Scholarly Summer Planned for Seaford H.S. Students

Several Seaford High School students will be taking part in summer experiences, from college programs to internships, that will allow them to further their educations.

Sophomore Kiley Heaslip was accepted into an online program that will pair her with current students in Harvard University’s pre-medicine program. She will spend four hours a day for a week in August participating in virtual conferences with other aspiring medical professionals. Kiley wants to be an obstetrics nurse and said that being a part of Harvard’s Summer Academy will allow her to better understand what a college pre-med program is like. 

Michelle Evangelista will attend a pre-medicine program through Harvard with a focus on human anatomy and physiology. The junior will be there for a week in July and will learn how to read CT scans and MRIs, analyze blood work and participate in an emergency room simulation. Michelle and other students will take on the role of doctors for a case study, and also attend lectures by medical professionals. 

“I want to understand what doctors do,” she said. “To be able to learn more about the medical field would be very beneficial to me and would help prepare me for college.”

Kiley and Michelle both learned about the program from their science teacher, Lilly Alaimo. Also pursuing a pre-medicine summer program is sophomore Mya Reeves, who will spend three days a week at Adelphi University for three weeks. The aspiring trauma surgeon said she will attend biology classes and go on field trips on her way to earning three college credits. 

“They have a really good pre-med program,” she said. “I’m really going for the experience, seeing what college life is like and getting a head start on my education.”

Emily Bauman, a junior, will attend a four-day summer program in July through the Zarb School of Business. She will get an introduction to several areas of business including accounting, finance and marketing. It will expand on the knowledge she has already gained through an internship at a local business.

“I’ll get a view into all different aspects of business and hopefully I’ll decide what I want to do in college,” Emily said. “I’m trying to get a background in business because there are multiple parts of it.”

For 14 days beginning in late June, junior Jackson Garland will attend a business-focused summer program at Marist University. He will learn from professors in the business department with full days of classes and meet other students with similar interests. Jackson, who would like to do advertising, marketing or website management as a career, said he looks forward to spending two weeks in a college setting. 

“I’m hoping to gain some hands-on knowledge and experience, and to make connections,” he said. 

Junior Matt Kind will attend the weeklong Summer Leaders Experience hosted by cadets at the West Point Military Academy. It will include keynote speakers, academic workshops, leadership sessions and physical training. Closer to the program he will find out the specific focus of the program, which could include biological science, engineering and more. 

“There’s so much structure so the whole day is planned,” Matt said. “I hope to excel further in my leadership capabilities. I’ll be attending with people all around the nation.”

Junior Kayla Frank will intern for a week with UMFS, a nonprofit organization based in Richmond, Virginia that serves high-risk children and families, as well as foster children. Her aunt, a former Seaford resident, now lives there and runs one of the locations. Kayla’s passion for community service prompted her to explore this opportunity and help others, while also seeing if social work might be a possible career path. 

Guidance counselor Suzanne Cosenza said it is great to see so many students taking advantage of summer opportunities so they can strengthen their college applications and begin to establish connections that could help them in the future.