Lindenhurst High School senior Kayleigh Hubschmitt holds a faux check Thursday as part of a ceremony where she was awarded a $180,000 college scholarship in recognition of her leadership abilities as a member of the school's Marine Corps JROTC program. Credit: Newsday/Kendall Rodriguez
The heel-to-toe marching of Kayleigh Hubschmitt and her fellow cadets echoed through the Lindenhurst High School rotunda Thursday afternoon before the teens stood at attention and waited for their next order.
From the two rows of perfectly still cadets in the school's Marine Corps Junior ROTC, Hubschmitt, 18, of Lindenhurst, was called front and center. To the senior’s surprise, she was presented a $180,000 scholarship to work toward her goal of becoming a Marine Corps officer while studying next year at a four-year college or university.
Hubschmitt, mild-mannered, bespectacled and like the other cadets, standing at attention in the Corps' signature dress blue uniform, smiled as Maj. Travis Bird, the commanding officer of the Marine Corps Recruiting Station New York in Garden City, congratulated her.
"This is a tribute to what you’ve done, and our confidence in you," Bird said as Hubschmitt held a massive faux check, which her peers later joked must be hung up in her future college dorm room.
The money "is going to go toward your education," Bird added, "but it’s not for you, it’s for the Marines that you’ll lead one day."
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Hubschmitt and the other Lindenhurst High cadets, like Junior ROTC members involved with military branches across the country, learn leadership skills and civics from military personnel through the elective-style program. Some of the cadets, like Hubschmitt, plan on continuing military education and training in the ROTC in college, while others will use their new leadership skills in private life.
After the ceremony, Hubschmitt hugged and posed for photos with her friends and fellow cadets. With this scholarship, Hubschmitt said, she hopes to study nursing and linguistics to achieve her "goal in life … to help other people."
Hubschmitt pointed to two people who have inspired her to pursue a career as a Marine.
The first was her grandfather, Istvan Hegedus, who she said enlisted in the Army after immigrating to the United States from Hungary.
"I just want to follow his footsteps," Hubschmitt said. "I feel like I should give back."
The second was Chief Warrant Officer Christine Glynn, who told Newsday she felt moved when Hubschmitt mentioned her by name when receiving the award.
Glynn, a Marine and one of Hubschmitt’s JROTC instructors, said her student proved her leadership skills by standing up for herself and others. After being cyberbullied, Hubschmitt reported it and also reported the bullying of two bilingual students by mocking their speaking abilities.
"She was supported by the school district, but they would have never known had she not stepped up," Glynn said of Hubschmitt. "That’s hard to do; most kids don’t do that."
High academic marks, community service, athletic and extracurricular activities and even after-school jobs are all considered during the scholarship application process, Bird said.
Applicants must also pass a physical fitness test and go through multiple interviews, one of which he conducted with Hubschmitt. Bird said he recognized her confidence while speaking and ability to handle pressure and was impressed when he asked her to recall a time when she had to innovate.
Among several examples, she pointed to her role as a swim instructor.
"She had to figure out how to teach infants how to swim when they can’t talk," Bird recalled. "She’s a problem solver and she’s going to bring that capacity to whatever unit she ends up with."
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