Schools
Seaford HS Valedictorian Drew Inspiration from Piano Teacher
Shaina Blitt entered Seaford High School as a sophomore after graduating from the Long Island School for the Gifted in Huntington Station.
At a young age, Seaford High School Valedictorian Shaina Blitt knew she was destined for success, drawing inspiration from her piano teacher who was also a chemist in a time when few women held such positions. With a weighted grade point average of 102.85, Shaina heads to Northeastern University in Boston with plans of becoming an aerospace engineer.
Shaina came to Seaford High School as a sophomore after graduating from the Long Island School for the Gifted in Huntington Station. It was hard to meet students in her grade, she admits, because she was placed in advanced classes with upperclassmen.
“It wasn’t until junior year when I joined Chorale and took Advanced Placement (AP) Language and Composition, which had eleventh graders in it, did I start meeting students in my grade,” she said.
During the summers in high school she took classes in engineering, calculus, marine science and astrophysics at Columbia, Harvard and Stanford universities. Because her learning was accelerated and she had completed most of the graduation requirements, Shaina spent the first semester of her senior year in Spain. She lived with a host family and attended a “bachillerato” program, Spain’s specialized post-secondary schooling for students 16-18 year olds.
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Concentrating in science, Shaina took chemistry, physics, technical drawing and philosophy, which were all taught in Spanish. She was the only American in her classes. While studying in Spain, her family suffered extreme damage to their home due to Superstorm Sandy and moved in with a relative. Her family is currently renting a house on their block from a neighbor who moved to Florida.
While her family strives to return to normalcy, Shaina is excited to study engineering at an institution that has given her almost full tuition. In addition to academics, Shaina enjoys reading, traveling, tutoring and trying new things. She is a member of National Honor Society and is an AP Scholar with Distinction for scoring a 3 or better on five or more AP exams. She earned several awards in and out of school, including the President’s Award for Educational Excellence and the Seaford High School Certificate of Academic Excellence in AP Calculus BC. She participated in JV soccer, Key Club, Mathletes and was a peer tutor.
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Her parting advice to underclassmen: “Always try your hardest and don’t quit.”
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