Huntington Senior Monica Owen Eyes College Stage
Monica Owen is a “lifer.” She has been a Huntington School District student since the day she began kindergarten at Washington Primary School. Soon she will graduate from Huntington High School as one of the top members of the Class of 2014.
The teenager intends to study musical theatre in college and has applied to an array of schools, including the University of Michigan, Penn State University, University of Wisconsin, Ithaca College and Carnegie Mellon University.
“I am in the midst of college auditions, so it’s been a bit tough to balance school and traveling to these different schools, but I’m trying as best I can,” Ms. Owen said. “I know that I’m going to miss my friends very much next year. Applying to colleges is making being a senior so much more real. But, overall I can’t wait to see where I end up. I’m hoping to go to a big school where I can meet lots of new people and make lots of connections.”
The teenager is currently enrolled in AP Calculus AB, AP Literature and Composition, AP Government, AP Economics, Theatre Arts, Chamber Choir, Psychology, Spanish and Orchestra.
“Being at the high school has been an overall wonderful experience for me,” Ms. Owen said. “I’ve made so many wonderful friends in these past few years and I am very grateful for that.”
Ms. Owen is in the midst of a year filled with interesting and fulfilling activities. She participated in the Key Club’s Sears holiday shopping tour for needy youths in the community, sang carols for the residents of Carillon Nursing Home with the Tri-M music honor society and helped in rebuilding efforts in Superstorm Sandy stricken Breezy Point, Queens with Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity chapter.
“The advisors for these groups and the students in them are absolutely amazing and I feel so lucky to have been able to participate in these events,” Ms. Owen said about the organizations to which she has devoted so many hours of her free time.
Actress, singer, musician
Ms. Owen is very closely identified with Huntington’s music and drama club programs, working with choral director Veronica Mainveille and drama advisor Michael Schwendemann.
The senior is the chamber choir’s vice-president, soprano 1 section leader and the musical director of the a cappella group Choral Fixation. She has participated in the All-County mixed choir as a soprano and was selected as an All-State alternate. “This has given me the opportunity to work a lot with Mrs. Mainville this year and she is such an amazing person,” Ms. Owen said. “She truly is so kind and energetic and she makes choir something truly special to be a part of.”
Ms. Owen is also a member of Huntington’s symphony and chamber orchestras, studying with and performing under orchestra director Lisa Leonardi. “She’s great because she puts together quartet groups for different school events, which I have had the opportunity to be a part of and which are really fun,” the senior said.
Secretary of Huntington High School’s drama club, Ms. Owen has been cast as Cinderella in April’s production of the epic fairy tale, Into the Woods. “I am so unbelievably excited about this production since the people in the cast are enormously talented and hardworking,” the teenager said. “I think it’s going to be a fantastic show.”
A very talented actress, Ms. Owen won a Hunting-Tony Award last spring for her role as Elsa Schraeder in The Sound of Music. She earned a nomination as a sophomore for her performance in A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The senior has also appeared in Anne of Green Gables, Lady Windermere’s Fan and Little Women.
“Working with Mr. Schwendemann has been a blast,” Ms. Owen said. “He’s a really great director and is so much fun to work with. This year I have him as a teacher in Theatre Arts so I can also attest to what a great teacher he is.”
Seized on travel opportunities
Ms. Owen has seized upon several opportunities to travel outside of the United States. “Last summer I went on an EF Tours trip to Germany, Austria and Switzerland, which was one of the most incredible experiences I’ve had,” se said. “I had a blast sightseeing with many of my close friends and we had a great time with Ms. [Camille] Tedeschi as our tour leader. I am very much looking forward to the next EF Tours trip to England and France that is coming up in the spring.”
The senior also traveled to Dubai with her family to visit Ms. Owen’s cousin who resides there. The teenager said she found the emirate and city in the United Arab Emirates federation to be “one of the most exciting and beautiful places I’ve ever traveled to.”
It seems like only yesterday that Ms. Owen was a kindergartener at Washington School. Not she’s all grown up and displaying sensational talents. She has enjoyed an incredible variety of experiences over the years and learned a lot along the way.
“The advice I would give to incoming freshmen is don’t sweat the small stuff,” Ms. Owen said. “In the long run you just have to focus on your passions and what makes you happy and I promise it will make your high school experience a much more enjoyable one.”