Sharon Reithel (left) and Cole Delibert (right) are Lima Christian School’s valedictorian and salutatorian this year. Photo provided by Lima Christian School
With just nine members in the Class of 2023 at Lima Christian School, Sharon Reithel and Cole Delibert were at the head of that class in terms of their academics and were honored for their academic achievements. Reithel is the Valedictorian and Delibert the Salutatorian this year.
Reithel, the daughter of Elaine Clark and Bill Reithel of Henrietta, earned Valedictorian honors with a perfect 4.0 grade point average. She will be heading to Monroe Community College this fall to study business administration and accounting and is hoping to do a 2+2 program with another college after her two years at MCC are done.
“Numbers have always intrigued me and I enjoy working out math problems,” said Reithel, who also looked at St. John Fisher University, University at Buffalo, Niagara University and Rochester Institute of Technology. “It’s very satisfying to me doing math problems or when a spreadsheet balances. I chose MCC because it is close to home.”
Reithel took several honors courses at Lima Christian. They were Advanced Placement English Literature, Precalculus, Calculus 1, Statistics, Calculus 2 and Physics 1 through GCC and English 101 through Roberts Wesleyan University.
School activities also were a big part of her experience at LCS. Reithel has been in the National Honor Society since her sophomore year. She served as the President of the Class of 2023, was on the Student Council and has participated in the school’s Ski Club since seventh-grade.
Her interests outside of school are many and varied. She is a Girl Scout with Troop 60232 and earned her Silver Award with a Trailblazing Project which made trails for other campers at a camp in New York State. She has volunteered with the Red Cross since her sophomore year and is involved with their Youth Leadership Program. She has received the organization’s Problem Solver Peer Award in 2021, the Most Committed Peer Award in 2022 and the Most Respectful Peer Award in 2023. This year, she completed a New York State EMT course offered through MCC and has earned her EMT certification. She is looking to apply for a job with an ambulance corps sometime in August.
“I enjoy many things and medicine also intrigued me as a possible career, but a hospital setting is not for me,” Reithel stated. “So, I was attracted to becoming an EMT instead.”
While many of her interests keep her on the ground, one does not as Reithel likes soaring with the birds. As a student pilot, she is doing just that. She has been training as a student pilot at the Rochester Airport for about a year. So far, she has passed two milestones on her way to a pilot’s license.
“The first milestone was a solo flight,” she said. “I had to fly around in a pattern by myself. The second milestone was a 50 nautical mile flight which I completed from Rochester to Ithaca and back. I am now training to meet the third milestone which is a 150 nautical mile flight with three airport stops.”
Reithel has received several honors. As a sophomore, she received Excellence honors in Global Studies 2 and Algebra 2. Last year, she received Excellence honors in Chemistry and U.S. History. This year, she received Excellence honors in Bible 12 and Statistics.
Asked if there was someone among the staff at Lima Christian whom she most admired, Reithel did not hesitate.
“It would have to be Dr. Eileen Minter, who I had for chemistry and physics in my junior and senior year,” Reithel said. “She is a brilliant lady, who teaches you more than just about the subject matter. I feel she has taught me life lessons as well. I also greatly admire my mom and dad, who have always been so supportive of me.”
Among her favorite memories at LCS is going on the ski club trips.
“I have been in ski club since seventh grade and I always enjoyed it,” Reithel said. “We would go to Bristol Mountain and be there from 4-8 p.m. It was wonderful skiing under the stars on the mountain. Another favorite memory would be my chemistry classes because I was always learning something new.”
Delibert, the son of Jana and Joe Delibert of Rush, earned Salutatorian honors with a 3.8 grade point average. He will also be attending Monroe Community College to study nursing. He noted the program is competitive and he needs some prerequisites to build up his credits. He may do a 2+2 program or look to get a job in a hospital and then be able to go back to school to earn a bachelor’s degree.
“For me, I have always liked biology and I have always planned on something in the medical field,” Delibert said. “I first thought about pharmacy and I have been working at Wegmans as a pharmacy tech but I have looked around some more and have decided to go for nursing. I also did consider going to RIT for their physicians’ assistant program, but that’s a lot.”
Seeking challenging courses, Delibert has taken honors courses in Precalculus, Calculus 1, Calculus 2 and Statistics through Genesee Community College and English 101 through Roberts Wesleyan University.
Delibert has also been very involved in school activities. He is a member of National Honor Society, the Class of 2023 treasurer, Vice President of the class, Student Council Vice President, Masterminds and the Missions Club team.
Outside of school, Delibert has done volunteer work and he has worked at Wegmans for two years.
Among his awards and honors are Excellence Roll all four years of high school, a Social Studies Department Award for Participation in Government, and a Rochester American Chemical Society Award.
Delibert said the person he admires most is his mother, but he has also really liked all of his teachers at Lima Christian School.
“My mom has been my driver and supporter; she is my rock,” he said. “I also admire Dr. Eileen Minter, Dr.Verginia Zocco and Mrs. Lyn Fiegl, all of whom are teachers. If you have a question, you can always go to any teacher. Their doors are always open.”
A self-described “lifer” at Lima Christian School, Delibert has been attending the school since kindergarten, one of just three students in the senior class to do so along with Anna Durkee and David Leathersich. His two favorite memories are the senior trip and the senior prank.
“For our senior trip, we went to Camp in the Woods in the Adirondacks and it was a blast; it was so fun,” Delibert said. “For our senior prank, we took all the desks in the school and moved them into the gym. It took us three hours to do it and it took the school just 20 minutes to move them all back.”
