William Harris Eyes Career
as Analyst at ESPN
He’s been in the Huntington School District since the day he started kindergarten in teacher Tracey McManus’ classroom and now in a few short months, senior William Harris will be joining the ranks of Huntington High School graduates.
Mr. Harris began his long journey in September 2002. Since then he has enjoyed so many academic and athletic experiences that the memories will last a lifetime.
Rather than coasting through his senior year, Mr. Harris enrolled in a challenging slate of classes, including AP Literature, AP Government and Politics, AP Macroeconomics, Spanish V Honors, Physics and Pre-Calculus.
The teenager counts Pride Awards in English, science and math as among the highlights of his time at Huntington High School. “I also am very proud that I made the varsity baseball team as a sophomore,” Mr. Harris said. He’s a sensational pitcher and catcher.
Winning the Suffolk football championship as a junior was another “extremely exciting time,” Mr. Harris said. Sports have figured prominently in the senior’s high school years. He enjoys the relationships he has developed with his teammates and coaches and thrives on competition.
Mr. Harris has a wonderful sense of humor and tries to find something positive in each of his daily experiences. He gets along well with his classmates and teachers. Like every student, the teenager has taken a particular liking to certain faculty members.
“My favorites have to be Mr. [Michael] Schwendemann, for his humor and for allowing me to look forward to English class every day and Ms. [Camille] Tedeschi, who was my social studies teacher for my freshman and sophomore years,” Mr. Harris said. “Even though Ms. Tedeschi was strict, she showed me how to handle the high school workload. I truly appreciate them both for all their help and guidance. I also want to thank Mrs. [Pat] Dillon, our librarian and Mrs. [Kelly] Krycynski, one of my English teachers, who have both really had an impact on me as well.”
When he’s not playing with the football or baseball teams, Mr. Harris can be found working as a science lab assistant, participating in various activities with the Young Leaders youth development organization or serving on the staff of The Dispatch, the high school student newspaper.
The senior has developed several possible career interests. “I would love to be a sports analyst for ESPN or write about sports for a major newspaper,” Mr. Harris said.
The teenager has been accepted by St. John’s, SUNY Cortland, SUNY New Paltz and the University of Maryland. Mr. Harris is waiting to hear from Northeastern, Boston University and Binghamton University. He will make his final decision on which school he wants to attend once the remaining colleges respond.
Mr. Harris advises incoming Huntington freshman to do exactly what he has done for the past four years and “take advantage of every opportunity you have in high school.”