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Comsewogue High School

Emma Samghabadi at the New York Marine Rescue Center. Photo courtesy Jennifer Samghabadi

By Daniel Dunaief

The odds haven’t always been in favor of Emma Samghabadi.

The Comsewogue High School senior and Port Jefferson station resident was born under two pounds and spent over a month in the neonatal intensive care unit at Stony Brook Hospital.

After maneuvering through a period her parents Jennifer and Pedram Samghabadi described as “touch and go” for a while, she flourished and is poised to graduate from high school in June and enter college this fall.

Emma Samghabadi after singing with the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra in 2022. Photo courtesy Brian Kacharaba

A gifted singer and performer, Samghabadi, who recently played Velma Kelly in a teen edition of “Chicago,” applied for the Live Más scholarship through Taco Bell, where she has been working since last summer.

Samghabadi spent close to three months putting together a two minute video describing her passions, which include performing, singing, and serving as a conservationist.

On April 25th, Samghabadi, 18, was working at the drive through window at Taco Bell and learned that she had won a $10,000 scholarship, which she will use at the University of Rhode Island.

“It was a complete surprise to me,” said Samghabadi, who was thrilled when her managers and coworkers celebrated her scholarship with balloons and congratulatory posters in the dining room of the restaurant. “All my managers were there and my regional managers were there as well.”

Indeed, Samghabadi called her mother, who works as a registered nurse and her father, who is a social worker, to celebrate.

Jennifer Samghabadi was “overjoyed, proud, grateful and also humbled” with the scholarship.

“The odds [of winning] are very, very low,” her father said. “This was her exhibiting her unique mix” of passions.

Out of 500 scholarship applications from New York, Taco Bell awarded 13 at this level, which is just over two a half percent of the state’s entries.

The Taco Bell Foundation has been awarding these scholarships for 10 years, with some notable past winners including Mato Standing Soldier, a film and TV composer who was named to Forbes 30 under 30 List for 2023 and Brooke Taylor, who is dancing on Broadway in Moulin Rouge.

Samghabadi gave her scholarship entry considerable thought. The scholarship is based on a student’s passions, social impact, personal presentation and educational goals and does not include any reference to a grade point average or standardized test scores.

“As soon as I started finding pictures, I was already thinking about what I wanted to talk about,” Samghabadi said.

Editing the presentation to under two minutes was a “struggle,” she added.

The work paid off, as a Taco Bell Foundation spokeswoman suggested that Samghabadi’s video embodied the key traits they seek in an applicant: strong passion, a focus on social impact, clear educational goals and compelling storytelling.

Samghabadi, who has a weighted grade point average above 100, has impressed her high school teachers.

Rosa Antelo, who teaches Samghabadi’s Advanced Placement Class and was also her instructor for Advanced Spanish in 10th grade, described her student’s potential as “unmeasurable.”

Antelo suggested that Samghabadi is “not just a great student, but she’s truly an amazing person.”

Antelo, who wrote a college recommendation for Samghabadi, recalled a time when her student helped her manage through the strain of a stressful situation.

“She’s so positive and is looking for the best of everything,” said Antelo, who has been teaching for 26 years and believes Samghabadi stands out among her many students.

An early curiosity

When she was five, Samghabadi found a large green caterpillar in a hibiscus bush, which she brought home.

She and her parents looked up how to care for it. The caterpillar formed a cocoon and emerged as a moth.

After that, Samghabadi was hooked, establishing a monarch butterfly way station where she has released over a hundred of the orange and black insects that, while not endangered are threatened by a loss of habitat, pesticide use and climate change.

Dedicated to conservation and marine biology, Samghabadi has worked as a volunteer at the New York Marine Rescue Center in Riverhead.

She tells visitors about the only effort in the state to rescue and rehabilitate sea turtles and seals. She has also helped with beach clean ups and, in 2023, became scuba certified.

Samghabadi’s favorite animal is the manta ray, which she hopes to study in college.

From ‘The Lion King’ to community theater

Around the same time that she found the green caterpillar, Samghabi, saw her first broadway show.

Watching “The Lion King” sparked an interest in performance and theater.

Samghabadi has been an extra in short films and commercials as well as in the movie “Uncut Gems.”

As a 10-year old, she spent a day on set as an extra, sitting behind Adam Sandler in a movie theater.

She has performed in several shows and goes through cycles of singing different Broadway songs in the house.

These days, she’s using her soprano voice to belt out “Sweeney Todd” in the house. 

Samghabadi is open to combining her interests in conservation and music. At some point, she would like to conduct research on bioacoustics. She could also envision using music as a part of public outreach for conservation.

Despite all her commitments, including working with second graders to help teach them Spanish, Samghabadi is able to enjoy leisure activities with her friends by organizing herself.

“I have a set plan for what I need to do each day,” she said.

