Samantha Brindley, Miller Place High School’s 2015 valedictorian, and Rebecca Hayman, the salutatorian, are more than just two success stories from Miller Place — they’re also the best of friends.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to go anywhere else but here,” Brindley said. “My parents both graduated from Miller Place, and I’ve met all of my best friends here.”
Brindley is graduating with a GPA of 100.97, and Hayman is graduating with a GPA of 100.33.
During their time at Miller Place, Brindley and Hayman participated in multiple clubs together including mathletes, service club, Foreign Language Honor Society and National Honor Society. They also took several Advance Placement courses together, English and Composition, Spanish and Calculus.
Brindley played for the Miller Place High School varsity field hockey team for two years, where she and her team won county’s and the Long Island championships. She was also a member of Natural Helpers and was the secretary of the National Foreign Language Honor Society.
Outside of school, Brindley volunteered at Mather Memorial Hospital where she recently reached more than 400 service hours, and Stony Brook University Hospital, where she worked in the nutrition department.
In 2013, Brindley went to the University of California, Berkeley, for 10 days to attend a medical program where she learned basic triage skills.
Brindley will attend the University of Miami in the fall to study neuroscience.
“It’s very rare, in my 18 years here, that I find a student who had such a clear idea of what they wanted to do in their freshman year,” Marisa Raptis, Brindley’s guidance counselor, said. “Samantha was always interested in neuroscience. To have that distinct determination and find avenues to explore it is very rare.”
Hayman feels like her four years at Miller Place flew by.
“The journey went so quickly, I feel like we just started here yesterday,” she said.
Hayman was involved in the Future Business Leaders of America club, where she held the position of treasurer.
As a dancer, she performed in the high school’s variety show for each of her four years at the school. In addition, Hayman was a member of winter and spring track and field for two years and was the event coordinator for the National Foreign Language Honor Society.
Outside of school, Hayman is actively involved at Infant Jesus Roman Catholic Church in Port Jefferson, where she worked with the parish outreach group and was an altar server.
Hayman is very interested in business and will be furthering her studies in the fall at Stony Brook University.
“She is a great kid, a pleasure to work with,” Meghan Gallo, Hayman’s guidance counselor said. “She never shied away from a difficult course, and she exhausted our business courses here.”
