Great grads: Amanda Horn, Walt Whitman High School

Amanda Horn, 17, has put considerable effort into helping young people with physical and cognitive disabilities. Starting when she was 8, she has shared her love and knowledge of horses as a volunteer and assistant instructor with HorseAbility, a nonprofit therapeutic riding and hippotherapy program and summer day camp in Melville for people with special needs.

In school, she has pushed to increase understanding of autism and helped launch a "Lunch Buddies" initiative to encourage social interactions between general and special education students.

Her plans: Attending Stonehill College in Easton, Mass.

In her words: "I've always wanted to help others, especially kids with special needs. When I started volunteering when I was 8, I absolutely loved it and knew I would continue to do it. It's just the greatest feeling to help others."

The view from the principal's office: "What sets Amanda apart from most is not only the quantity of community service that she is engaged in, but the fact that she does this with such feeling and compassion,'' said principal James Polansky. "You know that she really is so intent on helping other people. . . . She is as altruistic and compassionate a person as they come. She is a tremendous human being."