Katherine Gerdes has enjoyed a sensational experience as a scholar, singer and actress extraordinaire over the past four years at Huntington High School where the teenager is a member of the senior class.
A student in the district since kindergarten, Ms. Gerdes is currently enrolled in Advanced Placement Literature, AP Economics, AP Government, Forensics, Theatre Arts, Chamber Choir, Symphony Orchestra and Psychology courses and is participating in a credit-bearing internship with English 9 Honors teacher Kelly Krycinski.
“Some of my best memories of Huntington are organizing Homecoming and Playfest with student government,” Ms. Gerdes said. “I have to say, I lucked out getting to be a member of the Class of 2014. I feel like our grade is full of such amazingly talented, funny, intelligent and warm people.”
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Ms. Gerdes has many commitments, but she has set aside time to be a participating member of Huntington’s Habitat for Humanity chapter. “I loved going on my first build to Breezy Point last year,” she said about the club’s work responding to that community’s devastation by Hurricane Sandy. “It was such a fun and fulfilling experience and I am so grateful to Mr. [Robert] Gilmor for welcoming me on the trip even though I wasn’t a Habitat member back then!” Mr. Gilmor is the club’s faculty advisor and he gets as many students as possible involved in the groups’ work.
Participated in Albany Conference
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The teenager was nominated by Huntington social studies teacher Camille Tedeschi and selected to participate in the League of Women Voters of New York State’s Students Inside Albany conference last spring. “I learned so much about policymaking and citizen lobbying, which I believe is very important to know when trying to be an active citizen,” Ms. Gerdes said.
The senior’s “favorite part of school” is the drama club and performing in its fall and spring productions. “In the past, I’ve had the pleasure of being in the ensemble of Carousel, playing the part of Puck in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Amy March in Little Women, Lady Windermere in Lady Windermere’s Fan, Maria in The Sound of Music and now Anne Shirley in Anne of Green Gables this November!”
She has enjoyed all of the shows she’s been in, but playing Maria in The Sound of Music ranks as “one of the best experiences I’ve ever had,” Ms. Gerdes said. “I think what made it extra special for me was getting to see all of the little kids afterwards who had seen the show, get so excited about it!”
Huntington’s music program has also been near and dear to Ms. Gerdes’ heart. “I started playing cello the summer before fourth grade at the OOMPAH summer camp at the high school and haven’t stopped playing since,” she said. “Now I am the orchestra president. I do the out of school chamber orchestra and I sit principal chair in symphony orchestra.”
A Top Vocalist
As a vocalist, Ms. Gerdes is one of the best. She sang the national anthem at the Homecoming Day football game and drew rave reviews and hearty applause from the crowd.
“Although I’ve always loved to sing, I only joined choir last year,” Ms. Gerdes said. “I really regret not doing it sooner! Mrs. [Veronica] Mainville is such a wonderful teacher and creates such a comfortable singing and learning atmosphere. But, I’m still lucky enough to have been in it for two years and now I get to be in chamber choir and this will be my second year doing a capella!”
Ms. Gerdes said she is “very excited” about performing with the All County chorus in November and the All State chorus in December in Rochester. Mrs. Mainville, Huntington’s choir director, has called the senior an “amazing vocalist.”
In addition to Habitat for Humanity and the drama club, Ms. Gerdes participates in the Key club, serves as corresponding secretary of the Class of 2014 and is a member of the National Honor Society, National English Honor Society and the Tri-M Music Honor Society.
Enjoyed “Amazing” Teachers
“Over the course of high school, I’ve had so many amazing teachers it’s really hard not to mention almost all of them,” said Ms. Gerdes when asked to name a few favorites. “I had Ms. Tedeschi for three years in a row for World History the first two years and then for Women’s Studies in last year. I also had the pleasure of traveling with her on an EF Tours trip to Germany, Prague, Switzerland and France! She’s such a go-getter and so fun to be around.”
The senior was in Mrs. Krycinski’s ninth grade English class and the two have maintained a close relationship ever since. “Her way of teaching and her passion for the books we read in class opened my eyes to literature and made me love reading so much that I made a pledge to her in ninth grade that in my senior year I would be her intern, and sure enough, now I am,” Ms. Gerdes said.
English teacher Victoria Lombardi is still another favorite. “She was not only my teacher as a junior, but she is also one of our Class of 2014 faculty advisors,” Ms. Gerdes said. “I always know I can count on her if I need someone to talk to about anything that’s on my mind!”
Ms. Gerdes has worked very closely with Michael Schwendemann, a high school English teacher and drama club advisor. “Although I have only had him as an actual teacher for a month now, I’ve known him through drama club ever since I was a freshman,” the teenager said. “He’s always good for a laugh, no matter how ‘trite’ and has helped guide me to do what I love most.”
The senior plans to study musical theatre in college. She is applying to Carnegie Mellon, University of Michigan, Penn State, Syracuse, Ithaca and Emerson, among several others. “Though I am going to miss all of the friends and experiences I’ve had here at Huntington, I can’t wait to start the next chapter of my life when I graduate this year alongside my friends and my brothers, Alex and Harry,” she said.
As she enjoys her final year at Huntington High School, Ms. Gerdes said any discussion of her experiences in the district would be incomplete without mentioning her fourth grade class and teacher Jason Suarez. “That was one of the best years of my life and it’s because I got to go to school every day to a class full of amazing friends and an awesome teacher that made learning a challenge and an adventure,” she said.
Ms. Gerdes plans to savor every day of her senior year and sing and act and participate in academic and co-curricular activities, as well as having fun with her friends and classmates.
“If I had to give advice to incoming freshmen, I would tell them to be comfortable being who they are and to follow their pursuit of happiness,” Ms. Gerdes said. “Never let anyone label you as ‘this’ or ‘that.’ I mean, if you want to be on the football team and take ballet on the side then do it! No one is stopping you except yourself. I found that embracing individuality, having confidence and doing what you love is the key to success not just in high school, but in life as well.”
