The top students in the Chautauqua Lake Central School Class of 2015 are Hannah DeFries, Ian Winkelman, Ryleigh Hawkins and Michael Parker. For this, the second year during which students from Ripley were tuitioned to Chautauqua Lake in grades 7-12, two valedictorians and two salutatorians were selected, one from each community. Each of the four honored students has earned a gold honor pin, reflecting a grade point average of 94.5 percent or higher.

Co-valedictorian Hannah DeFries, a National Merit Scholarship finalist, is the daughter of Elizabeth and Eric DeFries of Mayville. Buffalo’s Business First magazine named her to the All-Western New York Academic team of the top 25 new graduates in the region. The Westfield Mayville Rotary Club honored Hannah this year as a Student of the Month.

She was a member of Rotary Interact and the French and Spanish Club, and she was secretary of the National Honor Society. She played first chair trumpet in the concert band, sang in the chorus and chorale, and has performed in school musicals. She competed on the High School Bowl academic team and in varsity soccer and track and field. She was a member of the 2015 Envirothon team and participated in the Science Olympics and at the SUNY Fredonia STEM Wars competition.

Hannah was honored with VFW Americanism, U.S. Marine Corps Scholastic Excellence, and Bausch & Lomb Awards. Last year Jamestown Community College named her a College Connections Student of the Year for JCC courses she took at Chautauqua Lake. She has been recognized for academic excellence in subjects as varied as social studies, calculus, English and science, and she has earned her Academic Letter and Pullover. She recently received the D.A.R. Award for Exceptional Achievement in History.

Last summer the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Alumni Association awarded Hannah a Writer’s Scholarship. She also represented Chautauqua Lake at Empire Girls’ State 2014, where her participation was sponsored by William L. Travis American Legion Post 493 Auxiliary. As a sophomore she received an honorable mention in the Lake Chautauqua Memorial VFW Post 8647 Voice of Democracy competition and was the New York State Fair Grand Champion in Dog Rally Obedience.

At Senior Honor Night, Hannah received several scholarships, including an Academic Excellence Award, the Cecil S. Adams Jr. Memorial Music Award, the James Tennies Honorary Scholarship, and an American Legion History Award.

Hannah volunteers in the Westfield First Baptist Church nursery and Cherub Church, helped construct the Community Dog Park in Sherman, and presents community dog demonstrations. She has also participated in a 30-hour famine experience and in a mission trip to Nicaragua, has sung at Hospice and at Tanglewood Manor, has volunteered at the Mayville Winter Festival, and has rung the bell for the Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign.

Hannah will attend Liberty University to major in electrical engineering, while completing courses specific to the university’s Honors Program.

Co-valedictorian Ian Winkelman is the son of Dana Winkelman of Ripley. He competed on the High School Bowl academic team, was an active member of the Rotary Interact Club, participated in Ski Club, and helped with Pi Day activities. He has won many awards for academic achievement, including in global studies, Spanish, mathematics, physics, career and finance, English, psychology and sociology. Recent honors include recognition for his work in chemistry, calculus and principles of engineering.

Last year he won the Clarkson University High School Achievement Award, and this year he earned his academic letter. Ian was a member of the Chautauqua Lake team that took first place in the Geometry Blast competition at the 2014 Fredonia State Math/Science Competition. His academic accomplishments were recently recognized with the John S. & Dorothy C. Gleason Scholarship and an Americanism Award from the Lake Chautauqua Memorial VFW Post 8647.

In community service, Ian joined other Chautauqua Lake seniors as a volunteer “elf” at the Chautauqua Mall and helped on election day. He was a vendor at the dodgeball tournament and assisted with security at the annual talent show, both events sponsored by the National Honor Society to benefit Centaur Stride therapeutic riding facility. He also volunteers at the Westfield Stray Cat Rescue. Last summer he volunteered at the Fourth of July parade in Mayville.

Ian plans to study physics and mathematics, starting his higher education at Jamestown Community College, where he has been awarded a USA Scholarship.

Co-salutatorian Ryleigh Hawkins is the daughter of Ryan Hawkins of Ripley and Andrea Hawkins of Bradenton, Fla. Human anatomy and advanced placement English were her favorite subjects this year.

Ryleigh has competed on the softball, volleyball and basketball teams throughout her high school career. In volleyball, Ryleigh was a Second Team All-Star and a Scholar Athlete. In basketball, as a junior she competed on the New York State championship team and as a senior was a member of the league and regional championship team recognized by a NYPHSAA Sportsmanship Award. She is a basketball scholar athlete and received honorable mention as an All-WNY Scholar Athlete. In softball, for three years she was named a First Team All-Star; as a sophomore she was League MVP and a Third Team All-Star; and last year the team was recognized with a sportsmanship award. In recognition of her athletic achievement, Ryleigh was recently named the female Chautauqua Lake Scholar Athlete of the Year.

