Spanish Honor Society Ranks Grow
It was an enjoyable evening for two dozen Huntington High School students and their parents as the teenagers were inducted into the National Spanish Honor Society.
The ceremony took on a formal tone, but there was plenty of light-hearted energy in the room thanks to a live string quartet and several extraordinary performances that showcased the foreign language talents of select society members.
Senior Mary-Liz O'Neill, who will attend Juilliard School of Music, belted out the animated Spanish song, "El tra la la y el pateado" to the delight of the crowd. "Her trilling voice carried throughout the room and truly brought a rich feeling of Spanish culture to the ceremony," said teacher Mercy Peña, the society's faculty advisor.
Senior Carrie Fante, the society's vice-president, captured the attention of the audience with a passionate recital of the poem "Primavera a la vista" by legendary poet Octavio Paz. Mrs. Peña requested the recitation of the poem and Ms. Fante, who was valedictorian of the Class of 2011, happily obliged.
"Carrie had practiced this beautiful poem for a poetry contest and the day of the competition she had serious laryngitis and lost her voice completely," recounted Mrs. Peña. While the University of Pennsylvania-bound scholar missed the contest, she impressed the honor society induction crowd with her flawless delivery.
Class of 2011 salutatorian Michelle Byrne, who served as the Spanish Honor Society's president this past year, charmed the audience with an address that kicked off the formal induction ceremony. Ms. Byrne, who will attend Cornell University, called on fellow senior David Stillman, who is headed to Northwestern University to step forward and together the pair announced the names of the new inductees.
Senior Christian Carrion, who is headed to Baruch College in the fall, led the inductees in the society's traditional pledge. An attentive audience then watched as students were inducted one-by-one during the time-honored candle ceremony.
The new inductees include Natalie Acton, Ashley Angstadt, Jaime Brown, James Brynes, Taylor Choy, Marie Coneys, Kaja Coraor, Rian Cruz, Caroline Doscas, Brandon Fiordelisi, Jessica Flores, Debbie Gomez, Francisca Gray, Samantha Greenidge, Jose Luis Hernandez, Kylee Kiesel, Samantha Levine, Katherine Lopez, Erika Martinez, Josh Morris, Ari Moskowitz, Elizabeth Roman, Danielle Schultz and Jonathan Wood.
Near the end of the ceremony, the society's new members were presented with certificates, cementing their induction. "Afterward, the new inductees and guests enjoyed a spread of delicious snacks, happily celebrating the accomplishment of these terrific students," Mrs. Peña said. "The induction was a truly unique and warming experience as the foreign language teachers welcomed the most accredited students into their societies. Clearly, next year will be just as good as the last."
The new inductees joined the society's continuing members, Madison Biernacki, Holly Blakley, Brielle Blatt, Lauren Boyce, Michelle Byrne, Christian Carrion, Carolyn Fante, Holly Flores, Norman Gomez-Vasquez, Melanie Grossman, Shayne Larkin, Justin LoScalzo, Teddy Lyons, Elizabeth Maldonado, Erik Marcinik, Roxana Moreira, Shira Moskowitz, Michael O'Conner, Mary-Liz O'Neill, Alicia Ortiz, Karen Parada, Matthew Petryk, Michelle Rosenbauer, Meghan Rowland, David Stillman, Joseph Straub, Jeffrey Sun, Michael Valente and Olivia Weller.