Whiz Kid: Danielle Abad Representing Miller Place in Naval Academy

Name: Danielle Abad - Age 19

School: United States Naval Academy - Miller Place High School Class of 2010

Accomplishments: After becoming interested in the Naval Academy in Eighth Grade, Abad was accepted after graduating from Miller Place in 2010. She recently completed Plebe Summer, which consists of six weeks of demanding moral, mental and physical training.  She was ranked No. 8 and 16 out of all the Plebes in her company during Plebe Summer. She takes 17 to 23 credits per semester and she currently holds a 3.12 GPA.

She was also accepted into the Women's Glee Club; a choir responsible for singing the National Anthem and other traditional military songs at major events year round, as well as touring in New York City, St. Louis, California and Hawaii, performing many genres of music.  In addition, she is on the Division I Navy Women's Lacrosse Team.

In high school, Abad was on the high honor roll while taking many honors and AP classes.  She was a member of the select chorus, the vocal jazz ensemble and symphonic concert band, playing the flute and participating in both NYSSMA and SCMEA. She received MPHS's awards for academic excellence, select chorus and physical education. She was awarded the Ideal Athlete Scholarship and the Panther Award.

Abad was also a member of the National Honor Society and the Foreign Language Honor Society (serving as the event coordinator), Varsity Club, Athletes Helping Athletes, Interact Club and SADD Club (president during her junior year). She was a staff writer for the school newspaper and participated in numerous academic science competitions, including Brookhaven National Laboratory's Science Bowl and Toshiba's Explorivision.

Along with those responsibilities, Abad was secretary of her sophomore and junior classes, and during her senior year, served as secretary of the entire student body as an Executive Counsel Officer.

On the field, she was a varsity lacrosse captain, receiving the All-Division Award, and a varsity field hockey captain and alternate for the Empire State Games 2008 Long Island Field Hockey Team while receiving the All-Division Award. 

Other recognitions include Newsday's FUTURE CORPS for Outstanding Community Service and recognition by "Stop World Hunger" for the World Good Day Essay Contest.