She has also been active in Student Administration and National Honor Society. Ryleigh has earned her Academic Pin and has received awards for excellence in U.S. history, holocaust studies and social studies, in psychology and sociology; and her English teacher recently recognized her for exemplary literary insight in advanced placement English. She was a recipient of the George Eastman Young Leaders Award, and was honored by the Mayville-Chautauqua Lions Club as a Junior Lion of the Month.

Ryleigh recently received the D.A.R. Citizenship Award and several scholarships honoring her academic achievements. She received the Ripley Education Association Award, the Ripley Grange 65 Community Scholarship, and the Ripley Women’s Club English Award. Additional awards include the Francis Earl Gregory Citizenship Award and the Ralph V. Hubbard Memorial Scholarship, both from American Legion Post 351; a Ruth Barker Winch Scholarship; the Ellen Marie Butterfield Memorial Award; a Chautauqua Lake Student Administration Student of the Year Award; a Chautauqua Lake Teachers’ Association Scholarship; the Harold M. Cornell Memorial Scholarship Award; a FairPoint Communications Scholarship; and a Mayville-Chautauqua Lions’ Club Award. Ryleigh also received an achievement award from the Office of the State Comptroller; and the D.A.R. Good Citizen Award.

Ryleigh is active at the Ripley Baptist Church. In community service, last year she was an assistant coach and helped with the Ripley University summer basketball program. She was recently recognized for having given over 40 hours of community service.

She plans to pursue a degree in occupational therapy at Penn State Erie, The Behrend College.

Co-salutatorian Michael Parker is the son of James and Judy Parker of Mayville. Buffalo’s Business First magazine has named him among the top 100 new graduates in Western New York.

Throughout high school Michael participated in Student Administration, Rotary Interact, Impact team, Peer Education, the Sources of Strength program, and the High School Bowl academic team. He has also been a peer tutor. Michael earned varsity letters in swimming, track and soccer, and was named an All-County Scholar Athlete. He is the male Chautauqua Lake Scholar Athlete of the Year. Michael played the clarinet in the band; has been a section leader for tenors and baritones; sang in the All-County Choir and Area All-State Mixed Choir and in the NYSSMA Solo Festival; and performed in school musicals. He has earned an academic letter, pin and pullover, as well as awards for excellence in numerous school classes.

Last school year the Mayville-Chautauqua Lions Club recognized Michael as a Junior Lion of the Month; this year he was honored as a Scholar of the Month by the Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club and received an achievement award from the Office of the State Comptroller. He has twice won first place in the Voice of Democracy speech competition of the Lake Chautauqua Memorial VFW Post 8647. He represented CLCS at a HOBY leadership seminar and was honored with the George Eastman Young Leaders, Clarkson University Leadership, and University of Rochester Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony Awards.

Among the numerous scholarships he recently received are the Acacia Chapter 96 Order of the Eastern Star of New York Award, a Ruth Barker Winch Scholarship, Chautauqua Lake Chorale and Chorus Awards, a Chautauqua Lake Student Administration Student of the Year Award, a Chautauqua Lake Teachers’ Association Scholarship, the Jonathan E. Long Memorial Scholarship, a Mayville-Chautauqua Lions Club Award, The Brian Ranney Memorial Scholarship, a Thunderbird Athletic Club Award, the Wesley W. Weise Jr. VFW Post 8647 Scholarship, and a Westfield-Mayville Rotary Club Award.

In its inaugural year, the Chautauqua Literary and Scientific Circle Alumni Association awarded Michael a summer Writer’s Scholarship. The William L. Travis American Legion Post 493 selected Michael to attend Boys’ State 2014.

An Eagle Scout with silver palm with Mayville Troop 126, Michael is the American Legion’s New York State Eagle Scout of the Year and was a runner-up for the National Eagle Scout of the Year. Lake Chautauqua Memorial VFW Post 8647 also recognized Michael as Scout of the Year. He also earned the Summit Seal Challenge Award given by Boy Scouts of America and U.S. Navy SEALs, one of only 46 Scouts so recognized out of 40,000.

Michael was recently recognized for having logged over 60 hours of community service. He is very involved in his community and his church, volunteering at Koinonia of Jamestown, the summer meal ministry at Hurlbut Church, and in the Harvest Walk to benefit local food pantries. Michael has been a Civil War re-enactor, a rector for a retreat for Footsteps of Chautauqua County, a featured speaker at a confirmation retreat for St. Mary of Lourdes Church, and a national essay winner in the National Geographic Hands-On Explorer Challenge. For two years he has been a lifeguard at Chautauqua Estates.

Michael plans to study kinesiology at Miami University of Ohio and looks forward to traveling abroad.