Wantagh High School club honors February warrior

The Wantagh High School Junior Chamber of Commerce spends time each month selecting a warrior from their student body to honor as their Warrior of the Month title.
Irene Huguet-Barberia, an exchange student from Pamplona, Spain, was chosen as the chamber’s February recipient at their meeting on Feb. 26. See story, page 1. The 16-year-old was called down to the school’s main office during the morning announcements on Feb. 28. She was awarded a certificate of honor as well as a $10 gift card to Pipeline Coffee Company in Wantagh.
“I didn’t expect it at all,” Huguet-Barberia said, about receiving the honor. She said she was surprised and felt really good about it. She added that she felt “a little bit proud” to be honored with the title after working hard and doing her best at the school.
Stanulis wrote in an email that one of the reasons for the timing of Huguet-Barberia’s nomination was that the student is involved in the school’s basketball team, which recently made it to the play offs.
The Warrior of the Month program was created roughly three years ago, Stanulis said. “We wanted to do something where we connect good people and good business,” she said. “The students will see someone doing something simple, kind [and] thoughtful and they’ll recommend them to be the Warrior of the Month.”

Each month, the students write a few paragraphs about their respective candidates and read it to their fellow chamber members before the group decides who should be honored that month. In addition to a copy of the write-up, and the certificate of appreciation, each warrior receives a gift card from a local business. For this 2018-19 school year, two sponsors donated gift cards to the junior chamber’s program: Pipeline Coffee Company and Lifestyles Sports in Wantagh. S.A.S. Real Estate also sponsored the club through the donation of $100, which the chamber used to purchase gift cards from Tavolo Kitchen and Pizza in Wantagh. “Depending on the person [honored], we’ll try to gear the donation toward their personality,” Stanulis said.
Currently the chamber has only honored students and administration within Wantagh High School, but the group hopes to branch out and honor community members as well Stanulis said.
The chamber also honors one person as a Warrior of the Year at the end of each school year. The group awards the recipient with either a donation from one of the club’s sponsors, or they use club funds to purchase a local business gift card Stanulis said. Past Warrior of the Year program recipients include Maureen Goldberg, the Wantagh school district’s former superintendent, who retired in 2017, and Kathy Butler, a teacher who was battling breast cancer last year.
“We just pick somebody really outstanding [who] did [something] very impactful,” junior and Chamber President Elizabeth Byrnes said.
The Junior Chamber of Commerce only operates at the high school level but also works together with the local Wantagh Chamber of Commerce in various ways, such as helping to promote their events, according to Stanulis. “The students will work with the [Wantagh Chamber] executive board to stimulate economic growth and [a] shop local kind of idea,” she said.
Stanulis said being a member of the chamber allows the students to network and learn how the various businesses in Wantagh are run.