The Inside Press

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Horace Greeley High School

Reflections on the Greeley Class of 2025

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“Resilience and a strong sense of community has truly defined the Class of 2025” – Principal, Dr. Sandra Sepe

The Horace Greeley High School graduating class of 2025 entered Greeley during COVID-19, a time of chaos and uncertainty. This class began its high school journey under such abnormal circumstances, navigating hybrid learning and restrictions on social interactions with peers. In the wake of overcoming these challenges, the students were able to engage their sense of adaptability and persistence.

In an interview, Horace Greeley Principal, Dr. Sandra Sepe, said “Resilience and a strong sense of community has truly defined the Class of 2025.”

The Class of 2025 continues to shape and strengthen the school’s culture, traditions and achievements, fostering an enduring sense of unity within the community. Horace Greeley’s thriving science research program has flourished, in part, due to the exceptional accomplishments of this class. Many seniors have emerged as leaders in regional science competitions, earning prestigious awards and securing spots as finalists, further paving their legacy for excellence.

The Class of 2025 has reintroduced unity and school pride to Greeley, after being disconnected. Dr. Sepe remarked “These students have shown an unmatched commitment to being part of something bigger than themselves. Whether by filling the stands at home sports games or fostering a culture of community and passion for togetherness.”

These students added a sports broadcasting club to Greeley, further emphasizing this class’s commitment to display their teamwork and take advantage of the school’s resources to strengthen the student body. This dedication is especially notable given that they entered high school in a time of separation and restrictions, making their perseverance and resilience as leaders of Greeley even more inspiring.

During the challenges of COVID-19, both the academics and sports program faced disruptions, where anxiety for students was at a peak. Yet, the Class of 2025 rose in the wake of this, adapting and helping to rebuild a sense of community that defines Greeley’s athletic program.

In addition to athletics, the arts and theater programs have flourished tremendously under the leadership of this graduating class. The success of Greeley’s fall production of Little Women and the excitement surrounding the upcoming production of Anastasia reflect the seniors’ dedication to showcase excellence and collaboration. Their passion for the arts, much like their commitment to athletics, underscore the importance of coming together to create something meaningful. Greeley’s seniors are leaders and lay the foundation for Greeley’s future that coming together with a mix of peers is essential for a thriving school community.

Furthermore, 15 senior students from the creative arts program represented Horace Greeley at the Katonah Museum of Art’s 42nd Annual Young Artists Exhibition, showcasing the brilliance of the graduating students by creating media with a domain of concepts, and expression. Greeley recognizes the numerous accolades in every class, however, this class’s contributions stand out by the lasting difference they make.

The 2025 Horace Greeley commencement ceremony is set for June 21st and follows the tradition of being outside on the lawn underneath the giant white tent. The ceremony will include several student speakers. Tradition is significant at Greeley, especially during the lead up to graduation where each year they introduce the winners for the student speaker contest. The graduation is a great example of students using their voice to bring people together.

Dr. Sepe has characterized the Class of 2025 as “warm and friendly students who are focused on community. These students continue to go out of their way and promote the thriving community that defines Greeley.”

This generation is dealing with the constant effects of social media, facing the everyday challenge of negative content exposure and censoring. In today’s society, it is generally challenging to maneuver through the depths and domains of social media content. However, this generation’s ability to overcome and conquer these modern-day issues sets forth their leadership and adaption to take on challenges in the future.

In summary, Dr. Sepe shares that “Accolades are wonderful, but it’s the difference you make in the lives of others. They have the skills to maneuver generational challenges, paving their path for a bright future.” The countdown to graduation has begun, just 100 days to go! Dr. Sepe emphasized the importance of “making the most of this time, making good decisions, cherishing every moment and enjoying it.”

As the Class of 2025 prepares to turn the page they leave behind a legacy of resilience, leadership and unity. One which will continue to shape Greeley for years to come.

