Salutatorian Haileigh Smith Chooses Dartmouth College

Haileigh Smith has the grades and activities resume to go to just about any college in the country. Huntington High School’s Class of 2023 salutatorian eventually narrowed her choices to a pair of outstanding schools, but the pull of the Ivy League along with her family history helped lead the teenager to choose Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire.

Ms. Smith has aced her all of her high school classes and garnered a long list of academic and athletic awards and honors. Thoughtful, articulate, creative and exceptionally hardworking, she fits in well with everyone.

“My grandfather went to Dartmouth so the school has always sort of been present in my life,” Ms. Smith said after visiting the campus earlier this week. “When it was finally my turn to figure out where I wanted to go, I was drawn to the sense of community that Dartmouth has and the overwhelming pride the alumni in my life have for it. I still really like Georgetown University and would’ve been more than happy going there, but ultimately decided that I preferred the more intimate town lifestyle that Dartmouth has over the city environment of Georgetown.”

Ms. Smith’s excellence spans the academic spectrum, earning her universal praise from Huntington’s faculty corps. She got her start as a Washington Primary School kindergartener and she hasn’t stopped impressing everyone since.

“While I won’t be able to declare a major until sophomore year, I’m looking to study biology and follow the pre-med track to hopefully one day become a dermatologist,” Ms. Smith said.

The teenager has won varsity letters while playing for the Blue Devil volleyball, fencing and softball teams. She was the county runner-up in the Suffolk fencing tournament this past winter.

“I could say that highlights [of my time at Huntington] were achievements like National History Day or fencing tournaments, but really I don’t think about those things even remotely as often as I do the incredible people, teachers, coaches, teammates and peers that I’ve gotten to spend time with over the years at Huntington,” Ms. Smith said. “What sticks with me are the bus rides home after sports, class conversations that get wildly sidetracked for a minute and events that kept me stuck at the school or at a tournament for hours with nothing to do but get to know people I otherwise wouldn’t have. I would say those are the highlights that will stick with me more than anything.”

Ms. Smith is a leader in and out of the classroom and on and off the playing field from being a varsity team captain to serving as treasurer of both the Key Club and Varsity Club; as the financial secretary of the Science Honor Society and as the National Honor Society’s historian and tutoring coordinator.

“I’ve loved my time at Huntington,” Ms. Smith said. “Looking back on things from Washington Primary to Huntington High School, I wouldn’t have had it any other way. With highs and lows considered, being a Blue Devil has contributed so much to who I am today and who I’ll be for the rest of my life so I’m incredibly grateful to have been in this district and community.”