Finley Teacher a Hall of Famer
Alicia Furman, a Spanish teacher at J. Taylor Finley Middle School, has been elected with the inaugural class of members to the Walt Whitman High School Wildcat Sports Hall of Fame. Mrs. Furman, who in high school was known as Lee Hendrickson, is one of the greatest soccer players in Whitman history, leading the team to a pair of state championships. She was a verifiable scoring machine and an exceptional ball-handler.
After graduating from Walt Whitman, Mrs. Furman went to Holy Cross on a full scholarship and became one of their legendary players. She is the all-time Holy Cross scoring leader with 87 points, and her 20 goals in 1987 remains a school record. She tallied 47 points as a freshman and followed that with 10 goals and six assists as a sophomore, the fourth best offensive season ever for Holy Cross.
“Soccer has been very good to me throughout my life,” Mrs. Furman told the crowd at the induction ceremony at Woodbury Country Club. “It all started at age nine playing soccer with the boys at recess at Southdown Elementary School. I came home and said to my mom and dad, ‘I don’t want to tap and ballet dance anymore. Can I play soccer?”
Mrs. Furman battled through knee injuries beginning with her sophomore season in high school. She was a first team high school All-American. After two fabulous seasons at Holy Cross, she tore the anterior cruciate ligament in her knee as a junior and returned home for surgery.
“During rehab, I met a wonderful physical therapy assistant named Paul Furman,” the Huntington teacher said. “Six years later he became my husband. Today, Paul and I have two beautiful girls, Paige and Pamela. I am a Spanish teacher and will coach again in the future. My dreams are to inspire and motivate my children and well as the students as did my family and my coaches.”
Mrs. Furman is a valued member of the Huntington School District faculty who commands the respect of parents, students and colleagues. “She is an amazing person and a fabulous role model,” said Cathy Cain, a Finley guidance counselor.
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