 

How Relay For Life Proves that Cancer isn’t Stronger than the Strength of Our Community

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The Relay For Life event, first created by The American Cancer Society in 1985, has evolved into the world’s largest volunteer fundraiser. The American Cancer Society supports fundraisers and donates all money raised to cancer patients and their caregivers, thereby assisting patients facing the heavy financial burden of treatment. Every year, hundreds of people gather at the Horace Greeley High School field to support the Relay For Life Fundraising event run by students and teacher organizers.

This year, on May 18, Horace Greeley will again host the Relay for Life event and will welcome students and local residents to a lively atmosphere with food trucks, live music, all-night activities, and carnival themed booths created by the Chappaqua high school students. Who wouldn’t want to attend? Local food trucks such as Kona Ice and Three Little Pigs Barbeque will be on hand to provide delicious food that attendees can purchase. Part of their revenue is donated to the cause.

A Light that Brings Hope

The highlight of the Relay For Life event is the Luminaria ceremony where glowing paper bags circle the track and spell out “HOPE” on the bleachers. This seemingly simple act holds a symbolic meaning for the family and friends of individuals who lost their battle to this horrible disease. When participants walk around the track, they share a vision of a world where cancer no longer threatens their loved ones. Luminaria bags are available to purchase for $10 allowing you to make a donation and have a meaningful impact on the event.

During a recent interview with Sarah Payes, one of the event co-chairs, stated that “Each year I get chills when the field lights go out and the purple glow sticks start to brighten.”

The event’s main stars are the survivors, honored each year by walking a lap around the track with their loved ones while the crowd cheers in support. Additionally, the Relay For Life Sponsors go the extra mile to try to make cancer survivors have an extra special night. Food and other goodies are catered for the survivors.

Survivors Share Stories

Many of the survivors choose to speak to share their cancer journey and story. On this night, the saying cancer never sleeps rings true as events and activities are held until sunrise. Its many poignant moments symbolize resilience and unity.

Seniors Olivia Bialek and Sarah Payes, co-chairs for the Relay For Life Club, raised an impressive $53,000 last year and are aiming for $65,000 this year. “This year we decided to raise our goal over $10,000 dollars more because we know our community can do it! Every club member is more invested than ever before and we are sure that our community will step up as well.” said Bialek. Both Payes and Bialek stressed the importance of turnout to the event. “The higher the attendance the more likely our goal will be achieved,” said Payes.

Both Olivia and Sarah have been involved with the club since their freshman year of high school. Their participation is rooted in personally experiencing the loss of loved ones to cancer. “I knew I wanted to join the relay when my grandma passed away from lung cancer when I was 10.” Bialek explained. “My sisters had belonged in the club, and I was eager to make a difference, but I was too young to make my mark. When it was my turn to be a Greeley student, I jumped at the first opportunity I saw to help with a cause that was so dear to me.”

Sarah Payes (left) and Olivia Bialek, co-chairs

“A Chance to Step Up and Fight”

Similarly, Sarah lost her grandmother and uncle to cancer but that just enforced her eagerness and determination to volunteer for this cause. “As someone who has been affected by the loss of loved ones due to cancer, making the decision to join Relay For Life was easy. My grandmother passed away from cancer a few years ago and my great uncle passed away last December after a long battle with cancer. Relay has given me a chance to step up and fight for my loved ones, along with the millions of people who have been affected by this disease. I want to do all I can towards cancer prevention and to help support people who are currently battling, and their families.”

For those eager to contribute to the event, there are many ways to make an impact. If you can’t attend the event, donations and volunteering may be explored by contacting livbialek@gmail.com; anyone may run their own carnival-themed booth at the event.

In the months leading up to the event, the local high school chapter hopes to raise over $10,000 dollars and works tirelessly to ensure that the event is a success. To the club members, this event is the highlight of their year.

“To me, Relay For Life is more than a fundraiser, a one night event, or an extracurricular activity, it is a community. Club members quickly became close friends which is incredibly special to me,” said Payes. “I’ve met so many great people through Relay that I may not have gotten a chance to know otherwise.

