Way to Go: Rebekah Heaphy

A West Hempstead teenager recently was named one of four metropolitan-area winners in a nationwide scholarship competition.

Rebekah Heaphy, a senior at Long Island Lutheran High School in Brookville, won a $1,000 college scholarship last month in the Professional Coaching Alliance's Triple-Impact Competitor Scholarship Program, sponsored by the professional services firm Deloitte.

"I know how much I love my sport and my team," said Heaphy, 16, who is captain of her school's cross-country and track teams. "It's a great feeling to be shown publicly that I'm dedicated."

The other three area winners were from Brooklyn, Leonia, N.J., and Paramus, N.J.

To be eligible, Heaphy submitted recommendations from a coach and two teammates, along with three essays on the topics of making oneself better, making her teammates better, and making her sport better.

Heaphy's other recent achievements include winning a Youth Humanitarian Award from the Interreligious and Human Needs Council in Oyster Bay and playing violin in the Long Island String Festival Association and Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of New York.

She is an active member of North Shore Community Church in Oyster Bay and recently participated in a church mission trip to Haiti. She also has studied as an exchange student in Australia.