Livingston Manor Central School District has announced that Jillian Carlsen has been named the Class of 2024 valedictorian and Jackson Krause is the Class of 2024 salutatorian
Jillian Carlsen
Carlsen, whose overall average is 102.91%, is the daughter of Brian and Danielle Carlsen. She is the president of the National Honor Society, a member of the National Technical Honor Society, and has served as class president in her freshman and sophomore years. Carlsen has been named to the Superintendent’s List and received the Principal’s Award every year she has been eligible, having the highest overall average freshman through senior years. Her extracurricular activities have included varsity basketball and softball, where she served as captain, and was captain of the SkillsUSA Health Knowledge Bowl. She has completed volunteer work at the Livingston Manor Free Library, Rock Hill Ambulance Corps , and American Red Cross Blood Drive and is CPR certified. Additionally she served as a student representative for the LMCS/RCS merger study and the Sullivan 180 Empowering a Healthier Generation Celebration. She worked as a student assistant at LMCS and has completed her clinical rotations in the New Vision Health program.
She will be attending the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Services starting in the fall and plans to pursue a degree in pharmaceutical sciences and a doctorate of pharmacy thereafter.
Her interests and hobbies include dance, woodworking/carpentry, deer hunting, traveling, concerts, and anything related to health care and medicine.
Jackson Krause
Krause, whose overall average is a 100.17% is son of Amanda and Edward Krause. He is a member of the National Honor Society and has been named to the Superintendent’s List freshman through senior years.
He will be attending Middlebury College where he will major in molecular biology and biochemistry with a minor in psychology.
His interests and hobbies include listening to music, working, cycling, hiking and simply admiring nature.
Q&A
Our top students also answered questions about their time at LMCS. An abbreviated version of this Q&A will appear in the summer newsletter
What is your favorite memory of Livingston Manor and why?
Jillian: My favorite memory of Livingston Manor was the Thanksgiving feast we had in Mrs. Hemmer’s class before Thanksgiving break. I remember we made our own butter and dressed up like pilgrims and Native Americans to celebrate the holiday. Interactive activities during elementary school were so fun, but this event would have to be my favorite. Mrs. Hemmer tailored this activity to align with her lesson plans to teach us about the origin of Thanksgiving while making it enjoyable for all of us. We even decorated our own placemats, and my dad set up a teepee in the classroom. It felt like a true Thanksgiving celebration in our elementary classroom, and I still remember it to this day.
Jackson: My favorite memory at Livingston Manor has to be the long discussions and chats in the senior lounge, this year. We would always have long discussions about an array of topics, and though it was simple, it was incredibly enjoyable. It was a core memory of mine to have a group of people who actually wanted me there, versus a history of previous years, where others did not truly want me included. The elimination of superficial interactions was a great surprise for my final year at LMCS, and it affected me deeply.
What teacher or staff member has influenced you the most at LM and why?
Jillian: It is difficult for me to pick one specific teacher, so I would have to say both Mrs. Hemmer and Mr. Hemmer have influenced me the most at LMCS. Mrs. Hemmer was my Kindergarten teacher and the first teacher I ever had at LMCS. Through her creativity, generosity, and love to teach her students, I developed my love for school, education, and the willingness to learn something new each day. I remember all the projects she developed to reinforce a concept she taught or a book she read. Mrs. Hemmer also has a heart of gold. She welcomes each and every student with open arms, which speaks a lot to her character. I could not have had a more perfect first teacher at LMCS, and I attribute a lot of my success to her influence on me as I have grown as a student at Livingston Manor. When I entered the tail end of elementary school in fifth and sixth grade, I had her husband, Mr. Hemmer, as my fifth grade literature and sixth grade earth science teacher. Mr. Hemmer prepared me in these two years for the next chapter of my school career before I went off to middle school. Like Mrs. Hemmer, it is apparent he loves to teach his students. If I had any questions, I could speak to him either in class or after class during a study hall or lunch. He taught me how to write properly, and I still remember little revisions to this day while I write detailed papers. In literature, we would arrange the desks in a circle, so we could discuss articles or papers, which reminded me of circle time with Mrs. Hemmer in Kindergarten. Although we were still in elementary school, Mr. Hemmer allowed us to develop our independence before beginning middle school. Having Mr. Hemmer as a teacher to close out my academic years in elementary school was an experience I will never forget, and his influence on me has encouraged me to become successful throughout the years in middle and high school. I know I could only select one teacher, but I feel both Mrs. Hemmer and Mr. Hemmer were two teachers I could not overlook as they have both had a pivotal influence on me as a student in Livingston Manor.
Jackson: I cannot choose just one staff member who has influenced me the most at LMCS. My top picks of the most influential staff members include Mr. Hill, Mr. Favata, and Mr. Loeffler.
Mr. Hill has influenced me to become a more outgoing individual. He consistently shared his outgoing nature, and he tried his best, in fact, he made it his personal goal, to make myself and others in my class more extroverted and friendly. His life experiences and life style gave me a different outlook on life. When I go away to college I will utilize the extroverted social skills he helped to teach me.
