Senior Kayleigh Bender Commits to Hofstra University

Special K. It’s Kayleigh Bender’s Blue Devil nickname and it perfectly suits the Huntington High School senior. She really is special. Beloved by her teammates and coaches, the teenager has given a verbal commitment to Hofstra University to play for its NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse team.

“The Hofstra coaching staff made me feel wanted the second I got on campus,” Ms. Bender said. “As for lacrosse, the competitive nature and family atmosphere made me feel like this is a place where I will be pushed to become a better player and person. Aside from the athletic aspect, Hofstra has an excellent education program and this is the field in which I currently plan to pursue a career. Hofstra gives me high hopes that I will be set up for a career after my time there is complete.”

Ms. Bender earns top grades and she’s a key player on both the Blue Devil varsity basketball and lacrosse teams. She walks around the high school with a smile on her face. The teenager has a wonderful sense of humor. She’s excited to attend and play for Hofstra University.

“I’m planning on studying education,” Ms. Bender said. “As of now, I’m between teaching science or math at the high school level. This is a new career path that I’ve recently come to desire due to the impact our new interim assistant principal Mrs. [Patricia] Avelli had on me last year when I studied Honors Pre-Calculus with her.

As a junior, Ms. Bender turned in a great season last spring, tallying 41 goals and 26 assists. The stats, leadership and the skills she displayed along with a strong academic performance set the stage for college recruiting.

“My recruiting process was relatively longer than others who commit to NCAA Division I schools,” Ms. Bender said. “My goal was achieved through the guidance of our lacrosse coaching staff here, which consists of Coach [Katie] Reilly, Coach [Chris] Taylor and Coach [Lauren] Blackburn. They assisted me in countless ways to help grow my game physically and mentally, including staying after practice with me to develop new moves and approaches to enhance my game. They reached out to college coaches at places they could see me attending and most importantly, they believed in me every step of the way. Although it was challenging to wait, it was worth it to live out my childhood dream of playing lacrosse at the next level.”