Top 10 grads from 5 school districts get praise for dedication, discipline
Photos by Natalie Baron: The top 10 graduates for Lyndonville’s Class of 2025 stand and are recognized during a banquet on Wednesday at the White Birch.
By Natalie Baron, Orleans Hub intern
LYNDONVILLE – The top 10 graduates for the Class of 2025 from all five school districts of Orleans County were honored at the annual Top 10 banquet on Wednesday evening at the White Birch Golf Course.
Top 10 graduates had plenty of advice to offer incoming high school freshmen. Jacob Pitcher, ranked No. 3 from Lyndonville, wanted freshmen to know they should be themselves and not procrastinate in order to have success.
Garrett Koch, the third-ranked student at Medina, and Dan Owen De Vera, the valedictorian from Medina, carried a similar sentiment: Even in your first years of high school, don’t slack off! That will only hurt you later on, they said.
Ava LaMay, ranked No. 5 from Kendall, said “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” and instead focus on what really matters in order to be successful. Isabella Goodrich, the salutatorian from Kendall, advised freshmen that they should “Stick to a schedule” and prioritize themselves.
Dr. Steven Blount of Medina gave the keynote address.
In the keynote speech, students from Holley, Kendall, Lyndonville, Medina and Albion were lauded for their dedication to hard work.
The speaker this year was Dr. Steven Blount, a former top 10 graduate from Medina. Dr. Blount has a Doctorate in Health Administration from D’Youville University, as well as degrees in Physician Assistant studies and Nuclear Medicine Technology. He is working toward the completion of an MBA.
Dr. Blount practices family medicine in Medina and hospitalist medicine in Batavia. He is an assistant professor at D’Youville University and a captain in the Army National Guard, working with the Medical Detachment.
Dr. Blount is also a community leader. He has leadership positions within the Medina Central School District Board of Education and the Medina Zoning Board. In the past, he was also involved with the Hospice of Orleans.
In his speech, Dr. Blount expressed how he changed his major four times and at one point was working three jobs on top of doing college work. “Grit isn’t about never wanting to give up, it’s about committing yourself to feeling that way and then choosing to continue anyways,” he said.
Dr. Blount stated that in being from Orleans County, these graduates understand grit better than most. Orleans County’s farmers don’t stop after one good harvest or bout of bad weather, he said. Their continued achievement relies on ceaseless effort. “Success isn’t a destination. It’s a way of living. Grit is how you build a meaningful life.”
Dr. Blount challenged the students to look around them and identify someone in the room who helped them to see and meet their potential. “Build your team,” he advised. “Find that person who will push you, surround yourself with people who inspire you, and never forget to be that person for others.”
In ten years, no one will be thinking about the graduates’ GPA, he said. They will be thinking about what the graduates did using that GPA, their treatment of other people, the problems they solved, and whose lives they touched along the way. “That’s the legacy of grit.”
As a takeaway, Dr. Blount implored the students to never back down, even when they want to fail, and challenged them to do something that scares them in the next thirty days.
“Talent without effort is just unmet potential,” Dr. Blount said. “Talent might open the doors, but grit keeps you walking through them.”
The Albion Top Ten include: Bottom Row: Tye Talbot, Kelli Dingle, Kenadie Patten, Ella Trupo, Mallory Ashbery and Oliver Beach. Top Row: Sawyer Brigham, Zackary Baron and Tracy Garrett. Missing from the photo: Leo Bolton. Included in the photo are principal Jennifer Ashbery, superintendent Mickey Edwards, and board president Linda Weller.
The Holley Top Ten include: Bottom Row: Zoey Wolf, Allison Merle, Maggie Skehan, Natalie Foose and Mason Hein. Top Row: Alexia Renner, Alivia Wolf and Owen Schultz. Missing from the photo: Abigail Merkley and Gabriel Stevens. Included in the photo are superintendent Karri Schiavone, board president Anne Winkley, and principal Matthew Feldman.
The Kendall Top Ten include: Bottom Row: Isabella Goodrich, Inez Stangler, Savannah Holzschuh, Adareli Contreras Solis, Ava LaMay and Lia Larson. Top Row: William Kludt, Colby Hughes, Nicholas Baxter and Michael Hallowell. Included in the photo are principal Melissa Strelick, board president Rachel Fisken, and superintendent Nicholas Picardo.
The Lyndonville Top Ten include: Bottom Row: Emma Freas, Ava Austin, Aidan Allen, Evee Heinsler, Addison Dillenbeck and Alyssa Prine. Top Row: Elisabeth Ingersoll, Jacob Pitcher, Hannah Marker and Madison Davis. Included in the photo are board president Jerod Thurber, principal Aaron Slack, and superintendent Sharon Smith.
The Medina Top Ten include: Bottom Row: Abigayle Wright, Theresa Biesinger, Dan Owen De Vera, Sofia Gagliardi, Josephine Pollock and Makenzie McGrath. Top Row: Cameron Kenward, Garrett Koch, Riley Tompkins and Ryder Jones. Included in the photo are principal Michael Cavanagh, superintendent Mark Kruzynski, assistant principal Mollie Mark, and board president Alissa Mitchell.
