Islip High School’s 2024 Hall of Fame inductees were honored in front of their friends and families on the evening of Sept. 13, as the newest plaques on the Hall of Fame wall in the school’s main lobby were proudly unveiled by Assistant Principal Meghan Stern with assistance from teacher and Hall of Fame Committee member Renee Clock. The inductees then enjoyed a formal induction ceremony and dinner at Marconi Manor.
This year’s honorees were longtime Islip Middle School staff member Mickey Hrubes, Class of 1986 graduate Daniel Mitola, Class of 1999 graduate Billy Richards, Class of 1972 graduate Dr. Karen Dineen Wagner and the 2016 Islip High School cast and crew of “Big Fish.”
Hrubes, who worked in the district for almost 50 years, was honored for her major contributions to Islip’s schools. After beginning her career as a cafeteria monitor at Maud S. Sherwood Elementary School in 1969, she worked in Islip Middle School’s cafeteria and assistant principal’s office, where she became known as “the heart of the middle school.”
Mitola served 23 years in the U.S. Air Force as a judge advocate, commander and chief legal officer of the Air Operations Center, participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and retiring as a colonel in 2020. He also served as senior legal mentor to Liberia’s armed forces and liaison to that nation’s ministers of justice and national defense, and as counsel to New York State Sen. Caesar Trunzo.
Richards is a veteran who served for four years in the Marines infantry and three years as a paratrooper over three deployments. He has competed in over 700 fitness events since 2010 and fundraises to help struggling veterans. In 2015, Richards began carrying the American flag during every event to honor military and first responders, and has carried it in over 600 fitness events. In 2019, he became the fourth person in the world to run a 100-mile race 37 times in a year, and the only one do it while carrying the flag.
Dr. Wagner, a renowned psychiatrist, was unable to attend the induction in person; her brother, Islip Board of Education President Phil Dineen, accepted on her behalf. After a fellowship in child/adolescent psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, she began her current position in 1997 as a professor in the University of Texas Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences. Wagner has served in leadership roles in national and international organizations, and is a past president of the American Academy of Child/Adolescent Psychiatry.
The high school’s production of “Big Fish” was nominated for six Teeny Awards, winning Best Male Role and Outstanding Female Cameo. The group persevered through moving the production from the high school auditorium to the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale when the auditorium roof collapsed, and many of the students involved continued in the field of theater after graduation.
“I would like to congratulate all the Islip inductees into the Islip Hall of Fame,” said Dr. Kate O’Callaghan, Islip’s acting superintendent of schools. “Our Buccaneer community appreciates all that you have done in making a positive contribution for our students and staff. Your accomplishments and connections to our community will empower students to thrive and succeed. This celebration of service embodies the Islip way of school partnership and family engagement.”
Date Added: 9/19/2024