Lauren Campbell Earns
Journalism Award
Lauren Campbell is a bouncy, positive teenager. The Huntington High School senior ranks among the top five percent of the Class of 2010. She’s studious, articulate, a gifted writer and a hard worker.
At the senior academic awards night held earlier this month, James Graber, a Huntington social studies teacher and the faculty advisor for The Dispatch, the high school student newspaper, presented a Journalism Award to Ms. Campbell for her work as the paper’s co-editor-in-chief. (Catherine Tacopina, one of four managing editors of the paper, also earned a Journalism Award. She will attend SUNY College at New Paltz in the fall.)
“Very few people truly understand the demanding nature of the job of editor-in-chief,” Mr. Graber said. “I firmly believe it is the most difficult student leadership position in the high school, and Lauren handled it with grace.”
Ms. Campbell is headed to Hofstra University and its honors college in the fall. She intends to major in biology and secondary education and hopes to teach on the high school level. A member of five honor societies, the teenager has a genuine thirst for learning.
“Lauren is the quintessential student,” said Bernadette Walsh, the high school college advisor. “Academically she is outstanding. However, that is only the beginning. She is a leader, a caring and sensitive individual, a well-disciplined young woman who has left her mark on this high school. We will miss her next year.”
Ms. Campbell carried a 100.4 grade point average into her senior year and has shown no signs of coasting to the finish line. “She has a strong work ethic and is insatiably curious in the classroom,” Ms. Walsh said. “Her teachers often comment on the depth of her understanding and her fantastic critical thinking skills. Lauren can usually be found initiating class discussions and volunteering to take the lead on group projects and assignments.”
In addition to her stellar academic performance and spending long hours working on the newspaper, Ms. Campbell found time to play on the varsity field hockey team and participate in several music ensembles as a first chair oboe player.
As she prepares to leave high school, the teenager publicly expressed appreciation to her parents, classmates and teachers for helping make the past four years so special.
“Although Lauren is shy to outward appearances, beneath her calm demeanor is a driven young woman,” Mr. Graber said. “Her diligence, organizational skill, and commitment helped steward The Dispatch through a difficult year. I’m excited that she plans on continuing to work as a student journalist while attending Hofstra next year.”
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