“Our club is a naturally supportive group of people that show up because they care about the cause and want to do something meaningful. We all take turns inspiring each other with our ideas, hard work, and commitment.”

As the event unfolds on the Greeley campus, people of all ages demonstrate their reliance towards this terrible disease, affirming that we will prevail against cancer. The horrifying fact that 10 million people die from cancer each year provides urgency in finding a cure while honoring those tragically lost in the Chappaqua community.

Why we Launched the LIFE Initiative

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Zayaan Hussain, Advait Huggahalli, Patrick Fang (not pictured)–Co-Founders, The LIFE Initiative

Two current seniors from Horace Greeley High School (Chappaqua, NY) and one Greeley graduate currently majoring in finance at Cornell University’s Dyson School of Applied Economics & Management have come together to form The LIFE (Literacy in Finance and Economics) Initiative. The LIFE Initiative is a non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated to spreading financial literacy to historically underserved and underrepresented communities. Although they started small, they have made global ripples in the financial literacy sector.

According to Annuity, “In 2021, 86% of teens were interested in investing, but 45% said they didn’t invest because they didn’t feel confident.” The LIFE Initiative’s goal is to provide both online and in-person resources for a broad, diverse population, ranging from children just starting to understand the concept of money to young adults who have never properly learned personal finance principles to even adults in the workforce. By accessing their website, thelifeinit.org, you can find sneak peeks of their most important workshop lessons and sign up for the best way to stay updated in the current complex financial and economic scene, the LIFE Newsletter.

A report by Forbes also stated, “Although 75% of teens lack confidence in our knowledge of personal finance, 73% reported wanting more personal finance education in 2021.” Three years ago (2021), The LIFE Initiative was founded after witnessing firsthand the limited opportunities for financial literacy education within our local community. Soon, however, the Initiative began to look beyond the boundaries of their founding town, instead thinking of the teens living in more underserved communities.

The fact is, in a world where business practices are often both complicated and unethical, success (in its many forms) has become intertwined with financial and economic literacy. “That’s why we want to help–The LIFE Initiative believes that everyone, no matter our age, home, or perceived status, deserves an equal chance at finding our own meaning of success, whether that be personal success, financial success, or social success,” says Executive Director, Advait Huggahalli.

The core of The LIFE Initiative is in its ambassadors. We have 51 current ambassadors who volunteer within our local communities. Ranging from students at Horace Greeley High School to students from states on the other side of the country, LIFE ambassadors hold presentations, workshops, and teach at our local libraries and Boys & Girls Clubs across America. “Our resources are made and taught by teens for teens. Rest assured, knowing you can relate to our ambassadors,” adds LIFE President, Zayaan Hussain. LIFE ambassadors are trained to develop content that is easily digestible, accessible, and tailored to be directly applicable to young adults’ daily lives.

LIFE has served multiple communities, reaching 11,000 young adults in 100+ countries through workshops, videos, and our partnerships with local libraries and nationally established organizations like the Boys and Girls Club of America. “I’ve connected with so many young adults from so many places across the globe. It is beyond fulfilling to know I have made a positive difference,” says Chief Financial Officer, Patrick Fang. LIFE is also now partnered with the internationally established Lincoln Method, a company focused on expanding education technology globally, whose mission is also to uplift underserved youth.

Currently, LIFE is in discussions with NYS Senator Pete Harckham to draft bills and proposals and pass laws increasing the role of financial literacy in our current statewide education system. LIFE is striving to get proper financial education resources into the hands of students across New York State. They were also invited to Helsinki, Finland, to discuss financial literacy education improvement with the Government of Finland, making informative videos encouraging the global youth to learn about financial literacy, and attracting the attention of investors from global VC firms–namely, Infinit Capital.

In Helsinki, LIFE conducted research at the Helsinki Education Hub, a space sponsored by Google, HP, Microsoft, and more. Here they explored trends in financial literacy among young adults in different regions of the world to develop a curriculum that caters to students across the globe. This curriculum was later internationally certified by the Lincoln Method, and The LIFE Initiative received a gold pin of merit for their work from Finnish dignitaries.

