Published: June 30, 2008 11:05 am      

HOLLEY: 92 seniors graduate

EDUCATION: Top student will study pre-pharmacy.

HOLLEY — Nichole Henick walked across the Holley graduation stage Saturday morning with 91 of her fellow classmates.

She will attend the Albany College of Pharmacy in the fall as one of a small group of students chosen for their dual admissions program.

A career in pharmacy will allow her to apply her love for science and math, she said.

“I like interacting with people. ... It applies my interests,” Henick said. “There are many different branches now, I could go into research.”

The top sixth in her class, Henick’s broad resume made her a prime candidate for entering Albany’s program. As a peer tutor, she spends one afternoon a week helping elementary and middle school students who are having trouble in school.

She volunteered at Brockport’s Lakeside Hospital, shadowing a number of pharmacists, and spent two days a year cleaning the sensory park at Lifetime Assistance as part of a school Day of Caring project. She also played on the varsity basketball team, took lessons at Lisa’s Dance Boutique, helped a local family at horse shows and stayed active in the 4H Dance Club.

Her course schedule was loaded with every college credit course Holley offers: AP History, AP English, Spanish I and II and Biology.

At home, she is older sister to Gabriella, 4, and Ellianna, 3 months. She credits her parents, Barbara Smith and Howard Henick, for encouraging her to excel in school. They were also the ones to suggest the pharmacy field, which she ended up loving.

Henick was the recipient of a $1,000 New York Lottery scholarship. She will live at the dorm at Albany and is looking forward to experiencing college classes, she said. Because she is already guaranteed a spot in pharmacy school, she won’t have to spend sleepless nights worrying about the PCAT.

She will miss the friends she has grown accustomed to seeing every day, she said.

“We were all just very close and friendly with each other,” she said.

The remaining top 10 students are Kyleigh Carpenter, Amber Collins, Shannon Gaylord, salutatorian Jennifer Hettel, Kelsey Hughson, Derek Kohmann, valedictorian Stacy Tipton, Heather Rowley and Nicole Wing. Their class officers are Jennifer Hettel, president; Kyleigh Carpenter, vice president; Kelsey Hughson, treasurer; and Courtney O’Keefe, secretary.

The graduates wore the school colors: girls in red gowns, and guys in black gowns.

Prom was held at the Eagle Vale Country Club May 22, said English teacher Steven Choi.

The staff and teachers will remember the Class of 2008 for their ability to remain strong during times of tragedy, he said. They lost fellow senior Joseph S. Alemu in a sudden car accident at the end of March. Earlier in the year, they received word that a former classmate succumbed to a long battle with leukemia, he said.

“Their class faced a lot of difficulties this year, a lot of tragedies,” Choi said. He first encountered members of the class as the freshman adviser.

“They were a great bunch of kids to work with; they were really on the ball,” he said.

School counselor Andrew Ruff agreed.

“They’re a hard working group with a good sense of humor,” he said.

Contact reporter Nicole Colemanat 798-1400, ext. 8227.