Katherine Estrada-Morales to Study Software Engineering

Four time Class of 2024 President Katherine Estrada-Morales is a high achiever by any measure. The Huntington High School senior plans to attend Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey and study for a degree in software engineering.

A sweet young woman who is highly regarded by everyone at the high school, Ms. Estrada-Morales pointed to holding herself accountable and mastering time management skills as the keys to her success. She plans to further refine these same skills to help meet her college and career goals.

“Stevens Institute of Technology had been one of my top schools since my junior year when I began my college search,” Ms. Estrada-Morales said. “As someone who’s interested in pursuing a career in a STEM related field, Stevens has so many wonderful opportunities, internships and a wide variety of classes I get to choose from. The student activities and clubs give this school a great feeling of community. Stevens also gave me the opportunity to major in what I intend to pursue a career in; software engineering. Out of all of the schools I applied to and got accepted by, Stevens was the only school that offered the software engineering major and it was a big factor in my decision-making.”

Stevens in located in Hoboken, New Jersey. The college enrolls about 8,300 students with about half seeking undergraduate degrees and the other half pursuing graduate and post-graduate studies.

“Not only did the academics reel me into the school, but so did the location,” Ms. Estrada-Morales said. “The views on campus are gorgeous and I love the idea of being able to get home in less than two hours. I have always wanted to stay close to home because as the oldest whose sisters are more on the younger side, I want to be able to be a part of their childhood as they grow up, as well as be part of special family moments.”

Ms. Estrada-Morales has played girls’ soccer for the Blue Devils since the eighth grade. She plays on a club team, too.

Chosen by her classmates to be a Natural Helper, the teenager works confidentially with others as they try to solve upsetting personal and family situations.

“When I was younger, I was always better at math and science and as I grew up, I realized I would really excel in a career surrounding STEM,” Ms. Estrada-Morales said. “In my junior year, I began taking a Computer Science class with Mr. [Nicholas] Wagner and, if I’m honest, I have to thank him for pushing me into the direction of Computer Science. I loved my Advanced Placement class last year and decided to further my interests by joining clubs out of school like Girls Who Code and also take part of a two day computing workshop at Stony Brook University. I began exploring further interest around the computer science field and I realized software engineering fits all of my interests.”

Recognized earlier this spring as a Distinguished Senior after compiling an academic grade average of 90 or better during every semester of high school, Ms. Estrada-Morales earned the New York State Seal of Biliteracy last year as a junior.

The senior is a recipient of the Students Building Bridges Award, presented to a select group of Suffolk high school students in acknowledgement of their “outstanding efforts in building bridges across communities and creating a more civil society.” Ms. Estrada-Morales was recognized during the county’s Holocaust Remembrance Day program.

“With these donations I made baskets of needs, which contained rice, pasta, oats, beans, instant coffee and other groceries or food products,” she said. “I donated these baskets to families in need in Guatemala.”

A Huntington Blue Devil marching band member since eighth grade, Ms. Estrada-Morales was a section leader as a junior and senior.

President of the National Honor Society and vice president of the Math Honor Society, Ms. Estrada-Morales is also a member of the Tri-M Music, Social Studies, English and Science honor societies.

“My years in the Huntington community have been great,” Ms. Estrada-Morales said. “All the teachers and advisors I’ve had throughout my academic years have all played a huge role in my journey. Huntington has brought me great friends that I know will last a lifetime and it has given me endless opportunities to go above and beyond.”