Mr. Favata helped inspire me to choose my future path into the medical field. When I entered his class for the first time, I was nervous and considered rethinking my desired profession, as it required a lot of science. The class required lots of studying and was completely different than I have experienced before. Mr. Favata’s love for what he does and his care for his students helped me to decided for certain on my future. Despite the difficulty and the struggle to see the value of some areas of science, Mr. Favata found value in all parts of it and expressed it to his students. His ability to find the value in science stuck out to me, and I carried it over to the rest of my life, where I try to find the value in everything, even if it isn’t really there.
Finally, Mr. Loeffler, who is the only person whose thought process I can relate to my own. Throughout my time in Mr. Loeffler’s classes, I learned many lessons about people, in general. He consistently reminded students that after high school, they will have to figure things out. He could help them throughout their high school career, but when it comes time to tackle the real world, they will have to be responsible. The advice was overlooked by my peers, but not by me. The advice itself did not have much meaning to me, personally, but the situation as a whole meant a lot. It was a display of many levels of priorities. Some people have skewed priorities and that is what makes some people successful, and others not. Mr. Leoffler consistently shared advice that was overlooked by my classmates, but it always stood out to me. They were lessons I already knew, but each lecture of life lessons was a reminder to embrace the advice and never forget it. Lastly, Mr. Leoffler was always incredibly relatable, making the things he said and preached more meaningful and down-to-earth. His advice will continue to be important to my life.
What advice would you give to incoming freshmen?
Jillian: If I had to give advice to an incoming freshman, I would say the most important piece of advice would be to utilize your teachers’ resources. I never hesitated to ask for clarification or ask for help during a free period. Your teachers are your biggest cheerleaders, and they truly want to see you succeed. If they have a review session, attend it! If you do not understand a concept taught in class or an assignment, ask questions! I believe that by utilizing my resources and seeking help from teachers throughout high school is what helped me become successful. Another important piece of advice I can offer is to stay organized. I kept labeled folders and binders for each class, so I would not turn in a late assignment. You will have a lot of classes and assignments to keep track of, so staying organized is incredibly important. If you ever need help with organization, ask the faculty members in guidance or a teacher. My final piece of advice is to become friendly with Deputy Beebe, the school resource officer. Many people may be fearful of people who work in law enforcement, but Mr. Beebe is great once you get to know him. He is a great resource for so many topics, but also a cool person to speak to if you are looking for someone to talk to about anything that may or may not be related to school. Mr. Beebe is at LMCS to protect the students, so he is not someone you should be fearful of. As a student at LMCS for the past thirteen years, these are only three pieces of the plentiful advice I could offer to the incoming freshmen.
Jackson: I would advise incoming freshmen that their work throughout the rest of their high school career shapes the rest of their lives. If they refuse to put effort into anything, their future will reflect that. It will be reflected when they are forced to work an undesirable job for the rest of their life. Conversely, if they put just a smidge of effort into their education or their future, they will have far greater chances of having a successful life. High school is the first step, and sometimes the last step, in becoming a more aware and educated adult. Therefore, freshmen should take it seriously or at least understand the severity of high school.
I would advise the freshmen that everybody is living life for the first time. No one in high school has it completely figured out, and judgment is easy when they see somebody who is still figuring things out. I would advise the freshmen to keep their eyes out and make judgments because individuals become more well rounded by seeing what works and what doesn’t work for others. At the same time, they should make judgments, but they should not voice their judgments. They should have a thought, think about it intently, understand what is or isn’t working for the person they are judging, then enact some sort of change, or make some new understanding about themselves. In conclusion, they should make judgments, but they should not use the judgment to negatively affect others. Rather, they should use judgment to improve themselves in some way. The world is full of people, take the positive aspects of everybody and incorporate them into your everyday life.
The last piece of advise I have for incoming freshman is to build yourself a good repertoire. The community is small, and what is done in high school is seen through a magnifying glass by the rest of the community. Make yourself look wonderful throughout high school. When you leave, you don’t want to have a reputation as some mischievous child. After all, everybody knows everybody in Livingston Manor, so when it comes time to join the workforce, you want the best reputation possible. Often times, the people with the worst reputations are the ones who are seeking out employment in Livingston Manor’s local businesses (the places that utilize student’s reputations in making hiring decisions). A high school reputation carries in the town for a long time, so have that understanding and work from there.
Anything else you would like to add?
Jillian: I could not thank Livingston Manor Central School and all the faculty members enough for making my educational experience momentous. I love that I had the privilege to attend a small school for my entire elementary, middle, and high school career. Each and every faculty member has helped me become the successful student and individual I am today, and I could not thank them enough. I truly will miss this school and all the memories invested in the walls of each room, so I will be sure to visit when I am home from college.
Jackson: Livingston Manor may not have been right for me at all times, but I have still enjoyed every part I could. I will forever find something to be grateful for in my time at LMCS.