The Northport-East Northport Board of Education was thrilled to recognize several exceptional Northport High School students at its meeting on Feb. 6.

First, K-12 Chairperson of Social Studies Sean Hurley asked for senior Luke Cacic to join him at the podium, where he sung Luke praises, congratulating him on earning the prestigious distinction of Social Studies Student of the Month.

Over the years, Luke has challenged himself by taking IB Diploma level and Advanced Placement social studies courses like Comparative Politics and AP European History. He said that those classes made him reassess and evaluate what he’s being taught on a daily basis, not just in social studies related courses but overall.

Luke also was recognized as the sole winner of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation student essay and scholarship competition. To win, Luke wrote a superior essay on the existence of the Berlin Wall and the ills of communism. His essay evaluated former President Ronald Reagan’s first impression of the Berlin Wall, in which he said, “It’s as ugly as the idea behind it.”

Additionally, at the meeting, the board recognized several students involved in the high school’s Boys and Girls State programs, offered by the American Legion. Mr. Hurley describes the program as “among the most respected and selective educational programs for citizenship instruction and leadership.”

In these weeklong participatory programs, the students are immersed in instruction and activities on government and the rights, privileges and responsibilities of citizenship. Some activities include legislative sessions, court proceedings, law enforcement presentations, team building and leadership exercises, and at Boys State, the physical fitness activities are conducted by the U.S. Marines.

“We are very proud of the young men and women not only for their selection and participation in the program, but how they continue to apply the knowledge and skills that they have developed to benefit all of us at the high school and throughout the Northport community,” Mr. Hurley said.

Congratulations Nick Butler, Luke Cacic, Thomas Fodor, Joseph Harris, Jared Jablonski, Peter Joyce, Dylan Karpf, Anthony Kraljic, Meghan Kropp, Brendan Larsen, Connor McMahon, Michael Nazar, Harsh Patel, Ryan Reynolds, Nicholas Serra and Sterling Thompson.