Collin Francis Headed to
Columbia University
Since Collin Francis moved here from West Hempstead as ninth grader, the teenager has distinguished himself in some small way each day. Set to graduate in less than three weeks with Huntington High School’s Class of 2014, the teenager has blazed a trail of success academically. He is headed to Columbia University in the fall.
“Highlights of my time here would have to include participating in the Science Olympiad since tenth grade, focusing mainly on the astronomy event,” Mr. Francis said. “I also enjoyed being in drama club during my junior year as an extracurricular activity. That was fun, because I was able to participate in the play and musical and I did make some friends during the production.”
Mr. Francis’ senior year schedule has included Portfolio Development, Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition, AP US Government and Politics, AP Spanish Language, AP Calculus BC, AP Physics, AP Microeconomics and a career internship with high school social studies teacher Kenneth Donovan.
“My career internship with Mr. Donovan is very fun because I love U.S. History and I also like teaching other people through ‘performance,’ getting the class animated whenever I help lead discussion,” Mr. Francis said.
The teenager’s favorite high school activity has been Science Bowl with teachers Lori Kenny and Dame Forbes, “whom we affectionately called our coaches,” Mr. Francis said.
“My favorite teachers during my time at Huntington High School would be Mr. Donovan, with his AP U.S. History class being among my favorites; Mr. Graber, with his AP Microeconomics course probably being my first or second favorite class that I’ve taken,” the senior said.
Two special math teachers
Two special math teachers also make Mr. Francis’ list of favorites. “Ms. [Patricia] Tagliente and Mrs. [Monica] Racz, who taught me Pre-Calculus BC Honors and AP Calculus BC, respectively, introduced me to what is honestly my favorite form of mathematics: calculus,” the teenager said.
With science being near and dear to Mr. Francis’ heart, it’s not surprising he has taken to several of that department’s teachers. “Mrs. Forbes and her AP Chemistry class, which was the first very advanced science class I took, helped me to affirm that I wanted to pursue a career in science,” he said. “Ms. [Judy] Pazienza’s AP Physics class is the class that ties with Mr. Graber’s Microeconomics class as one of my two favorites. I love physics and I find Ms. Pazienza’s presentation of the material, as well as a teaching style that focuses more on learning than on grades, as one that was very conducive to me learning the subject material as well as I did.”
Mr. Francis was a student in math teacher Michael Graziano’s Integrated Algebra and Geometry classes and said the veteran educator “inspired me into thinking I truly had the capability to learn more advanced mathematics.”
The senior remains “very fond” of Spanish teacher Eliana Oranges, who retired last June. She was Mr. Francis’ teacher in ninth and eleventh grades and left a lasting impression.
“I am, of course, grateful to most of my teachers for assisting me in learning, as well as for their roles in helping me get to where I am today,” the teenager said.
Mr. Francis has been inducted into Huntington High School’s chapters of the National Honor Society and the Spanish, English, French, Math and Science honor societies. He’s the Math Honor Society’s tutoring coordinator and has even found the time to work with children in grades 1-6 at the Huntington Public Library’s Huntington Station branch once or twice a week, helping them with homework and explaining confusing concepts.
Columbia’s reputation is appealing
The teenager applied to Tulane University, University of Virginia, CUNY Hunter College’s Macaulay Honors College, Stony Brook University and the University of California at Riverside.
“Ultimately, however, Columbia appealed to me most due to its reputation, its strength in the sciences, its location in New York City and the relationships I made with the student body during their Days on Campus,” Mr. Francis said.
The senior is a member of the Astronomical Society of Long Island, participating in the organization’s activities at the Vanderbilt Planetarium in Centerport and at Custer Observatory in Southold as a volunteer and amateur astronomer.
“If I had to pick a teacher I’ve had outside of the Huntington School District who has had the greatest impact on me, it would be my mentor from Brookhaven National Laboratory, Dr. Michael Sivertz,” Mr. Francis said.
The teenager interned at the famed lab when he was 15, “but Dr. Sivertz didn’t treat me like a kid,” Mr. Francis said. “He took me seriously and took me on as a student and intern at the NASA Space Radiation Lab at BNL. He also taught me what it meant to be a scientist and how important it is to have a fundamental grasp of a subject when researching. He fueled my curiosity as my mentor and continues to guide me towards becoming a physicist.”
A thoughtful young man
Mr. Francis is known as a thoughtful young man and a serious student around Huntington High School and as someone willing to sacrifice and work long hours to achieve academic success.
“I am greatly interested in the sciences, especially physics and astronomy,” Mr. Francis said. “At Columbia, I intend on majoring in physics and concentrating in astronomy. Columbia University also has a core curriculum, which will help me to connect my science education to all aspects of my learning and my life. I hope it will prepare me for whatever future career I seek.”
Mr. Francis said his current plan is to pursue a physics-related graduate degree, but concedes that could change over the next four years. “What I do know is that I want to do research in some sort of physics, as well as make science less of a secret to the general public,” he said. “I want to be a science communicator and physics professor, taking complex ideas off of their pedestal and showing that anyone and everyone can and should develop a fundamental understanding of the sciences.”
Incoming Huntington freshmen should resist becoming “too compliant to the will of those around you nor lose drive in your learning,” Mr. Francis said. “Continue to be yourself; challenge those ideas that you disagree with and never stop questioning authority. If you follow your dreams, as well as your own curiosity and imagination, great things are sure to follow.”