John Cimetta Looks to SUNY Maritime
The years have passed quickly since John Cimetta arrived at Flower Hill Primary School for his first day of classes as a kindergarten student. The teenager graduated last week with Huntington High School's Class of 2013. He will begin studies at SUNY Maritime College in the fall.
"Throughout my entire scholastic career I've been heavily involved in sports," Mr. Cimetta said. "It's just my thing. I very much enjoy the idea of hard work paying off and equaling success in the area of sports."
Mr. Cimetta has played football since third grade and plans to play in college. "I've generally been a tall, big kid my whole life so I haven't strayed from the offensive tackle and defensive end positions," he said. "After getting pulled up to the varsity squad in 10th grade, I became much more serious and started to pack the weight on each offseason to better myself."
The new alum also played defense for the Blue Devil lacrosse team and threw the shot put and discus for Huntington's track and field squad. "I love everything about the sports I play and it's safe to say my outlet for my high school career has been these sports in one way or another," Mr. Cimetta said.
The teenager said his senior year was just as challenging as the ones that preceded it. Mr. Cimetta completed honors physics, AP Microeconomics, AP Government and Politics, AP Literature and Composition, pre-calculus and a number of electives.
One of Mr. Cimetta's favorite classes this year was physics. "Primarily because I plan on being an engineer and I have the state of mind of asking why things move and act in a certain way, but I also like the idea of applying math to solve various problems, it's interesting," he said.
Looking back over the past four years, Mr. Cimetta said he especially enjoyed Global History with teacher Peter Crugnale, who he called his "favorite" teacher. "I had the pleasure of being in his class for two years and it was not only was an amazing learning experience, but it was also very enjoyable," the new grade said. "Mr. Crugnale and I have some great memories and talks, but I owe it to all of the teachers and staff in the building for helping me along my high school journey."
Mr. Cimetta has been a serious student, forging close working relationships with many faculty members and coaches. "I have to say it would have been a lot harder if I didn't have amazing teachers like Ms. [Joann] Ferazi as my 11th grade math teacher or Ms. [Judy] Pazienza this year in physics or Mrs. Kenny as my 9th grade biology teacher or all my other wonderful teachers. I really couldn't have done it without them."
Among the teenagers' activities has been Natural Helpers. "Members in the group learned how to ask the right questions when dealing with a personal problem and also how to easily solve the situation without telling the person how to do it," Mr. Cimetta said. "We went on retreats together overnight and played games as well as did various activities in order to get to know each other better. I will never forget the memories and experiences and friendships I've made from this group."
A bond formed between Mr. Cimetta and the Natural Helpers faculty advisor, Robert Gilmor III, who also works as a high school dean. "Mr. Gilmor was an excellent leader of this group and he is such an outstanding person," Mr. Cimetta said. "He has helped me with plenty of my own issues throughout high school and [helped] plenty of others. I can't thank him enough for his kindness and his actions."
Mr. Cimetta is "very excited" to be playing football at Maritime College, a four-year college located at historic Fort Schuyler in Throgs Neck in The Bronx. "This college is a military based academy and focuses heavily on the shipping industry," he said. "Maritime awards students with licenses in programs such as mechanical or electrical engineering or marine transportation or business. I'm going to study mechanical engineering and am planning on getting my engine license through Maritime.
The Huntington alum said he expects his stay at Maritime "will most definitely be a rigorous one, but it will be very worth it. "I'm not sure if I will serve in the military after Maritime, for there is no commitment at this academy, but that is a very real possibility," Mr. Cimetta said.
In September a new group of freshmen will enter Huntington high School. "The advice that I'd give to them is to have an open mind, but also stay focused for the duration of high school," Mr. Cimetta said.