Neighbors in the News

Lynbrook resident flourishes in college after high school struggles

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Lynbrook resident Kenny Kraus was a B-student when he attended Kellenberg High School, but after applying himself, he graduated college as class valedictorian.

Kraus said he had once got into a fight with another student in high school, and afterward, he decided not to walk at his graduation in 2013.

“That was a tough day, but I think it was important,” said Krauss, 22.

After high school, Kraus attended Fairfield University, where he got advice from a Jesuit priest, Father Douglas Peduti. Kraus said it was Peduti who taught him how to think harder.

“When you’re able to develop a relationship like that, you can get through anything,” Kraus said. “You find something you really like and you start accomplishing things you never thought you’d be able to get.”

Kraus graduated from Fairfield last May at the head of his class. He is now studying for a graduates degree in accounting at Notre Dame, and will start working for Ernst and Young as an accountant in July.

When asked what advice he would give to students struggling in high school, he said, “If you’re doing what you ought to do and you believe you’re doing what you ought to, than never be afraid to do it.”