Classical seniors (from left) Chris Lezcano, Edwin Soto, Sokcheat Sok, Mickey Dunn and John Fazio speak to the Classical Freshman Academy Wednesday while distributing books they received from a grant. Item Photo/ Reba M. Saldanha

Seniors Dole out Advice to Lynn Classical Freshmen

By Dan Baer / The Daily Item, March 12, 2009

LYNN - If Classical High School senior Chris Lezcano could travel back four years, there are certainly some things he would change about his freshman year of high school.

Now just a few months from graduation and college life, Lezcano and his classmates are trying to make sure that the school's current freshmen don't make the same mistakes and realize the decisions they make in ninth grade could affect their chances of getting into college and achieving their dreams.

Lezcano, along with fellow seniors John Fazio, Edwin Soto, Sokcheat Sok and Mickey Dunn took a trip to the Classical Freshman Academy on North Common Street Wednesday to speak to students about making the right decisions in high school and to present copies of the book "Success for Teens."

In all, 40 seniors from the school will speak to all 360 Freshman Academy students this week as part of a community service project started by Lezcano, who secured a grant from the Success Foundation to provide the books.

"The book helped me not only reflect on my freshman year, the good and the bad, there are things in this book that I wish I had known in ninth grade - even eighth grade," Lezcano said. "It is never too late to try and reach your goals."

The seniors placed a strong emphasis on the future when talking to their younger classmates, reminding them that the decisions they make in ninth grade - especially academically - can have a strong influence on everything that happens in the future.

Speaking from experience, the seniors talked about balancing academics with sports and work, and realizing that academics should always come first because that four years of high school can fly by.

"The best idea is to always keep school in your mind," said Sok. "No matter what you do for work or sports, always keep school in the forefront."

Fazio even stepped up to share his own experience with academics, bringing along his academic history at Classical to show how it can all change when it seems like things are going well. A strong student during his first two years, Fazio said his grades fell off as a junior and he is struggling to recover this year.

"To get into a good college you have to have good grades for all four years," he said. "Colleges are looking for four years; you have to continue to do good every year."

Community service projects are a big part of students' senior years at Classical, in part because they are a big part of college. Students participate in different events through the school each year, such as Earth Day and Memorial Day events. Students are also scheduled to do a clean up of local parks near the school this spring and hope later this year to honor former students killed in Vietnam.

"We try to come up with four to five specific projects every year, but we tell the kids if they have an idea to go with it," said project advisor and psychology teacher Frank Grealish. "Chris wrote this grant online and the Success Foundation was really generous donating all of these books to us."

Lezcano says he was motivated to write the grants by his own experiences and the prospect of helping one freshman who struggled to stay awake in class - like he did - realize the importance of school and get back on the right track.

"I wrote this grant so I could help that one guy or that one girl that sleeps through algebra class," he said. "I want to reach that one guy or girl that was like me. I didn't care. I just want to help them reach their potential."