Whiz Kid: Scholar Athlete Taking Skills to Binghamton

Name: Lauren Zipper - Age 17

School: - Grade 12

Accomplishments: Zipper has been actively involved in sports, drama, music and clubs during her four years at Miller Place High School and is set to attend Binghamton University in the fall. She has taken five college or AP courses, as well as three honors courses, maintaining a spot on the high honor roll for every quarter of her high school career. She earned the Excellence in English 9 Award, the Excellence in Psychology Award and the award for General Academic Excellence for three consecutive years.

The senior has played the viola since the 4th grade and has performed with the high school orchestra for four years. She is a member of the National Honor Society, Spanish Foreign Language Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA), the Student Government and is currently serving as treasurer for the Service Club.

Zipper has been on the soccer team for four years, three of those years at the Varsity level, playing left defense. She played travel soccer with the Terryville Spirit team for two years.  She earned the award for Academic All-League her senior year.  She has also been on the Varsity Indoor Track Team all four years and was selected for the Varsity Outdoor Track Team as an 8th grader, running the 200 meter, 400 meter and 4x400 relay.

As a Panther Player, Lauren has had ensemble roles in the high school drama productions of Fiddler on the Roof and Sweeney Todd.  She also performed in the Mount Sinai Summer Theater Arts program with a role in Godspell. Along with 16 other Miller Place High School students, Lauren helped create the anti-bullying video for the 2011 Student and Youth Prevention Film Project. It was aired along with 24 other films at a Red Carpet Event at the Patchogue Theater and recognized by our Suffolk County Legislators.

Her charitable involvement includes participation in Relay for Life, benefiting the American Cancer Society, the Joe Keany memorial 5K Run and various events through the Service Club, including Autism Awareness Month, Christmas Magic, food drives and coat drives.  She has been involved with the St. James Lutheran Church food pantry, Project Easter Basket, Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF and the Dig Pink fundraiser, which raises money for breast cancer research and awareness. Zipper performed at the ice cream social to raise money for the Miller Place Friends of the Arts, as well as at the Senior Variety Show to support the Senior Scholarship Fund.

Lauren has been employed at and enjoys skiing and playing guitar in her free time.  She has set her sites on a Biomedical Engineering degree and hopes to participate in Binghamton University's clubs.