E.R. student accepted to prestigious school

Starting in September, East Rockaway High School eighth-grader Michael Mahoney checked on his Regis High School application status repeatedly as he anxiously waited to discover if he was accepted or rejected.

After years of not participating in school sports, limiting his social life, and keeping his eyes glued to textbooks for studying and homework, Michael, 14, said he breathed a sigh of relief, on Jan. 22, when he was notified of his acceptance.

   “All that hard work paid off,” he said. “Regis seems like the perfect school, and I look forward to meeting new people, just like me.”

Regis is a private Roman Catholic school, located on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, which is run by Jesuits or members of an order of Catholic priests. With roughly 1,000 candidates applying per application season, Regis only selects 135 male students from the tri-state area, annually.

Michael, who will start school in September, will commute to Manhattan from his home in Lynbrook. He said he is most excited to be in the city.

“I love the city,” he said. “I always feel happy there.”

Although his favorite subjects are social studies and math because, he said, it’s like a puzzle to him, Michael is still not certain about what career he wants in the future.

“I’m not sure what I want to be, but maybe I will be a lawyer or get a job in finance,” he said. “I want to be successful and live comfortably. If I get a good job, I’ll be set for life.”

Michael’s parents, Marc and Corinne Mahoney, said they were proud of their son for getting into the school and they looked forward to what the future holds for him.

“This is going to be beneficial in so many ways because he will get to learn from kids that are coming from different places,” Marc said. “Even though we are not very religious Catholics, I believe that the discipline of the school setting will be good for my son.”

Corinne echoed her husband’s remarks. “I’m looking forward to him experiencing the city,” she said. “Even though it will be a challenge academically, he will have access to so many new resources.”