Going into 2024, LIFE plans on exploring and establishing multiple chapters across America, and even internationally. While still not fully implemented, we have started a chapter joining system in which people can apply to start a LIFE chapter wherever they may be on the globe. We are also working with executives from Lincoln Method and VTT–The Technical Research Center of Finland–to develop ways to implement educational technology methods into our curriculum and workshops to grow LIFE further globally.

Two Time Champs Greeley Boys Swim & Dive Team Aim to Win a Third & Unprecedented State Championship Title

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Greeley Swim & Dive Team Champs. Photo by Christina Schoonmaker

A leisurely swim is one of summer’s greatest pleasures enjoyed by many but for Horace Greeley’s Boys Swim and Dive Team, summer is the time for tough workouts in the pool to prep for next season. They are hoping to clinch the State Championship Title for a third year in a row.

This past spring, the 35-member team won that title at Ithaca College for a second year in a row, and were the first team in Greeley’s history to win back-to-back state titles. The boys practice year-round, including the summer, and swim for approximately 15 hours weekly plus two land workouts weekly consisting of strength training workouts and stretching. It is a grueling schedule with some students waking up prior to 5 a.m. for morning practice, but many of these students have been swimming since they were in elementary school and are truly dedicated to the sport.

The team is hoping for a three-peat this year despite graduating six talented swimmers. Swim coach Meg Kaplan notes that the “rising junior class is filled with state level swimmers who have two to three years of state swimming under their belt. They are determined to direct the team to win another championship one at a time – league, conference, sectional, New York State and Federation. It is a goal that has not been accomplished by any other team in NY state history.”

Harriet Engel, mother of senior swimmers Eric and Oliver, explains that the Greeley swim team or what many refer to as “G-swim” is run differently than a team sport. The boys swim under the Greeley banner but many practice under the tutelage of Zac Hojnacki, the Head Coach of the Marlins, a swim club based out of the Mount Kisco-based Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester.

Engels’ boys began swimming at age seven for the Willowbrook swim team and eventually landed at the Boys and Girls Club with the Marlins. Of the ten boys who qualified for States this past spring, nine swim with the Marlins and one for the Larchmont-based Badgers. “The G-swim legacy is due in large part to the Marlins’ success,” explains Engel.

“During COVID it became abundantly clear the boys need the G-swim team. They love the high school team.  It is a lot of fun for these boys and they bond as a group. You can see the smile on their faces on the deck. Swimming is a solitary sport. When they swim for their club, they are swimming for themselves but when they swim for G-swim they are swimming for team glory,” Engel says.

Hojnacki believes the team’s success is due to their values as a group. “They have a great culture and are passionate about the team. They embrace each individual’s success which propels them as a group,” he notes. Hojnacki who has been with the Marlins for the past five years has noticed that the G-swim team has progressively taken the sport of swimming more seriously and really bought into a culture of training excellence not just for the Marlins but also for their performance on G-swim. He works with several swimmers from various high schools throughout Westchester and has been impressed by the Greeley boys and offers a recent anecdote. “This morning after practice we were pulling lane lines which is basically grunt work. A few years ago maybe only a few kids would willingly do this. Now we have 20 or 30 kids helping each other and they treat one another with respect. The camaraderie, sportsmanship and teamwork play a role in their success and has them performing at a higher level.”

Meeting Goals & Striking a Balance

Hojnacki is also grateful for the ongoing dialogue that he has with Kaplan and the Greeley team. “We have the same goals, and it is about finding a balance between the G-swim and the club’s practice schedules, meets etc.,” says Hojnacki who is currently training some of the Greeley swimmers for nationals and even Olympic trials.

Hudson Chung, a former captain who just graduated Greeley will swim for the University of Chicago this fall. He believes the combination of coaches is crucial to their success. “Coach Meg who does the line-ups helps us achieve a win on every level from sectionals to divisionals to states while Coach Zac is amazing and helps push us to our limits,” he says.