Multiple scholarships

Samghabadi’s talents and dedication have earned her other competitive scholarships.

She will receive $84,000 over four years as a part of the inaugural Schilling Scholars Program at the University of Rhode Island. She will also receive $68,000 from the presidential scholarship at the university.

The New York Elks Association recently awarded her a $1,000 scholarship.

Samghabadi is the second generation in her family to work at Taco Bell, where her favorite meal is the Cantina Chicken Bowl.

When he was earning money for college, Samghabadi’s father Pedram worked at the restaurant chain.

Samghabadi’s parents are grateful for the life their daughter has lived and the energy and passion she brings to her interests.

“You can’t be thankful enough,” said Pedram Samghabadi. “We still cannot believe what we went through” in the first year of her remarkable life.

Their daughter. whose singing they will miss when she attends college, gave them a preview of what was to come early in life.

By Bill Landon

It was the 6th annual Craft and Vendor Fair at Comsewogue High School, Saturday, Dec. 14. The event featured over 50 vendors, student club fundraisers and an opportunity to take a picture with Santa Claus.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Possession? Bill Landon photo

By Bill Landon

If the Wildcats of Shoreham-Wading River were concerned that they trailed the Comsewogue Warriors by three goals to begin the second quarter, it was senior midfielder Ryan Wilson’s stick that breathed new life into the Wildcats offense by cutting the deficit to 4-2 in the Division II rivalry Wednesday night, March 27. 

SWR’s senior midfielder, Liam Gregorek, rattled off two unanswered goals to make it a new game at 4-4. Both teams traded goals, and retied the game at 6-6 with 2:53 left before the halftime break, which arrived with Shoreham leading 8-6 that became 11-9 after the third quarter. 

Comsewogue senior attack Dylan Rocchio split the pipes to open the final 12 minutes of play for the Warriors to trail the Wildcats 11-10. With eight minutes left in regulation, SWR’s Alex Kershis dished off the ball to Wilson who buried his shot for the insurance goal. Minutes later senior attackman Liam Kershis fired at the cage, hitting the top upright but the rebound hit his stick and he fired off his second shot for the score for Shoreham to lead by three. Comsewogue’s Ryan Meyers answered with five minutes left in regulation, but the Wildcats held on for the 13-11 victory at Thomas Cutinella Memorial Field.

Topping the scoring charts for the Wildcats was Liam Kershis with nine assists and one goal and Gregorek netted four. Jaden Galfano had nine saves in net.

Senior Meyers led the way for the Warriors with four goals and two assists, and teammates Rocchio, Doug Annicelli and Andrew Krieg each scored two goals apiece.

The win lifted the Wildcats to 2-0 in the early going and Comsewogue dropped to 1-1.                                    

By Bill Landon

Comsewogue Warriors (No. 4) hosted Bellport (No. 5) in the opening round of the Suffolk County class AA basketball title chase, with both teams deadlocked at 21-21 at the halftime break. The Warriors led by one point after three quarters of play at 33-32, but Bellport exploded in the final eight minutes of play, defeating Comsewogue 51-39.

Comsewogue senior Vienna Guzman netted 11 points as did teammate Jalynn Kirschenhueter and senior Hannah Ellis banked eight in the Feb. 23 contest.

Comsewogue concludes the 2023-24 campaign with an impressive 11-3 league record, 13-7 overall.

Comsewogue’s Vienna Guzman banks two for the Warriors in a road game against Rocky Point. Bill Landon photo

By Bill Landon

Rocky Point trailed the Comsewogue Warriors from the opening tipoff but closed within two points at 24-22 at the halftime buzzer. Comsewogue erupted in the second half outscoring the Eagles by 10 points in the third quarter and eight more in the fourth to win the game 53-33 in the League IV road game Feb. 8.

Vienna Guzman topped the scoring charts for Comsewogue with 16 points followed by Maria Stamatopoulos and Jayla Callender with nine points apiece.

McKenzie Moeller led the Eagles with 10 points followed by Kylie Lamoureux who banked seven.

The win lifted the Warriors to 10-2 in league standings behind top-seeded Westhampton while the Eagles dropped to 8-4 for third place in the division. 

By Bill Landon

The Rocky Point Eagles went into the halftime break protecting a one-point lead in a home game against Comsewogue, trailed by two at the end of three quarters of play but were able to rally in the final eight minutes, to win the game 62-52 in the League IV matchup Jan. 25.

Rocky Point junior Casmere Morrow was the spark for the Eagles hitting a pair of 3-pointers, six field goals and eight from the charity stripe for 26 points, and senior Liam Conlan banked 17. 

Chris Beverly netted 15 points for the Warriors, Joey Santoro notched 12 points and Dale Allison added 11.

The win lifted the Eagles to 5-6 in league while the loss dropped the Warriors to 4-6.

