Editor’s note: We again being our yearly tradition in Yonkers Rising of highlighting the academic achievements of the valedictorian and salutatorian from each of the nine high schools in the city. Congratulations and enjoy!
Meet this year’s top achievers from Lincoln High School’s Class of 2018: Valedictorian Laura Rodriquez and Salutatorian Dominique McCormack.
Rodriquez will graduate at the top of her class with a 96 percent average and will have completed six advanced placement courses. She was the captain of the volleyball team and was part of two magnet programs in science research and finance. She was also in the National Honors Society, Drama Chub, Honors Choir and the Yearbook Committee. She loves to bake and sing.
Rodriquez’s favorite teacher is Dr. Johal in AP chemistry, because “she is wise and I can talk to her about any problems I’m having and she gives good advice.” Rodriquez comes from a family of hard workers and intelligent students; her brother attended LHS and was the salutatorian.
“My family has been very supportive, and I have been competitive with my brother,” she said. “I’ve had this goal since I was young and my brother went to this school. I thought to myself ‘I can do this,’ but it wasn’t easy. I had to cut back on some extracurricular activities and there wasn’t a lot of free time.”
During her four years at Lincoln, Rodriquez found time to volunteer with the Honors Choir to visit senior homes during the holidays and sing, teaching fourth-graders through Junior Achievement about business, and visiting Bronx Lebanon Hospital with her mother, who is a Chaplain.
Rodriguez applied to 11 colleges, including SUNY Binghamton, New York University and Baruch (CUNY). She will be rewarded for her hard work and commitment by attending NYU in the fall, with most of the $58,000 yearly cost paid through a scholarship. “I visited NYU as a junior and it became a dream to go to school in the city,” she said.
Still not sure what she will major in, Rodriquez said she knows it will be business related, saying: “Maybe accounting, but it will be somewhere in the field of business. Many of my family members run their own businesses, so I know how it works. I’d like to be my own boss.”
Her advice for young students who want to get to her point of achievement? “Stick to what you want to achieve. Sometimes people discourage you, but if you work hard you can do it no matter what others may say.”
Salutatorian McCormack will graduate with a 95 percent average. She transferred to Lincoln H.S. last year as a junior from Palisades Prep. “Lincoln was a better fit for me and had classes that were more related to the career I want to pursue,” she said.
McCormack will graduate with five AP classes completed. Her favorite instructor was AP art teacher Ms. Kass. “She has a bubbly personality and she validates the work that I do and my artwork, which I don’t think is great sometimes,” said McCormack. “She is someone that I can talk to.”
Her extracurricular activities include National Honors Society, volunteering at choir, painting posters for concerts and performances at both Palisades Prep and LHS, and doing outreach at her church, World Changes in the Bronx, including work collecting toys for underprivileged kids.
McCormack thanked her mom and dad for helping her get to this point of success. “They always encouraged me,” she said. “I was the star in their eyes, and I didn’t want to disappoint them. But I also didn’t want to look back and say I could have done better.”
McCormack applied to eight colleges, including SUNY Stonybrook, Hoftra, and Columbia. She plans on attending Hofstra in the fall, and has received a generous scholarship package of about half the cost of tuition, room and board. She plans on studying computer engineering and to start her own consulting firm after graduation.
“I would like to incorporate my love of art with computers,” said McCormack, whose inspiration are Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. “They didn’t even finish college. I’m inspired by their creativity and they ability to be their own person, and their own boss. I want to do something like that and implement my own ideas.”
Her advice for young, aspiring salutatorians: “Follow your heart. Don’t let people steal you away from what you can contribute to society. Use your talent and character to get to your destiny.”
