Hayley Drace Makes High School Fun
Hayley Drace is winding down four fun-filled years at Huntington High School, where the teenager is a member of the Class of 2014. She has been in the district since beginning kindergarten at Southdown Primary School and has developed many lasting relationships with teachers and coaches and close friendships with classmates.
The senior’s college application process was “fairly simple” she said because she only applied to one school. “When researching for colleges, I stumbled upon University of Richmond and once I visited the school, I knew that it was where I wanted to be for the next four years of my life,” said Ms. Drace, who is undecided on an academic major. The teenager applied to Richmond as an early decision candidate and was accepted based upon her strong academic record.
At Woodhull Intermediate School, Ms. Drace spent three years participating in drama club productions and even joined the book club. At J. Taylor Finley Middle School she played soccer and ran on the track and field team.
“Once I got to the high school, I wanted to continue with sports so I played on the JV girls’ soccer team in the fall as a freshman and sophomore,” Ms. Drace said. The winter season was spent on the indoor track and field team, which she captained this year. She has also been on the spring track and field team for the past three years.
“Coach [Debra] Cheskes, who has been my winter track coach for all four years and my spring track coach for one year, was the main reason that I decided to try cross country in both my junior and senior years,” Ms. Drace said. “Coach Cheskes is not only a great coach when it comes to improving athletically, but she also has taught me so much about responsibility and being a great teammate.”
Ms. Drace has specialized in the 55m high hurdles and the triple jump. “We were lucky enough to be able to go to the Armory track twice this past season and it was a lot of fun competing on such an amazing track,” the teenager said.
The senior has also developed an appreciation for art and credits Woodhull art teacher Todd Hiscox and Finley art teacher Mark Belton for “inspiring” her to take art classes during high school.
Ms. Drace completed Drawing & Painting and Pre-AP Studio Art with teacher Kristin Singer and has taken three years of fashion courses with teacher Amy Worth. “Both Mrs. Worth and Mrs. Singer are incredible teachers and they have really helped me appreciate fashion and art,” Ms. Drace said.
The teenager is co-president of the high school GrandFriends club, working closely with faculty advisors Suzie Biagi and Camille DeCanio. A four-year member of the club, Ms. Drace said she “loves having the opportunity to connect with the older generation and being able to make someone’s day a little brighter.” Club members are excitedly preparing for the senior-senior prom this spring, which is expected to attract about 200 senior citizens from across the community.
A member of Huntington’s National Honor Society chapter, as well as the Science, Math, English and Spanish honor societies, Ms. Drace has demonstrated outstanding achievement throughout high school. “I love how all of the honor societies contribute to the district, whether it is the annual spelling bee (English Honor Society) or Math Night at Southdown Primary School (Math National Honor Society),” the senior said.
Some of Ms. Drace’s favorite high school teachers have been Deborah Beck and Camille Tedeschi. “I love Mrs. Beck’s style of teaching and really enjoyed taking AP Biology and Forensics with her,” the teenager said. “I have had Ms. Tedeschi for Honors Global, AP World History and Women’s Studies.”
Ms. Drace is traveling with many classmates and friends on an EF Tours trip to London, Paris and Normandy in April. The privately sponsored and funded trek will include Ms. Tedeschi, who has been a group leader with EF Tours for many years. Ms. Drace said she is “super excited” about the journey.
“Another one of my favorite teachers is Mr. [Michael] Graziano, who I had in freshman year for Honors Geometry,” Ms. Drace said. “He’s a wonderful teacher, but what stands out to me is how supportive he is of his students. Even though it has been a few years since I have taken his class, I am still able to go to him for help as if it were yesterday.”
As she looks back over the past four years, Ms. Drace can take comfort in knowing she has experienced rich array of academic and co-curricular and athletic activities. Traveling to Europe in the spring is the proverbial “icing on the cake.”
“A piece of advice that I have for incoming freshmen is to join sports and clubs in the school and just to get involved overall,” Ms. Drace said. “High school is not much fun if you are detached.”