Sabrina Blakley is a Selfless Huntington Senior
Sabrina Blakley has an enormous desire to help others. She came to Huntington High School as a freshman after attending St. Patrick’s School through eighth grade. It didn’t take very long for the teenager to seamlessly blend into the Class of 2014 and become one of its most popular and accomplished members.
“I loved every aspect of growing up in a Catholic community, but wouldn’t trade my time at Huntington for anything,” Ms. Blakley said. “Coming into the high school I was really nervous and apprehensive about public school. But the Huntington community blew me out of the water and was something I never expected it to be.”
Ms. Blakley leads a very active lifestyle and seizes on anything positive that comes her way. “The opportunities that Huntington offers are what makes our school really stand out,” she said. The teenager has participated in many after school activities and has continually sought out ways to help others.
“The highlights of my time at Huntington have definitely been my work with Habitat, including my three trips to New Orleans, being on the volleyball and crew teams and being a part of Natural Helpers,” Ms. Blakley said. The senior is so passionate about Habitat for Humanity that her work with Huntington’s chapter will go down in history as some of the most impressive ever.
“Sabrina is beautiful person inside and out,” senior Summer Rudish said. “We met and became friends through working together for Habitat for Humanity and Relay For Life. She’s a diligent worker and always is one to lend a helping hand. I know she’s going to do so well and have so much fun in college. I wish her all the best.”
An Amazing, Selfless Personality
“I didn’t know Sabrina until ninth grade, but we really got to know each other once high school started,” senior Lee Reiver said. “We have had a ton of classes together and it became obvious that she was an extremely hardworking and diligent student. She has helped me get through a lot of classes by guiding me with my work through the years. With that being said, she also has an amazing, selfless personality and is loved by all students and faculty. I have no doubt she’ll continue her success through college and continue to make other people better.”
Ms. Blakley likes a challenge. Her senior year classes include four Advanced Placement courses, including AP Calculus AB, AP Literature and Composition, AP Microeconomics and AP U.S. Government and Politics. She’s also enrolled in Spanish V Honors.
“In ninth grade, Mrs. [Lori] Kenny, my Living Environment teacher, really taught me how to be a successful student in Huntington,” Ms. Blakley said. “She taught me how to have a good work ethic and to be proud of my achievements.”
“Sabrina was one of the most outstanding students in her class,” Mrs. Kenny said. “She put in 110 percent effort into everything she did, from studying, doing creative projects and helping her peers. Sabrina always came in with a great, big smile and was ready to learn. It’s a joy to have had her as student and she will be dearly missed.”
The teenager was a student in math teacher Joann Ferazi’s Algebra II Trig and Pre-Calculus classes as a sophomore and junior, respectively. “I spent my lunch period for two years sitting in her classroom, talking and working,” Ms. Blakley said. “Mrs. Ferazi has to be the greatest teacher I’ve ever had.”
The senior has developed a close working relationship with high school dean Robert Gilmor III, who serves as the faculty advisor to the Natural Helpers club and Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity chapter.
“Being a part of Natural Helpers and Habitat for Humanity, Mr. Gilmor has become like a second dad for me, earning the nickname Papa Bear,” Ms. Blakley said. “I don’t know where I would be without Gil. I have never met a man so invested and so in love with his job. When he says he wakes up every day for us, he means it. The love that Mr. Gilmor has for his students is the reason I want to be a teacher.”
“Sabrina has been a Natural Helper for four years and her involvement in Habitat has exceeded all expectations,” Mr. Gilmor said. “Three trips to New Orleans and in each one of them she took more of a leadership role. She was my ‘go to’ person and a calming presence to myself and the kids. Sabrina takes great pride in being her own leader. Holding down multiple jobs, a demanding curriculum and many extra-curricular activities, she moves forward in positive direction and rarely let’s life’s many stresses distract her from her end goal.”
Plans to Teach
Ms. Blakley is headed to St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia in the fall where she will participate in a five year combined bachelor’s/master’s degree special education program. “After college I plan on finding placement in a public school in the Philadelphia region,” she said. “At some point I definitely want to take a year of service through Americorps, Teach for America or Habitat for Humanity.”
“Sabrina is a genuine person with such a kind heart,” said Emily Coleman, a member of Huntington’s Class of 2013. “She brings out the best in everyone and has a presence that lights up the room. No matter where she is, you can always expect to see a smile on her face. She has such a bright future ahead of her and I know she will shine in college. Sabrina is always willing to help others. Participating in Relay For Life and Habitat for Humanity gave us the opportunity to build a lasting friendship. No matter what she is doing, she gives a 100 percent.”
Besides keeping up a sterling academic grade point average and spending countless hours with the Blue Devil teams and in the club program, the teenager works as a hostess at Finley’s of Green Street in Huntington village. She also tutors a young female student in the district a few times a week and on the weekend.
“Once a week I mentor in a social group for kids with autism and Asperger’s where we help teach social skills through interactive workshops, games and role playing,” Ms. Blakley said.
“Sabrina is the most selfless person I know, truly beautiful inside and out,” said senior Alex Castillo, Huntington’s student government president. “She puts her heart and soul into everything she does.”
Inspirational, Confident, Compassionate
“The best advice I can give to freshmen is get involved,” Ms. Blakley said. “Find something you love and run with it. I joined Habitat on a whim and it changed my high school experience completely.”
Ms. Blakley never fails to make a good first impression when meeting someone for the first time. Her kindness shines through. She genuinely likes people and wants to help them. As she moves around Huntington High School it seems as if her smile is contagious.
“Words that come to my mind when I think of Sabrina are inspirational, confident, compassionate, a leader and so many other positively defining words, but the one that rings out the loudest is loyal,” Mr. Gilmor said.
As her days as a Huntington senior grow shorter, Ms. Blakley is preparing for her last summer before college and what lies beyond. She will leave high school knowing that she made the most of the past four years and laid the necessary groundwork for a successful future.
“Her accomplishments in her short life have been magnificent and I am quite confident there will be so many more to add to her life resume,” Mr. Gilmor said. “She has great insight and because of that she is able to look past all the false facades and see the truth that lies beneath.”