This Week's Student Spotlight: Andrew Klock

Student's Age: 18

Student's School: Nanuet High School

Student's Accomplishment: Andrew is a well-rounded student athlete who is also actively involved in Scouting and Music and is currently a three-time League Champion for Winter and Spring Track and just recently won first place in the Pentathlon at the 44th Glenn D Loucks Track & Field Games.

Student's Achievements:

If you ask Andrew what he wants to do with his future his answer comes quickly and with confidence.

"I want to serve my country," said Andrew Klock.

His goal is to attend the United States Military Academy at West Point and he plans on re-applying next year. 

An impressive answer from someone so  young with such a promising future. He knows what he wants and he will continue to work hard to obtain this goal, which has proven to be a clear sign of his character shown through his dedication and discipline throughout his career at Nanuet High School.

Andrew depicts the term well-rounded to the fullest extent. He is  an Eagle Scout, a track star, a talented trombone player, and in his spare time, volunteers locally. 

He became an Eagle Scout at the age of 15.  If you have ever driven down Church Street in Nanuet then you may be familiar with his eagle project, the "Landscape for Learning": a 600-foot Nature Trail behind Highview School used for their Science Curriculum.  Andrew spent over 1,000 hours and raised about $10,000 for this tremendous project. 

"When I was planning my Eagle Project I knew that I wanted to do something here in the local community that would also benefit the entire community. I first talked to Andy Stewart of Keep Rockland Beautiful because I was interested in doing something for the environment. I had been participating in Keep Rockland Beautiful clean-ups for many years.  Mr. Stewart remembered that Dr. Schlanger, the Highview Principal at the time, had been wanting to build this Nature Trail behind the school. This Nature Trail idea had been thought about by Mrs. Bonner's class each year but was never physically built. I liked the idea for many reasons, but mainly because my entire family, including my mother and grandmother went to Highview and also that it could be used by the students year after year and furthermore be used by the local community," said Andrew.

The Nature Trail is still used by the school for their science class and also has an entrance for the public as well. 

This Eagle Scout with 10 palms has been selected as a leader from the Northeast Region for the 2011 World Scout Jamboree held in Sweden which he will be attending this summer.

"I had been to a World Scout Jamboree in England back in 2007 as a youth participant and now will be going this summer as an Adult Leader. It was really a memorable experience because of how I got the chance to meet Scouts from all over the world and talk with them about how Scouting is in their home country and also how their way of life is in their own country," said Andrew.

He also is an Order of the Arrow Lodge Chief  which covers Scouts across five Counties in the Hudson Valley region.  Just last week, he received the top award given to Eagle Scouts by National Jewish Committee of Scouting for 2011. And he received the Founders Award from the Order of the Arrow, which is a a National Award given annually to two individuals from the Hudson Valley region who have given outstanding service.

Perhaps it's the discipline and working with others that have paved the way to his success in Track & Field or vice versa.  Either way he has been just as successful in his track meets as he has been with scouts. 

Andrew has excelled in Track where he has been on the varsity track team since Freshman year competing each year in Cross Country, Winter and Spring Track. He was named Captain his Senior year for  all three seasons.

Although the Spring Track season is not over, some of his accomplishments and awards thus far have been:

• Qualified for the 2011 Indoor State Meet
• Qualified for the 2010 and 2011 Indoor Nationals Meet
• 2010 Team MVP, Winter and Spring seasons
• Selected All-League, All-County, and All-Section Athlete
• 2010 County Champion, Pentathlon
• Three-time League Champion in Winter Track (Triple Jump, High Jump and 55M Hurdles)
• Three-time League Champion in Spring Track (Triple Jump, Long Jump and 110M Hurdles)
• Pentathlon Champion at 2011 Glenn D. Loucks Games 
• 5th Place at the 2010 Empire State Games for Decathlon (Qualified for the Hudson Valley team and then traveled to Buffalo to compete against athletes from around the State)
• Currently has hit the State Standard for Triple Jump, 110M Hurdles, and Pentathlon

On Friday Andrew will be competing in the Sections in four events. (Keep updated on Andrews track meets on Patch)

"The most exciting experience in my High School Track career would probably be when I most recently won the Pentathlon at the 44th Glenn D. Loucks Track & Field Games. The pentathlon consists of five events, each worth a certain amount of points and going into the fifth and final event, I was at that point in third place, while being in first place through the first three events, but then had the 1500 meter run left. When I finished the race I still had to wait until all the points were calculated by the officials and then finally found out that I had won the event and also hit the New York State standard for the event with 3088 points. My favorite event would be the Pentathlon because of how it combines three of the main events I do individually: Hurdles, High Jump, Long Jump," said Andrew.

Add music to the list of accomplishments as well. Andrew has played First Trombone for the  Nanuet High School Band, Orchestra, Jazz Band,  and in the Spring Musical Pit. He has also been selected as member of Nanuet High School Concert Choir.  Since 2006 he been selected for All-County Band for the Trombone. 

In the fall, Andrew plans on attending the University of Connecticut to pursue a degree in Engineering. Andrew also received an Army ROTC 3-Year Advanced Designee Scholarship and starting his Sophomore year would be on full scholarship.

"Ever since the beginning of High School when I thought about what I wanted to do, Engineering has always seem to come up some way or another. I have always been good at Math and Science in school and when I started thinking about applying to colleges, I decided Engineering is what I wanted to study."

Take for example, his three-year dedication to the Applied Science Research (ASR) Program. As a Freshman, students are asked to commit to this program for three years.  As he is in his final year with this program, there are only two students still left. This is an honors independent study and research program where a student works with a mentor in the community. Andrew has been working with Andy Stewart from 'Keep Rockland Beautiful'. 

In March he presented his work at the Rockland where he was the only student presenter. 

When Andrew comes across a few spare hours of free time you can find him in the community volunteering his time to great causes such as Keep Rockland Beautiful and Meals on Wheels which he has been involved with for the last ten years.

Over the summer you can find him helping out the Nanuet Track Club assisting young aspiring runners learn and experience Track and Field.  He also helps out with the local Cub Scouts.

Finding one word to describe this outstanding student is almost impossible. Versatile, hard working, committed, leader and achiever all come to mind when describing how much he has done so far. 

Andrew has the world at his finger tips and is going for it! Good Luck Andrew in the Section Finals for Track.

We wish you success as you begin a new chapter in the fall.

Be sure to check back on Patch for updates on Andrew as he finishes up his senior year.