Way to go: Noelle Eichenlaub, Smithtown

Noelle Eichenlaub's speaking skills recently won her a Long Island title.

The Smithtown High School East senior took first place in the Nassau Community College Honors Program's Monologue Competition for the 11th- and 12th-grade division.

The competition required students to recite a memorized passage before a panel of judges. Eichenlaub, who won an in-school contest to become eligible, competed against about 20 students.

"I was absolutely stunned," Eichenlaub, 18, said of her victory at the Long Island level. "It's not just about how you perform; it's about the practice that you put in beforehand."

Her two-minute monologue was a passage from "The Diary of Anne Frank" in which Frank said she believes "in spite of everything that people are still good at heart."

Eichenlaub attributed her success to her emotional connection with the story and her use of facial expressions.

The Smithtown senior also runs a student group called Singing for Seniors in which she and classmates perform songs at senior citizens' homes.

In addition, she is a member of her school's Drama Club, the Tri-M Music Honor Society and the Interact Club, a community service group.