Samantha Greenidge Wins Kevin Sze Scholarship

This marks the fifth and final year of the Kevin Sze Memorial Scholarship, which has annually been presented in honor of a young man remembered throughout the Huntington School District as a kind and gentle soul.

This year’s award went to Class of 2013 member Samantha Greenidge, who is headed to Iona College in New Rochelle where she will study to become a math teacher.

Mr. Sze, who attended Woodhull, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) during the summer before he began sixth grade classes. Despite undergoing several surgeries and undergoing grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatments, he remained exceedingly upbeat.

Scholarship organizers decided that since Mr. Sze gave 100 percent for each of his 16 years, the annual award would total $1,600. The delightful teenager passed away in April 2008 during his junior year at Huntington High School. It was a terrible loss for the teachers and classmates who cherished the well-liked young man.

A scholarship fund in his memory was soon established to recognize seniors who have faced an obstacle and courageously worked to overcome it. Applicants for the award were asked to describe how a particularly difficult experience had served to help them in life. The seniors who applied for the scholarship wrote about medical, emotional and physical obstacles they have encountered or that they have had to struggle with through a family member.

After reading through each of the 12 applications, a committee voted to select Ms. Greenidge as the scholarship’s fifth and final recipient. Jeffrey Bishop won the inaugural award in 2009, Chelsey Hoole-Shlakman was the 2010 honoree, Melissa Cartagena was named the 2011 recipient and Annie Coffey captured last year’s scholarship.

 Ms. Greenidge played on the Blue Devil volleyball team since ninth grade and tutored classmates since her sophomore year. She points to the strong support of her family, friends and teachers as among the keys to her exceptional academic and co-curricular performance.

A young woman “with an unwavering strength of character,” according to Huntington Superintendent James W. Polansky, Ms. Greenidge has served as both a leader and role model for classmates. While losing her father at a young age was a crushing blow, Ms. Greenidge has worked very hard to achieve success. She has also volunteered with the ALS Association for the past eight years, lending her efforts to the fight against Lou Gehrig’s disease.

The final year of the Kevin Sze Memorial Scholarship saw some of the highest quality applications submitted since the award was first created. “All of the applications were well-written and heartfelt, making the decision very tough,” said Martha Ironman, the Huntington High School nurse who previously worked at Woodhull School, where she became close to Mr. Sze and his family.