Most kids would probably moan and groan about re-arranging their room. In the case of Lima Christian School Class of 2024 graduate Abby Britton, however, it may have helped lead her to what she wants to do in the future.
Britton, the daughter of Vicky and Andrew Britton of Lima, will be attending Villa Maria College in Cheektowaga (near Buffalo) to major in interior design.
“I took one of those career tests and it was one of the things that matched well with me and it sounded interesting to me,” Britton said during a phone interview last week. “I have never been into art like drawing or painting but, as a kid, I always re-arranged my room and it was fun for me.”
In addition to Villa Maria, Britton considered Rochester Institute of Technology, Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia and New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) in New York City.
“I really wanted to stay in New York and looked up accredited programs for interior design and Villa Maria has one of the best programs,” Britton said. “Once I visited there, it was my first, and really my only, choice. At Villa Maria, interior design is one of their biggest programs but the college itself is small like Lima Christian School. That’s why I chose it over RIT.”
Britton carried an academic average in the 94-95 range. She took Advanced Placement English Literature and Composition and a dual credit course in Composition from Roberts Wesleyan plus three courses through Genesee Community College: Statistics, Pre-Calculus and Physics 1.
Abby Britton was one of four Lima Christian seniors named as the Private-Parochial League’s Scholar Athletes of the Year. Photo by Donna MacKenzie
A student at Lima Christian School since preschool, Britton was a part of the school choir as a sophomore and junior, a member of the Mentors for Minis as a senior, played piano as a part of the school’s Worship and Praise team and has been involved with the Drama Club since she was in seventh grade. She was part of the stage crew as a seventh-grader and has been onstage in the school’s drama show and musical since eighth grade, including roles in her senior year as Katherine Wiley in Radium Girls last fall and as Mayzie LaBird in Seussical this past spring. She also went on a mission trip to Mexico as part of a school group this year.
In addition, Britton played both soccer and basketball all four years of high school. A captain in both her junior and senior year in soccer, she started at either forward or midfield with two goals and three assists in her junior year and one goal (fourth on the team) and two assists (third on the team) in her senior year. She served as a captain for basketball as a junior and as a senior. She was a starter at forward and recorded 52 points (fourth on the team), 149 rebounds (led the team) and 65 blocks (led the team) as a junior and 50 points (fourth on the team), 116 rebounds (second on the team) and 65 blocks (led the team) as a senior. Playing sports at the varsity level at Villa Maria is not part of her current plan.
Outside of school, Britton has worked at Milk & Honey Café in Lima for the past two years. She has been part of the worship team at her church and has made mission trips to Guatemala the last two years and also before the COVID pandemic with a group from her church.
“It is a group made up of all ages and we make connections with a mission organization based in Guatemala,” Britton said. “When I was younger, the mission trips were very eye-opening. Since then, I just feel very comfortable experiencing a different culture and learning about other people. It is a great feeling to help people, but the friendships I have made make it more meaningful. Even if you don’t see some of the people that you have made contact with again, they still leave an impact on you.”
Britton has received several honors, including High Honor Roll. She was accepted into the Honors Program at Villa Maria and earned a scholarship through that. Britton earned the Perkins Music Scholarship Award and was recognized as one of Lima Christian’s four Private-Parochial League Scholar Athletes of the Year. She received All-League 1st team honors in soccer as both a junior and as a senior. In basketball, she earned All-League honorable mention honors as a junior and All League 2nd team honors as a senior.
Asked if there were any teachers or coaches at Lima Christian who inspired her or mentored her in some way, Britton said that two of them would be Bethany Warsaw and Val Coykendall.
“Bethany Warsaw was a great mentor,” Britton said. “I had her for English for two years and she is also the drama/musical director at LCS. She would tell me not to doubt myself and what I was capable of. I could talk to her about anything, fun or serious. Val Coykendall I have known my whole life. In addition to having her as my physical education teacher, she has also been an assistant coach or head coach for both soccer and basketball. She puts so much time into it and pushes us to be our best. She was also our class advisor.”
Britton has many fond memories of her time at Lima Christian School.
“One of them was in fifth grade when the sister of our teacher Christy Warner came to the class one time,” Britton said. “We were joking with her about giving us a party for no reason. A couple of weeks later, she came back and gave us a “Just Because” party. My other favorite memories are from Drama Club shows. I had been an outgoing kid in elementary school, then in middle school I went into a bit of a shell. Although I originally thought I would hate drama club, I wound up loving it and I came out of my shell. I also enjoyed my time with my soccer and basketball teammates.”
