Busy Summer for H-ton Grad
Headed to MIT
Huntington High School Class of 2014 member Greta Farrell is headed to Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the fall, but this summer her energy has been devoted to racing Club 420s, a type of double-handed sailboat with her friend, Edward Lebens, an incoming Oyster Bay High School senior.
Ms. Farrell has been competing under the banner of the WaterFront Center in Oyster Bay. The Huntington alum and her teammate have been formidable competitors, winning numerous honors, including:
• 2nd in a field of 17 in The Law Trophy hosted by Indian Harbor Yacht Club in Greenwich, CT.
• 10th in a field of 52 in the Area B Qualifier hosted by Mason’s Island Yacht Club in Mystic, CT.
• 1st in a field of 102 in the Larchmont Junior Race Week hosted by Larchmont Yacht Club in Larchmont, NY. At the awards ceremony, in addition to the first place overall trophy, Ms. Farrell received the Best Crew Award which is given to the crew determined by the race committee to have had the best performance of the winning crew members from the 420, Pixel and Blue Jay classes.
• 5th in a field of 57 in the Shelter Island Yacht Club Invitational.
• 64th in a field of 155 in the Buzzards Bay Regatta hosted by New Bedford Yacht Club in New Bedford, MA. “This was our first time competing in a regatta of this size, but we enjoyed the challenge of a larger fleet and much windier conditions than we are used to sailing in on the Long Island Sound,” Ms. Farrell said.
As a result of their top finish at Larchmont, Ms. Farrell and Mr. Lebens were one of just three boats invited to represent the Junior Sailing Association of Long Island Sound in the Junior Challenge Regatta at SUNY Maritime. “Our team of three boats raced against representatives of the sailing associations of Eastern Connecticut, Great South Bay, Hudson River and Peconic-Gardiners,” Ms. Farrell said. “Edward and I came in second out of 15 boats and our team’s combined score won the regatta for the Long Island Sound.”
At the Long Island Sound Junior Sailing Association championship at Shelter Island Yacht Club earlier this week, Ms. Farrell and Mr. Lebens placed seventh in a field of 45, a major achievement considering the exceptional level of competition.
President of Huntington’s math honor society, editor of the high school literary magazine Et Cetera and a captain of the Blue Devil field hockey team, Ms. Farrell was honored at last fall’s Island Harvest gala at the Crest Hollow Country Club for her remarkable volunteerism with the organization that feeds thousands of Long Island’s hungry. The teenager was also recognized by the Huntington Town Board for her superb community service.
Ms. Farrell will leave for MIT on August 19. She will participate in a freshman pre-orientation program featuring a tour of sites of historic and literary significance around Boston, including Authors’ Ridge, the Orchard House and Walden Pond among others.
The Huntington grad will begin practicing with MIT’s sailing team during the week of August 25. “Registration for classes is on September 2. I would like to enroll in multi-variable calculus, chemistry, physics I and German I,” Ms. Farrell said. “I’m trying not to plan out too many extracurriculars outside of sailing because I would like to keep an open mind to discovering new clubs and activities, but if possible, I would like to write for MIT’s literary magazine, Rune.”
Ms. Farrell is interested in exploring MIT’s courses in the electrical science and engineering and mathematics departments. She completed a credit bearing career internship last year with Huntington High School math teacher Monica Racz in an AP Calculus BC course.
At Huntington’s senior academic awards ceremony this past June, Ms. Farrell was presented the County Executive’s Public Service Award, Science National Honor Society Award, St. John’s University Women in Science Society Award, Edna Van Wart Mathematics Award and the Promising Young Writer Award.