Six standout East Rockaway High School students are honored

Six East Rockaway High School students performed so well on AP and PSAT exams that they were singled out by the College Board National Recognition Program, which honors outstanding students in the college application process.

To earn the accolade, students must be in the top 10 percent of test takers across the state on the PSAT, or score a 3 or higher on two or more AP exams by the end of their sophomore year.

The students were recognized for excellence in other areas as well as their test results.

The National First-Generation Recognition Program honored seniors Isabella DeCunzo, Tristen Latchman, Sarah Lonergan, Andres Mezquita and Mia Monteleone and junior April Macias for being the first in their families to pursue a college education. The National Hispanic Recognition Program also recognized Lonergan, Macias, Mezquita and Monteleone.

DeCunzo plans to major in mechanical engineering, and is considering a career in aerospace design. “We had so many opportunities here, and we wanted to move up,” she said of the high school. “We’re all like, finally, I’m going to go to school — I’m going to go to college, and my sister will too, hopefully.”

Lonergan is undecided on her major, but hopes to attend either the University of Tampa or Florida State University.

“It makes me proud of my family,” Lonergan said.

Macias is not yet applying to colleges, but having these honors on her resume will help when she does. “I’m proud of myself and what I’ve done,” she said.

“I want to major in psychology and maybe neuroscience,” Monteleone said, “and I want to go to Stony Brook or Adelphi. I’m the first person in my family to go to college, so this is something very big to my family.”

“My parents had to leave school early to move here, so my family really got big on education,” Mezquita said. “I plan on majoring in business, possibly marketing, and maybe a minor in psychology.”

“My parents were very, very proud of me,” he added of the programs’ recognition. “My mom always wanted a good education for me and my brother, and so for me to get this award means a lot to her.”

Latchman’s family came from Trinidad and Tobago, Caribbean islands off the coast of Venezuela.

“My dad had only middle school education, and my mom had high school,” Latchman said. “My dad didn’t really know about any of this going on, so when we told him, he was really proud.”

The students’ success was made possible by the rigorous environment at the high school, John Madden, director of school counseling, said.

“We’re one of the smallest schools in Nassau County — we have less than 100 kids in 12th grade,” Madden said. “To have five members of the senior class get this honor is definitely notable.”

The high school encourages students to aim high by offering a variety of Advanced Placement courses, in which they do college-level work instead of standard curriculum, giving them a head start on their post-high-school careers.

“Our school really is a supportive, safe environment for the students,” Madden said. “I think results like this show that we’ve been able to cultivate a culture where our students are able to thrive and really develop themselves, socially and academically, and really mature into young adults.”

“The school has worked for years to really increase its college- and career-readiness offerings,” he added. “We’ve expanded AP course offerings, dual-enrollment courses, and the students have really been responding well to those opportunities.”

“I think this achievement by the six students, and the five seniors in particular,” Madden said, “is evidence of that.”