So will the G-swim team be able to have a three-peat this year? Kaplan and Hojnacki both think it is possible to accomplish. “They need to remain focused, train to their maximum ability and stay off the injury list. It’s the character and trust in their brotherhood and drive and determination that fuels the swim team forward,” Kaplan adds.

These swimmers train seven days a week from before the sun rises to after the sun sets. Despite the fact that Greeley does not have a pool. “Where there is a will, there is a way. Come watch a meet at SUNY Purchase. We will for sure not disappoint,” she sums up.

Behind the Scenes of Horace Greeley’s First Science Olympiad Invitational

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Chloe Ng and Erin Song

Over the past few years, Science Olympiad has become a major extracurricular activity for many students in Chappaqua. Science Olympiad is considered the premier team STEM competition in the nation, providing standards-based challenges to 6,000 teams at 425 tournaments in all 50 states. Teams of 15 students compete in pairs in 23 different topics, called “events”, which cover a wide array of science areas. The competition not only gives students opportunities to learn about areas of science that would not normally be covered in traditional school curriculum, but also emphasizes the importance of collaboration and problem-solving in STEM fields.

After witnessing the impact of COVID-19 on Science Olympiad tournaments, Chloe Ng and Erin Song, longtime Science Olympiad competitors as well as current rising seniors at Horace Greeley High School, founded the Horace Greeley Invitational (“HG Invitational”) in summer 2022. HG Invitational is an online tournament for the middle school division that acts as practice run for teams preparing for their regional and state tournaments.  It was one of the few sanctioned Science Olympiad tournaments in New York State this year. One of the most unique characteristics of the invitational was that home-schooled students were able to compete as well, an opportunity usually not provided.

“We wanted to create a competition that replicated the Science Olympiad tournament experience that we missed out during the COVID-19 pandemic while also providing an opportunity for competitors to gain a deeper understanding of their Science Olympiad events,” says HG Invitational Co-Organizer Chloe Ng.

Ng and Song spent about nine months organizing and preparing to host the tournament. In addition, they managed a team of sixteen other Horace Greeley students who volunteered to help write and grade tests and act as event supervisors for over 20 different events.

One major challenge of creating HG Invitational, according to HG Invitational Co-Organizer Erin Song, was that “We had to build the tournament from scratch.” This type of tournament had never been done in the Westchester area before, so the team had to figure out everything, from competition week logistics to team finances, on their own.

Although the planning process was challenging, Song and Ng’s hard work paid off, as the tournament was a massive success. Over 500 students participated from schools in New York, California, Washington, and more. It also raised over $2,000 from tournament fees for Horace Greeley High School’s Science Olympiad academic team, of which Ng and Song are captains.

Meadow Zhang, a test creator and grader for the invitational, explains that her main goal was to “give students a variety of question types to prepare them for Regionals and States.” Zhang mentioned that the HG Invitational was well run and the team was thoughtful to make it intuitive and well designed.

In some ways, Ng comments, organizing this tournament was like creating a startup. “We had an idea, pitched it to school administrators who had to sign off for it to be sanctioned by New York State Science Olympiad, raised capital to jumpstart the tournament, and had customers (middle school Science Olympiad teams) for whom we had to provide a good experience,” says Ng. “In many ways, this was not just about Science for me but also gave me insights into business management and administration.” Incidentally, the Seven Bridges Middle School Science Olympiad Team which placed 1st in the HG Invitational did amazingly well this past season, placing 2nd in the New York State tournament, thereby earning a spot for the National Tournament for the first time in all of Chappaqua Central School District history.

Song and Ng are looking forward to repeating their Invitational tournament in 2024 and have been thinking about ways to improve the student experience even more. For next year, “Setting a timeline is one of our main goals,” the two have stated.  Additionally, Song says, “We look forward to potentially expanding our team. We also hope to inspire Greeley’s incoming underclassmen so they can pick up after we leave and make the HG Invitational an annual tradition at Greeley.” Ultimately, the pair is excited for the future of the Science Olympiad in both the middle schools and high schools!