Sophomore Vincent McAnuff of Deer Park High School cheered at an Islanders game in the name of furthering his education.

McAnuff was one of 18 students from Deer Park High School who participated in the Young Professionals Chamber of Commerce's business leadership competition at Farmingdale State College. When he ranked in the top five students in the sports marketing category, he was invited to give his presentation to the president of the Islanders, tour Nassau Coliseum and enjoy a free game. Thismonth, McAnuff and other participants were also honored by the school board.

"It was pretty exciting," said McAnuff, who competed alongside 170 students from nine schools. "I would love to participate in the competition again. It gets you ready to grow up; it's like an experiment to prepare you for the future."

The business leadership competition - sponsored by the Huntington Chamber of Commerce -- introduced students to business leaders, giving kids a chance to share their ideas through presentations on fashion marketing, graphic design, E-commerce, sports marketing, real estate, advertizing, hospitality services, entrepreneurship, sports management and job interviews. Students were also invited to listen to short talks given by experts in their field.

Weeks after the competition, McAnuff gave his sports marketing presentation directly to the president of the Islanders, Chris Dey. McAnuff offered a few ideas for the hockey team such as lowering prices during the recession and uniting two symbols of the Islanders - Sparky the Dragon and the fisherman (who appeared on the Islander's logo in the '90s) -- to battle it out in one-on-one hockey during halftime.

Marly Bonilla, 15, was also thrilled to be a part of the competition. She and her partner, Michael Calder - who designed an ad for an iPhone -- got a taste of the advertising world. "It was a good experience," said Bonilla.

Joseph Falcetta, a junior at Deer Park High School, took first place in the job interview category.

"This was an opportunity that they don't get every day in their classes," said associate principal Gary Ramonetti. "In this setting, students got to apply things that they are learning to subject areas they might be interested in."

At this age, when students are thinking about career choices, "this gives them the opportunity to talk to people in the field," he said. "Already the kids have told me that they want to do it again next year."

Deer Park High School participants include: Kenneth DeJohn, Vincent McAnuff and Vincent Vitale for sports marketing; Brian Jajal Fernandez and Marcus Johnson for hospitality services; Joseph Falcetta, Richard Blumengold, Michael Brennan, Matthew Frohnoefer, Amanda Jablonowski, John Lomuscio and Alexander Moret for job interview process; Nicole Goh, Stephanie Infantino, Carilyn Maloney and Ayanna Williams for fashion marketing; and Marly Bonilla and Michael Calder for advertising.