Summer Plans Heating Up for Huntington Seniors
Huntington High School's Class of 2011 is looking ahead to its last carefree summer. Seniors will be busy tying up loose ends, spending time with family and friends, working jobs to save a few bucks for college spending money, pursuing personal interests and vacationing.
Sarah Ehrman landed a scholarship to play lacrosse at Stony Brook University, but this summer she will be able to set aside some time for herself. "This summer I plan on doing a lot of things," she said. "Previous summers I was so busy every weekend traveling to Maryland, New Jersey, and Connecticut with my summer lacrosse team to be recruited for college. But this year I finally have some time to relax. I plan to go out to Robert Moses as much as possible with my friends and enjoying the beach."
There plenty more on the teenager's agenda. "Every summer I go camping at Hither Hills in Montauk for a week, which is tradition," she said. "I also plan on working at the Huntington Yacht Club as a waitress. I will be playing in a lacrosse summer league with a bunch of the girls from Stony Brook and can't wait for next year."
Ms. Ehrman will also put in the training expected of a NCAA Division I athlete. "One of the requirements for playing on the Stony Brook team is adhering to a workout packet, so I plan on getting in great shape," she said. "Mostly, I can't wait to enjoy my summer and get the most out of it with my friends before we all go off to school."
Sarah Casey plans on taking a scuba diving certification course, working at Yogurt Crazy in Huntington village, visiting Vermont and Fire Island and "hanging out with my friends." She's headed to Pace University in the fall to study business. "Mostly, I want to stay close [to home] for the last summer and say goodbye to friends," she said.
Cristina Badalamenti said she doesn't "really have any set-in-stone plans. There is a slight possibility that my cousins from Italy will be coming, which I hope happens! Other than that, I'll just be relaxing, going to the beach and spending time with my friends and family." The senior will attend Sacred Heart University in the fall.
Jonah Kramer will be attending New York University in the fall. He can be found this summer working in OOMPAH's summer arts enrichment program, serving as a teacher's assistant to Huntington music teacher Veronica Mainville and helping with musical theatre, vocal master and Rock-apella classes.
"I am also working at the local Tropical Smoothie Café," Mr. Kramer said. "Other than that, I am just planning to prepare for NYU and to spend as much time with my family and friends as possible before I go off to college."
Richie Gray just can't wait to start classes at Fashion Institute of Technology. "This summer I'll be interning at fashion designer Daniel Vosovic's (Project Runway season two's runner-up) studio in Manhattan in which I am beyond excited for," Mr. Gray said.
The senior said he will also be working at Ooh La La, a local fashion boutique in Huntington village. He encourages everyone to come and visit him there. Mr. Gray said he will also be "obviously cherishing the last few months I have left with my best friends before we all head off to college!"
Shayne Larkin has a busy summer planned. "I'm volunteering to 'trail' some beautiful woods behind my neighborhood between Woodhull Road and Park Avenue," she said. "It'll be a convenient and gorgeous way to bid my 'hood a proper farewell. I hope to run a lot and savor as much Huntington as I can before I ship off to the University of Delaware."
Ms. Larkin will also be working often at Herrell's Ice Cream in Huntington village "so that I can have some money to spend at college," she said. "I'm leaving for college early to go to band camp at Delaware."
The Huntington senior will be participating in the Fightin' Blue Hen marching band. "They're huge in many ways: population, sound and enthusiasm," Ms. Larkin said. "I can't wait. I'm also going to run cross country! Whether I'll be running varsity or club is to be determined, but either way I can't wait to run competitively! If I don't have too much on my plate for the first year, I'd like to run for freshman student government at UD. I know from high school that it's a great way to set your ideas in motion, and to get involved in a bunch of different fundraisers and charities - everything I find most fulfilling."
Three-sport star Emma Hayes-Hurley, who is headed to Binghamton University in the fall on a lacrosse scholarship, will be working in the Lu-Hi summer camp program as a counselor. She will also be training in order to be ready for college lacrosse "and hopefully hitting the beach in-between all of that," the teenager said.
Fashionista Marissa Goldstein has a summer itinerary, too. "I mostly plan on just hanging around and enjoying the beach and my last summer with all my friends before I enter something completely new to me," she said. "I will be working a lot though, as well as traveling to Montauk a few times and hopefully California if all goes as planned. As for fashion, I plan on getting a jump start on finding an internship for winter! Ms. Goldstein is headed to the University of Delaware.
Matt Curley said he just landed a job at the Cold Spring Harbor Beach Club, "where
I'm working with a couple of my friends." He is also a caddie at the Huntington Country Club.
"I'm taking a road trip with five of my friends to Myrtle Beach for a week," said the senior, who will attend Loyola University in Maryland. "When I'm not working, I'll be golfing during the day, going to the beach and just hanging out with my friends, going on adventures."
Beth Johnson said she plans on "working a lot and spending as much time as possible with my friends before we part." She is headed to North Carolina State University. "A lot of my friends are leaving early for sports and such, so I plan on being with them as much as possible. I'll also be spending my days at the beach."
Aliyah Cohen wants to have fun this summer and make money, too. "Usually I'm off traveling and doing crazy stuff, but this summer I'm lying low and enjoying my hometown before I go out west," said the senior who will attend the University of California at Davis in the fall.
"I'll be working at West Hills Day Camp as a counselor and babysitting as much as I can," Ms. Cohen said. "I also plan to have some fun, of course, and go on road trips with my friends to Philly and Cape Cod." She also might trek to visit her brother, Max in North Carolina where he teaches social studies.
Ms. Cohen also has plans to bike and spend time at the beach. "I am really looking forward to spending time on Fire Island at a house my friends rented out," she said. In whatever free time she has, the teenager will prepare for the year ahead at UC Davis.