. She was the Tri-CYA’s Black History Month coordinator and president of the NAACP’s youth branch.
The new Huntington grad has served as president of Evergreen Baptist Church’s youth choir. Ms. Brown has also been involved with the Town of Huntington’s Youth Court and the Huntington Youth Bureau.
Ms. LaPalmer is headed to Laboratory Institute of Merchandising in Manhattan where she intends to study either business management or international business. A member of Huntington’s National Honor Society chapter, she sang in the high school chamber and a capella choirs, was vice president of the Gay-Straight Alliance and a Natural Helper.
The teenager was very involved in Huntington’s fashion design program, completing every course offered and interning with teacher Amy Worth as a senior in a beginner fashion design class. At LIM, Ms. Palmer plans to join the fashion show production club, styling club, writers circle and the magazine club as well as taking dance lessons and learning more about photography. She has a summer internship that involves doing fashion blogging for CollegeFashionista.com.
Ms. LaPalmer volunteered at Tri-CYA, helping younger students with their homework, tutored at the Huntington Station branch of the public library, cleaned up Crab Meadow Beach with the Young Leaders club and assisted ESL students after school in a bilingual Living Environment classroom. Last spring she participated in Huntington’s Relay For Life.
Huntington High School’s Alumni Association is looking to rejuvenate its operations and reach out to potential members over the course of the next year