ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, June 5, 1996 TAG: 9606050017
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE AND HAL SHEIKERZ STAFF WRITERS
After 13 years of being the last one out the door, on the bus, in the seating chart, we thought we'd give the last - alphabetically speaking - senior in each class the final word. They speak of their young school-age memories, their class, and what it's like to be last - in name only, of course.
Erin Yopp, Radford High School
Her mom said she cried her first day at McHarg Elementary School, but all she remembers of those early years is trying to get in to the higher reading group, called "Great Books."
"All the kids wanted to be in Great Books ... I never made it, though."
Yopp said she's grown up with most of her class, and likely will remember them for their academic achievements.
"They're kind of wild, but they've all been tops when it comes to testing and stuff. This class is known for the high marks on tests we take."
Robert Wimmer, Giles County High School
Wimmer, who will attend nearby Concord College in West Virginia in the fall, remembers seeing "Star Wars" at the theater and watching Alf on TV as a child.
As for being last, he doesn't think of it as a bad thing.
"Someone has to be last, it might as well be me," he said. "I look at it this way ... saving the best for the last."
Dwayne Yopp, Shawsville High School
Yopp came to Shawsville Elementary School in third grade, Incredible Hulk lunchbox in hand and a GI Joe figurine tucked into one pocket.
Yopp, who prides himself on being a class clown, said his class is "pretty crazy."
When asked if the class pulled a senior prank, he asked, "Which one? They did a bunch, but I tried to stay out of them." Yopp declined to elaborate.
He said he'll start work at Crest Uniform Co. in Salem right after graduation. What will he miss most?
"Playing baseball. We finished 17-4 - that was the best season I've played."
Craig Zamer, Blacksburg High School
In second grade, Zamer and his Gilbert Linkous buddies were the saviors.
"We'd play this game like we were heroes and we'd fight imaginary evil people," he remembered.
"Oh, and Nintendo was really huge - if you had a birthday party, you were up all night doing that."
Zamer doesn't see his class as particularly wild. He does remember in eighth grade, when the Latin teacher neglected to show up for class.
"We turned tables over and threw stuff around. We had to write sorry notes to the teacher, but there wasn't much the principal could do to us since there were two days of school left."
Robert Yokum, Floyd County High School
"At least when it comes my turn, I know how to act. There's lots of good things about being last."
Yokum remembers being in the back of the class most of the time.
He remembers watching the "Dukes of Hazard" (his favorite TV show). His memories include working in his dad's garage, particularly as an 8-year-old working on a 1957 Chevy.
He now owns and drives that Chevy.
Trena Young, Pulaski County High School
Young remembers how whenever the teacher used a seating chart she said "last seat, closest to the door in the back."
"I just always wish I was in the front ... you think they might forget about you and it gets tiring."
She said the biggest difference between today and when she was growing up is how "I used to go out and play and not worry about who's coming down the street, but now you always have to worry."
She will attend New River Community College in the fall and will study sales and marketing.
Linda Winkler, Narrows High School
Winkler's senior year memories include the class senior skip day. She and several of her friends went to the Pipestem resort in West Virginia, where they went swimming and horseback riding. She said their prom, which was at Mountain Lake, was also a great time.
She said it's weird "knowing that I will be last one graduating and getting my diploma in my class."
The Narrows native, who has attended school with most of her classmates since kindergarten, won't be last in the alphabet for long. She is getting married in August and changing her name to Hazelwood.
Jason Zeckoski, Christiansburg High School
His first music tape was R.E.M.'s "Automatic for the People." His first movie: "The Empire State Strikes Back."
For Zeckoski, who happens to be the only person with a last name that starts with the letter Z at Christiansburg High School, the two events that stick out in his mind are the Persian Gulf War and the Oklahoma City bombing.
Zeckoski will attend Radford University in the fall, studying graphic art. He also wants to get a minor in computer science.
Kenny Wojciechowski, Auburn High School
Being the last one to graduate from his class is something he is looking forward to. "It really will be sweet. I'll enjoy it more," Wojciechowski said.
Wojciechowski, known as Wojo by many of his teachers and older people, will attend NRCC next fall to pick up his grades. After that, he wants to go to Clinch Valley on a football scholarship. He was a tight end and defensive end this past year on the school's team.
The most memorable event this past year was the senior skip day when the class went to Busch Gardens. While he and his friends were waiting in line for one last ride on the Loch Ness Monster, the roller coaster "broke down" for 30 minutes. What was funny, he said, was that several classmates were on that ride and were stuck. He never did get to ride it one last time.
LENGTH: Long : 116 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshots) Erin Yopp, Dwayne Yopp, Craig Zamer, Trenaby CNBYoung.