Ronald James \u201cR.J.\u201d Seymour is this year\u2019s Owego Free Academy (OFA) salutatorian. He\u2019s carried a 99.7 grade-point average throughout high school and he will be attending Binghamton University in the fall. He plans to study biological sciences and later attend medical school \u201cto become some kind of a doctor,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The son of Ron and Linda Seymour of Apalachin, R.J. says his academic success has been \u201cthe ultimate exercise in time management. The TV is on, but it\u2019s background noise. And I\u2019ve got lists for everything – \u2018go see someone at a certain time, that sort of thing.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
And like many teens today, he\u2019s always got his phone.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t find my phone a distraction, personally. If I ever do, I put it on \u2018do not disturb.\u2019 It\u2019s helpful to have, most of the time,\u201d he said. \u201cYou just open Google, and there you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
R.J. isn\u2019t just a student at OFA. He\u2019s also an employee, for two years now working as an IT student technician. \u201cI average about 14 hours a week,\u201d R.J. said. Sometimes he works after school, sometimes during school. \u201cI can work a bit during my free times. It can make it easier when you\u2019re helping someone face to face.\u201d<\/p>\n
A typical call for technology assistance, he explained, is pretty straightforward. \u201cMy computer isn\u2019t working, can you fix it? Or, I can\u2019t get on the Internet, can you help?\u201d<\/p>\n
He helps in other ways, too. Around the community, for example. \u201cI ring (the bell) for the Salvation Army in the winter,\u201d R.J. said. And he advises the Blue Horizon balloon launch club, with that group\u2019s use of technology.<\/p>\n
R.J. said he\u2019s not a competitive athlete. He enjoys skiing, but recreationally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m passively competitive,\u201d he said, grinning. That line elicited a whole-hearted response from OFA classmate Bella Coleman, who was sitting nearby. \u201cHe\u2019s competitive – with himself,\u201d she offered.<\/p>\n
The laid-back R.J. nodded, agreed, and explained. \u201cI set standards for myself and if I don\u2019t reach them? I\u2019m like, \u2018OK, let\u2019s get going here.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
One way R.J. has challenged himself this school year has been as part of Broome-Tioga BOCES New Visions, in which he has spent his senior year mornings away from OFA. Two days a week he\u2019s at Lourdes Hospital. Three days he\u2019s in a classroom setting either at Johnson City High School, or at the BOCES JC Learning Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a great program, and I\u2019ve gotten a lot of exposure to different (medical) programs,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m in the Health Academy. It\u2019s really hands-on. I\u2019ve had the opportunity to follow doctors on their rounds and see them at work, ask questions. I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Ronald James \u201cR.J.\u201d Seymour is this year\u2019s Owego Free Academy (OFA) salutatorian. He\u2019s carried a 99.7 grade-point average throughout high school and he will be…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":56929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n