Catching up with
Meghan Sullivan Walsh
It’s been more than a decade since Meghan Sullivan walked Huntington High School’s hallowed halls as a student. Yet the memories of good times haven’t faded. She can easily rattle off teachers, courses and activities that were especially enjoyable.
At Huntington’s 137th annual commencement on Sunday, June 28, 1998, she was a flag carrier along with classmate John Pontrello, leading seniors out to the athletic field on a warm afternoon. The event wrapped up a jam-packed four years of high school.
The Huntington alum earned an appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis but turned it down in favor of Haverford College, where she majored in music and carried a minor in Spanish. She later obtained a dental degree at Temple University. By any measure she has led an interesting life and there’s still much more to come.
While at Temple she met John Walsh and the couple was married on June 22, 2007. “John was given a scholarship with the Navy during our second year at Temple University,” Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said. “After graduation he was given orders to Camp Lejeune, a Marine Corps base in southeastern North Carolina to provide three years of service with the Navy.”
While North Carolina isn’t exactly around the corner from Huntington, the assignment was actually fortunate. “This was a very lucky spot for us to move to since my parents had retired from Huntington to Wilmington, North Carolina only a few years prior,” Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said. “My parent’s home is exactly one hour south of our home on Camp Lejeune. We currently live in base housing and have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. The weather is pleasant all year round and we are very close to the beach and enjoy all that the coastal Carolinas have to offer. We have also enjoyed being a part of military life.”
In August 2008, Mr. Walsh deployed to Korean Village in Iraq for seven months. “It was difficult being apart for so long but I was very proud of his service to our country,” Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said. “I was also fortunate to have great support through other military families, neighbors and my own family and friends.”
At Huntington she was one of two students to earn the Perfect Attendance Award as a senior (the other was Julia Weber), was a member of the Tri-M music honor society and participated in the environmental club, student government, orchestra and chamber ensemble.
“One of my favorite classes was Ms. Sylvia Taylor's photography class, which I remember giving up a lunch period to take all four years,” the Huntington alum said. “I also had great memories and guidance in orchestra with Mr. [Tom] Karoyli and later in my senior year Mr. [Steven] Uh. I loved math and while I remember Mr. [James] Peeler being tough I did learn a great deal in his class. I also appreciated all the creative writing in Mr. [James] Incorvia's English class.”
As a Huntington senior, Mrs. Sullivan Walsh earned the Principal’s Award, Award of Merit in Art and the Evelyn Daniels Memorial Award. The appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy required much soul searching. “At the time I wasn't ready to make such a big decision,” she said. “Ironically, here I am now living at Camp Lejeune and married to someone in the Navy”
In addition to academic, club and music activities, Mrs. Sullivan Walsh’s high school years were filled with athletics, namely swimming and winter and spring track. She said it was “such a positive experience competing in sports” and that she “appreciated all the guidance I received” that she wanted to stick with athletics at Haverford.
“Track and field was my strongest sport, mainly the 100m and 400m hurdles,” she said. At Haverford she found a strong NCAA Division III track and cross country program. It allowed her the opportunity to compete and to have time to excel academically.
“I also wanted to continue with my violin and piano studies and remain in an orchestra,” the Huntington grad said. “My acceptance to Haverford College, a small liberal arts school outside of Philadelphia seemed the best fit for me.”
Over the course of four years at Haverford, Mrs. Sullivan Walsh was a member of the orchestra and chamber ensemble there and majored in music. As a college junior she spent time studying abroad at the University of Seville in Spain, concentrating on Flamenco music.
She ran cross country, indoor and outdoor track all four years at Haverford, serving as team captain for all three seasons as a senior. “During the four years we did win several conference championships and we placed in the top ten nationally for cross country,” she said. “My coach, Fran Rizzo and Doug Mason were amazing coaches and I had a great time running for the school as well as making some lifelong friends with my teammates. In addition to my music and Spanish classes I took all the prerequisites for admission to medical school. By the summer of my third year at Haverford I decided that dentistry was a better fit for me.”
After graduating from Haverford in 2002, Mrs. Sullivan Walsh spent a year working in Princeton, New Jersey for a shipping and container firm, Interpool. She also saved money and spent time applying and interviewing for dental school. “I was thrilled to be accepted to Temple University,” she said. Classes started there in the summer of 2003. Not only did she earn a dental degree but also found the love of her life.
While John Walsh continues to serve in the U.S. Navy, his wife stays very busy. “I am currently working two jobs here in North Carolina,” Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said. “I work two days a week at a dental clinic on Camp Lejeune providing dental care to Navy and Marine servicemen. The remainder of the week I work out in town at a private practice providing dental care mostly to active duty and retired military family members as well as local families in Jacksonville, North Carolina. I am active with our local dental societies such as Onslow County dental society and Coastal Carolina dental society as well the dental representative of Onslow County's Head Start program. I've enjoyed working with the young families here in Jacksonville and have participated in our county's sealant program, (providing dental sealants to school age children) as well as been a guest dental speaker at our local schools.”
Over the past few years Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said she has realized she “enjoys working with children more than any other dental service I provide and have decided to apply to pediatric dental residency programs to further my studies. I have applied to several schools all over the country and am currently waiting to hear about interviews. I should know which school I will match with in January. (Unlike college, you are "matched" into a school based on how the applicant and the school rank each another.) Most of the programs begin in June or July, so John and I will be moving again this summer. The program will be another two years of school. My husband would like to stay active duty if possible so as soon as I know which program I am attending we will be contacting the Navy to see if there are any available positions at any nearby Marine or Navy bases.”
The Huntington alum and her husband still have about eight more months to spend in North Carolina “and we are enjoying our home here on base as well as all the little things that living in a military town have to offer,” she said. “You cannot beat two dollar movies!”
Despite the distance, her hometown, friends and alma mater are never far from her mind. “I still miss Huntington and Long Island a great deal and enjoy coming home to New York whenever possible,” Mrs. Sullivan Walsh said. “My closest and best friends still live in Long Island surrounding Huntington as well as most of my extended family so any chance I get to go to New York is a special treat for me.”
Last summer, two of Mrs. Sullivan Walsh’s closest friends were married. Susan Keaveny married Devin Gregorie (both members of Huntington’s Class of 1998) and another 1998 grade, Tatum McNierney tied the knot with Carl DiSarno.
“I was a bridesmaid along with some of our other close friends and former Huntington graduates Elizabeth Dose ('98), Jennifer Hoehlein ('98), Melissa Gelber ('98), Nancy Dicke ('99), Virginia Gregorie ('98) and Meagan Ruppert ('99),” she said. “My aunt and uncle still live in Huntington, so John and I enjoy visiting them as well as my cousins Susan Lowe ('98) and Greg Lowe ('02), who are currently living and working in New York City.”
The rolls of Huntington’s distinguished alumni continue to grow longer with the addition of Meghan Sullivan Walsh’s name.
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