5 Young Women for 2024: Leon senior Riley Long welcomes challenges

Leon High School senior Riley Long is driven by an intrinsic competitive spirit to do good, and she knows it. “I have had a lot of opportunities to grow, and I never wanted to fall short of my potential,” says the active volunteer and athlete. Her hard work, diligence, and giving nature make her one of this year’s Tallahassee’s Five Young Women to Watch.

Successful in the classroom and on the tennis courts, Riley credits her two older brothers for inspiring her to reach beyond perceived limits, explaining, “they always challenge me and I want to be the best person I can be.”

For Riley, that means serving as a youth board member for the Oasis Center for Women and Girls and being part of the Student District Advisory Council for the Leon County Schools, representing students to the Superintendent and School Board on issues related to school policy and academic success.

“I love the sense of community in Tallahassee. Being a board member for the Oasis Center for women and girls brought me together with many inspiring women in Tallahassee who always supported me and made me feel welcomed, despite my young age,” Riley said.

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That sense of community led Riley to The Longest Table event, which she chaired in 2023. This annual event brings together hundreds of students from area high schools to engage in dialogue about issues that are important to them, with an emphasis on learning through diversity. “As soon as I went to The Longest Table event, I thought it was the coolest thing. I knew I wanted to be part of it and keep it going,” she says. Riley was awarded the Leon County School Board’s Education Leadership Award in 2023 for her leadership of this event.

Riley’s motivation to sustain the Longest Table stems from her time serving as an English tutor in Spain as an international volunteer with Global Diverbo in the summers of 2022 and 2023. “I made so many unlikely friends and met people I never would have otherwise.” She is going back this summer to work again, followed by a backpacking trip through France, Spain, and Portugal.

Back at home, Riley’s academic and athletic focus yield excellence at every turn. Dual-enrolled at Florida State University in her senior year of high school, Riley plans to attend FSU as a full Bright Futures Scholar and is the recipient of the Vires Scholarship, recognizing the academic rigor of her curriculum. She plans to study finance, “and be better at it than my brothers,” she laughs.

She is a notable member of the National Honor Society, National Science Honor Society, and National Social Studies Honor Society; has been awarded the AP Award with Distinction, AP Scholar Award, and the State Farm Scholarship.

You can also find Riley on the tennis courts at Leon High School, where she competes as a starter on the varsity team, has been selected for the All Big Bend Teams, and has been the winner of City, District, and Regional Tennis Championships. She competed at the 2022 FHSAA Tennis State Championships. “I love tennis, but I also just love being outdoors,” she says.

She is thankful to her parents for the support they have shown as she spreads her wings and grows into a leader, “I live by the phrase, ‘life begins at the end of your comfort zone,’” she says with humility. For Riley Long, the end of her comfort zone is still a long way off.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Tallahassee's 5 Young Women for 2024: Riley Long meets challenges