Published: July 01, 2008 10:45 am      

GRADUATION: Lyndonville's class of 2008

LYNDONVILLE — The graduates of the Lyndonville Central School District will leave a cozy cocoon surrounded by supportive teachers and friends for the world beyond their quaint village this fall.

The Class of 2008 is among the smallest Lyndonville has graduated in recent years, with 58 students receiving diplomas at the convocation ceremony in the high school auditorium Friday evening, said Mark Hughes, senior advisor for the past 35 years.

Many of the seniors will spread their wings, leaving home for the first time.

Valedictorian Abigail Oakes whose family owns and operates Lyn-Oaken Farms, will attend the state University at Binghamton to study chemistry. Her love of science is shared with her paternal grandfather, Barry Oakes, who made his career as a rocket scientist. He has since retired to Maryland.

“I’ve always been interested in chemistry,” Oakes said Friday following the morning’s graduation rehearsal. She was seated in the chorus room, making final changes to her 2008 graduation speech.

Former chemistry teacher Jared Strong motivated her to pursue chemistry in college, she said. Now a teacher in Brockport, Strong treated his students as if they were adults in a college classroom. Their labs were hands-on, and she found herself falling in love with the process. After graduation, she aspires to work in a research lab.

Throughout high school, Oakes excelled at girl’s soccer, basketball, indoor track and outdoor track, she said. Her most crowning achievement was placing fourth in shot put at state finals this year.

As a member of the U.S. Academic Decathalon — a national online competition in which high school students take tests in 10 different subjects for fun — she helped her team rise to the position of small school state champions three years in a row. From there, they went on to compete nationally, she said.

Her fellow seniors on the team were Jillian Barry, Kyle Genewick, Adriana Crosby, Brittany Helsdon and Bryce Baes.

Oakes’ additional extracurricular activities include playing the bass drum in marching band and the flute in band. For Friday’s graduation ceremony, she gathered a group of close friends — Barry and cousins Andy Follman and Aaron Follman — to prepare two songs: “The National Anthem” and “Stand By Me.”

“I really wanted to sing at graduation,” she said.

Salutatorian Marquette Korff, an eclectic individual who showed up to graduation rehearsal wearing a bright pair of pajama bottoms, will head to New York City to study creative writing and psychology at Eugene Lang College. The school is located right near Greenwich Village, placing her among a diverse group of individuals from across the country — just what she looks forward to most.

“I’ve just always loved it there,” she said. “It’s not intimidating to me.”

Korff’s first experience in New York City came with a band trip there her sophomore year, she said. After she was granted admittance to Eugene Lang, she made a second visit with her mother to tour the campus. She received scholarships and financial aid from the school, which is making it possible to attend.

True to her artistic nature, Korff was active with school musicals, taking a lead role as Sharpae in the production of “High School Musical” this past winter. She has played the clarinet since the fourth grade and started taking chorus her senior year (she has always wanted to sing in a band). Her sport of choice was soccer, a team she joined in the seventh grade.

In between, Korff had a part-time job at Tops Friendly Markets in Medina, she said.

Although the Lyndonville School District is small, she is thankful for the advantages it afforded her. Her friends will be dearly missed.

“We all grew up together,” she said. “Regardless of where we go from now, we always share this.”

The graduates filed up both auditorium aisles in the school’s traditional cap and gowns — white for girls, orange for boys.

Speakers included Oakes, Korff, foreign exchange students Nicholas Cormier of France and Jiri “George” Stahl of the Czech Republic, and high school Principal Kenneth Smith. Music was provided by the high school band.

The class officers were President Andrea Klinetob, Vice President Angela Watson, Secretary Rayne Burgess and Treasurer Abigail Oakes.

“I also desire that all of you ... find your something,” Korff said at the end of her speech. “High school has reached its end. Good night and good luck.”

The students will be missed by the faculty and staff for their unique attributes.

“We’ll miss a lot of these kids because they added a lot of personality to this school,” Hughes said.

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