EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of a series called “When I Was 17,” where we speak with LHS staff members to learn about their high school experiences.
Maria Antonellis is one of our Geometry teachers at Leominster High School. Last year was her first year here. She graduated from Groton Dunstable Regional in 2016 and participated in many activities during her high school years.
When she was 17, she played sports in all three seasons, mainly for Groton Dunstable’s Girl’s Lacrosse team in the spring. She also played club sports and was involved with events at her school.
“So I did the equivalent of Student Council, it’s called (SAC), Student Activities Committee, and we did like pep rallies and stuff like that and I like being involved with that.”
Antonellis also had a job working to coach in club lacrosse, and later worked in Chipotle in the summer before heading to college.
She was always very friendly and got along with everyone, she was also a class clown, but was a shy student too.
She tried her hardest in school, but admitted she had most of her attention on sports. Her two favorite classes were Physical Education and one of her AP English Classes.
“Like I did my schoolwork, I did everything to the best of my ability, but it was not the focus, I was really focused on just playing my sport and whatever I needed to get better.
Her very first car was described as a “yucky” green Ford Escape (2006). She and her sister had three different Ford Escapes altogether. Then she got a gold Ford Fusion for a change.
“One of the (Ford) Escapes was like a yucky green, and then it was black, and that was cool,” said Antonellis. “It had a black leather interior, and that was, like the cool Escape that we had.”
The best memory she had when she was 17 was hosting one of the pep rallies at her school with her childhood best friend. She recalled this opportunity as fun and filled with so much energy.
Overall, Antonellis was a student who enjoyed school, and had a small group of friends she would always hang out with. She worked very hard in everything she did, and always looked to improve.
A message she has for LHS Students is to “find something you like and lean into it.”
