Senior Megan Donaghy Shines Without Fanfare

Megan Donaghy just might be the biggest unknown star of Huntington High School’s Class of 2023. The senior has played important roles on the Blue Devil varsity volleyball and winter and spring track teams, racking up honors during all three seasons while earning top grades in tough courses and participating in clubs and honor societies.

The teenager has been shining for many years with little fanfare. But keen observers understand just how important she has been to the Blue Devils. Ms. Donaghy works hard at everything she does; sometimes too hard. She has had to overcome painful injuries from what most likely was overtraining. She sets high standards for herself and she’s the type of person that never wants to disappoint.

After a relaxing, but busy summer, Ms. Donaghy is fully back in the swing of school and sports. She’s settled into a new routine in new classrooms with new teachers and has helped lead the Blue Devil girls’ volleyball team to its most successful start to a season in two decades.

“I spent most of my summer spending time with my family in Maine,” she said. “While I wasn’t in Montauk or watching my siblings’ sports games, I spent a lot of my weekends looking at colleges to get a feel of a few campuses that I am interested in.”

Ms. Donaghy said she is “particularly excited” to be taking Advanced Placement Psychology and AP Chemistry classes. She regularly earns a spot on the high school’s high honor roll and teachers respect her intellect and work ethic.

“I am looking forward to working with Mrs. [Kelly] Krycinski and Mr. [Peter] Crugnale, while also working with Mrs. [Patricia] Avelli with the National Honor Society,” Ms. Donaghy said. “I am also excited to work with Coach [Sarah] Hall and the new track coach, Coach [John] Kaplan, as I plan to return to the winter and spring team this upcoming season.”

The senior said she plans to “play an active role” in the high school’s National Honor Society, English Honor Society, Science Honor Society, Math Honor Society and Latin Honor Society “and gain community service through the activities that each of those groups organize.”

A four year member of Huntington’s Key Club chapter, Ms. Donaghy intends to continue volunteering with the group as a senior.

“For me, high school has been a challenge as COVID added a lot of stress on me as most of my high school experience was completed through a computer screen,” Ms. Donaghy said. “However, the friends that I have met, the teachers I have worked with and the events that the school puts together each year has made my high school experience a fun and rewarding one.”

The teenager is interested in taking her track career to the next level and competing in college. With good winter and spring season times, Ms. Donaghy can expect to get recruited.

“During the college visits I have gone on, I really loved visiting Boston College, UCONN, Northeastern and Wesleyan,” Ms. Donaghy said. “However, my options are still very open as I am looking into the possibility of running in college. I definitely know that in the future I want to pursue a career in the medical field as a physician. I am not 100 percent sure what specialty I would like to focus on, but am aiming to focus my studies based on a pre-med track in college.”