Stephanie Rafuse Brightens
Everyone's Day
Stephanie Rafuse is the kind of person that anyone would want as their friend. She is a happy, loyal, optimistic and compassionate teenager who has gained the respect and affection of classmates and teachers alike at Huntington High School, where she is a member of the Class of 2013.
Ms. Rafuse started her journey in the district as a kindergarten student at Southdown School before moving on to Woodhull Intermediate School and then to J. Taylor Finley Middle School, before settling into life at the high school, where she has excelled academically, athletically and socially. She is a leader among her peers and is well-regarded throughout the school and community.
The teenager's extensive involvement with Huntington High School's student government has included serving as vice-president of her freshman, sophomore and junior classes. This year she is the senior class president. "I really enjoy participating and have grown very close to the other students involved in the club as well as to the advisors, Mrs. [Lauren] Desiderio, Mrs. [Donna] Nugent, Mr. [Fred] Bisogno and Mr. [Anthony] Troffa."
Ms. Rafuse has played on the Blue Devil soccer and lacrosse teams, serving as a captain of the latter this spring. She was forced to miss the soccer season last fall while she recovered from an ACL injury, but never lost her enthusiasm to be out on the field.
The senior is also heavily involved in planning this spring's Relay For Life at Huntington High School on May 17-18. She is serving as the event's activities committee chairperson.
Ms. Rafuse's senior year courses includes a variety of Advanced Placement courses, all of which she finds interesting. "My favorite courses over the last four years would have to be either AP World History with Ms. [Camille] Tedeschi or Honors Physics with Mr. [Thomas] Masone," she said. "They were both very great teachers whose classes I was very interested in. I also really liked Forensics with Mrs. [Dame] Forbes, which I took during my junior year. I felt like I was learning something new every day."
The teenager plans to study communications at SUNY Oneonta. She will leave Huntington with many warm feelings. "Some of my most memorable experiences were the Relay For Life in 2012, which I feel really opened my eyes to the organization," Ms. Rafuse said. "I also feel like the Natural Helpers retreats were great, they really made me a more understanding person throughout high school. While Relay and Natural Helpers have been life changing experiences, every event that student government has held during last four years I have attended and enjoyed, but I think I can go on for too long about those!"
Considering Ms. Rafuse's well-rounded high school experience, she has valuable advice for incoming freshmen. "I want them to understand that every day walking through the halls of Huntington High school they should feel lucky to have such an amazing community of people surrounding them," she said. "They should never be afraid to try new things because they never know how amazing the experience has the potential to be!"