To Locust Valley High School senior Roarke Creedon, what he puts in is what he will get out. From academics to athletics and his local volunteer work, Creedon works tirelessly to give back and set himself up for future success.
With an already growing resume, the 17 year old senior added one more accolade recently when named a National Hispanic Recognition Program winner for his PSAT score, which ranked in the top two percent of all Hispanic students nationally.
“Honestly, I was surprised [to find out],” Creedon said. “Originally, I didn’t think that my score was good enough but then my mom told me about it. I was really happy,”
Creedon’s recognition did not surprise his history teacher and wrestling coach, Joe Enea. He described the senior as a remarkable student. “It’s not surprising because he is just such a tremendous and outstanding young man,” Enea said. “All of his accolades can be traced to his hard work and effort that he puts into everything he does.”
Ever since he was young Creedon's been a hard worker. "I'd love to take the credit for it but it's his nature. He's always had that work ethic and he's applied it to everything he does," Shawn Creedon, Roarke's father said.
A naturally smart student, Creedon realized early in high school that it would be his work ethic, not natural talent, that would get him far. “I realized at a certain point that relying on just being smart and not really studying can get me by in high school but it’s not going to pay off in the long run,” he said.
That work-hard mentality has shown results not only in the classroom but on the mat and diamond where Creedon serves as captain of both the school’s wrestling and baseball teams.
“Honestly, I started wrestling to get stronger for baseball but then I just fell in love with it. I love the individual aspect of it,” Creedon said. “I really like it because [of] the motivation to push myself.”
Ever since he joined the team he’s had that motivation. “When he was a freshman he talked to me about wanting to make sure that he was going to be in our starting line-up and just said, ‘Wherever you need me, I will be. I’m willing to put in the effort. I’m willing to cut the weight,’” Enea said.
“He has that same mindset when it comes to athletics [as with academics],” Enea said. “He doesn’t want to [just] participate but he wants to try and dominate.”
With the postponement of all sports county-wide due to COVID-19, Creedon has been leading unofficial captain practices this fall, keeping both himself and the team in shape. The rescheduled wrestling season is slated to start on January 4.
“I expect Roarke to have an extremely special season,” Enea said. “I think he’ll be an all-state wrestler this year.”
However, Roarke’s academic and athletic achievements don’t solely define him.
“All the accomplishments are wonderful… but seeing him every day and seeing the kind of person he is that’s what we’re most proud of,” Shawn Creedon said.
However, Creedon’s academic and athletic achievements don’t solely define him. Outside of school he also works proudly with Book Fairies, a local organization that hosts book drives and collects reading materials for those, especially children, who cannot otherwise access them.
Starting off as simply a volunteer, Creedon now serves on the Junior Board of Directors and even runs his own drives in his hometown of Locust Valley.
“I’ve never had it where I didn’t have access to a book, or honestly maybe even worse, where I did have access to a book but I wasn’t able to read it so I couldn’t even imagine what that’s like,” Creedon said. “Reading has made such a great impact on my life. I really want to be able to provide that opportunity to people and I’m happy that I can do it.”
Even after graduating high school Creedon said he wants to continue to help give back. A lover of math and science, even earning a perfect score on the math section of his SAT, he wants to study engineering in college.
“I’m good at math but the thing I really love is chemistry, so I want to combine the two and study chemical engineering,” he said. He hopes to work towards making medicine cheaper and more efficient.
In addition to studying engineering, Creedon is also interested in wrestling collegiately and is already being recruited by schools.
“I’m really interested to see what happens over the next four or five years with him in college because I think really the sky is the limit for him with that type of potential based on that work ethic,” Enea said. “Wherever he goes, whatever path he chooses I know that it’s going to end in success.”
This article was written for the Long Island Herald and appeared in the Nov. 20-26, 2020 edition of the Oyster Bay Herald Guardian and online at www.liherald.com.
Photo courtesy of the Locust Valley Central School District
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