Extraordinary Seniors: Kelly Gaussaint of Central Islip High School

While Kelly Gaussaint might have appeared in every theater production over the past two years at her school, her favorite role has been being the student to deliver the building’s morning announcements every day at 7 a.m.

The daily monologue, which she starts with a singsong, "Good morning! Good morning! Good morning!," gives the gregarious Gaussaint a chance to share a joke as well as some unscripted stories and dance music to help her peers begin the day with a smile at Central Islip High School. Sometimes she'll even mix in different dialects, including a southern drawl and a British accent.

"I'm really glad I can leave an impact on someone's day," said Gaussaint, 17, who has been responsible for the announcements as president of the school's Student Council. "I always end the announcements by saying, 'I love you all very much.' There's a lot of people who don’t even hear that at home, so if I can be the person that tells someone I love them for the day, then I'll do that."

But Gaussaint's activities go far beyond the morning broadcast. The diligent senior, who is her class valedictorian with a weighted grade-point average of 106.48, also serves as class president and vice president of the National Honor Society. In addition, she is a member of her school's girls lacrosse team, Drama Club, Student Action Committee and Women 2 Women Club — the latter two of which were started and advised by Isabelle Mitchell, who Gaussaint calls one of her "greatest mentors" throughout her four years of high school.  

Gaussaint's other activities include coordinating a collection of backpacks last year for needy children in her district and holding several starring roles in her school's theater productions. Most recently, she portrayed Evillene, the Wicked Witch of the West, in "The Wiz."

"You have to force yourself to step out of your comfort zone to play a character," Gaussaint said of performing on stage. "It's definitely a good character development tool, especially for out in the real world."

Gaussaint also serves as secretary for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Islip Town Youth Council and was one of 400 recipients nationwide this spring of a $40,000 Amazon Future Engineers Scholarship.

"Kelly is the voice, heart and smile of Central Islip High School's Class of 2023," said her school's technology teacher, Darren Ehrhardt. "She is a people-magnet with an infectious personality that draws people in from all walks of life, making everyone she meets feel loved."

WHAT'S NEXT? Duke University, majoring in computer science

I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO: "Creating new friendships and meeting people from all over the world. I definitely want to expand my own worldview, connect with as many people as I can, and learn new things that I'd never dreamed of experiencing before.”

THE PAST FOUR YEARS HAVE TAUGHT ME ... "I've learned that life shouldn't really be taken so seriously. Everything you know can change in a second. Tell the people you love that you love them and laugh as often and as much and as loud as possible."

By Michael R. Ebert

michael.ebert@newsday.com

Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.