Wrestling took center stage at Comsewogue High School in the Warrior Duals tournament in a multischool invitational that featured three mats of action-packed wrestling Saturday, Jan. 13.

Comsewogue’s Mason Mangialino the All-State standout made short work of this West Islip opponent in the opening round with a pin at the 1:59 mark at 124lbs. Teammates Ben Field followed at 138lbs with a pin in the closing seconds of the second period with Nicholas Flaherty ending his match at the 1:29 mark with a pin at 145lbs. Brandon Bermingham won at 285lbs with a pin at the 1:04 mark for the Warriors and Irving Cruz picked off his opponent at 170lbs at the 1:25 mark.

The Warriors are back in action when they travel to Harborfields High School Saturday, Jan. 20. First match is scheduled for 9 a.m.

Comsewogue High School. File photo
By Nasrin Zahed

Comsewogue School District held its Board of Education meeting Wednesday, Oct. 4, discussing the since-passed homecoming festivities, honoring student achievements, approving motions and introducing behavioral initiatives at the high school.

Brandon, the Comsewogue student representative, overviewed the goings-on for the homecoming and spirit week, highlighting the class competition leading to the weekend’s pep rally and class floats parade. Each class was tasked with creating a float to go along with this year’s theme of “seasons”: seniors as spring, juniors as summer, sophomores as winter and freshmen as fall.

QR codes were made available to all at the homecoming game on Saturday, Oct. 7, to vote for which theme students felt was executed best.

Mike Mosca, principal of Comsewogue High School, came forward to award the recipients of the College Board National Merit Awards. The awards were given to students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher and who displayed an outstanding performance on the PSAT. Students also received the National Hispanic Recognition Award as well as the National Indigenous Award.

The BOE went on to approve select motions for the evening, such as the approval to purchase iPads for the district’s use. The iPads will be purchased using grants received through the Emergency Connectivity Fund, covering 100% of the cost.

Mosca returned to the floor to discuss the behavioral initiative recently introduced at the high school level, referred to as the reflection room.

He emphasized the push to move into restorative practices as opposed to dismissive punishments such as suspensions. 

“The goal is to maximize students’ time in the classroom,” he said. Instead of taking students out of their learning environment and potentially setting them back in their studies, they want to turn their actions into a learning opportunity.

The goal of the reflection room is to take about two hours out of the student’s day to work one-on-one with advisers to break down the incident that led them there and, in turn, come up with guided corrective actions.

Mosca went on to praise the initiative’s success as there has been a downturn in student infractions as a result. “It’s been very effective so far,” he said.

The BOE ended the evening with what they referred to as “board kudos,” taking the opportunity to acknowledge members of the district’s community. Praise was given to the custodial staff as they installed roughly 30 Smart Boards over the previous weekend, as well as the building and grounds staff who worked to ensure minimal to no damage was caused by the flooding from recent rainfall. 

The BOE will reconvene Monday, Nov. 6, at 8 p.m.

The East Hampton Bonackers paid a visit to Comsewogue High School Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 3, with a score to settle having lost, 2-0, to the Warriors in early September. After a goalless first half, it was Comsewogue’s Dylan Raspanti’s header off a corner kick that broke the ice for a 1-0 lead after 25 minutes of second half play.

East Hampton seemed to have the better offensive press, clearly winning the time of possession in the final minutes of the game and testing Comsewogue goalie Ryan Worhle. The junior keeper, however, was able to stave off East Hampton’s late game surge to hold on for the 1-0 victory in the League VI matchup. Worhle had six saves in goal.

With the win, Comsewogue improves to 5-3-0 in league play with four games remaining before postseason play begins.

— Photos by Bill Landon

Comsewogue High School senior Matt Nowlan is named among Newsday’s top 100 high school football players of 2023. Photo courtesy CSD

Comsewogue High School senior Matt Nowlan has been recognized as one of Long Island’s fiercest contenders on the football field by Newsday, which recently named him among its top 100 high school football players of 2023.

“Matt Nowlan is a top leader of the gridiron, and being named a top 100 Newsday football player is a well-deserved accolade,” said Matteo DeVincenzo, Comsewogue School District director of health, physical education and athletics.

Nowlan, whose positions include offensive and defensive tackle, was highlighted by Newsday as being a top lineman in Suffolk County. He was also lauded for his strength and quickness.

Nowlan and his teammates led Comsewogue to a 43-35 victory in their season opener against Smithtown West on Sept. 1. In the latest game against Hauppauge Sept. 22, Comsewogue won 49-15 and is 2-1 on the season.

Nowlan is also a contender on the baseball field and has committed to play Division II baseball for the Molloy University Lions next year. 

For more information about the Comsewogue School District, please visit the district’s website at www.comsewogue.k12.ny.us. Happenings in the district can also be followed on Facebook at www.facebook.com/comsewoguesd.