By Brian Zanzonico
He let his pen do the talking.
A standout in his 11th grade Advanced Placement English class with dreams of one day becoming a writer, Lynch had talent that matched his drive. He regularly turned out essays and short stories in Alison Leighton's class that read as if they had been written by someone much older. A poem he wrote caught the attention of Leighton and the Sewanhaka committee that nominates a junior each year for the Bread Loaf Writers Conference, the oldest conference of its kind in the nation, where some of the country's top writers help high-schoolers with their craft. Robert Frost, Norman Mailer and Toni Morrison are among those who have participated.
Lynch emerged from the week-long conference in Middlebury, Vt., two summers ago more determined than ever to make a name for himself in the literary world. Planning to pursue journalism to further hone his writing skills, Lynch graduated from Sewanhaka in 2006 and enrolled in Iona College's journalism program in New Rochelle.
But he never completed his second semester at Iona. Suffering from hemophilia, a disorder that prevents blood clotting, Lynch died on April 11 after a fall from his bunk bed caused bleeding in his brain. He was 18, and is survived by his parents, Susan and Patrick, and his brother, Patrick.
"He had a subtle sense of humor," said Leighton, Sewanhaka's English department chairwoman. "That's one of the most difficult things to have as a writer. He had a real love of writing."
And Lynch had a love of people, his former guidance counselor, Stacy Ricks, said. He often participated in school blood drives, and volunteered with his 21-year-old brother, who is also a hemophiliac, at summer camps for children with various illnesses, according to Ricks. "He was a kid who you knew was going places, and would have achieved his ultimate goal of becoming a writer," Ricks said.
Sewanhaka Principal Debra Lidowsky said it is often difficult for high school students to make the transition from another school and start over in a new environment, but Lynch quickly made friends. "He was a truly nice young man who earned the respect of his fellow students and teachers," Lidowsky said.
And he thrived, even though, initially, the odds against him were stacked higher than books in a library's return bin. Ricks said that since Lynch had first attended a Catholic high school, he didn't take any New York State Regents exams. He needed five such tests to graduate with a Regents diploma, which would help him get into New York colleges. Lynch went beyond simply passing the exams, ending up with a Regents diploma with Advanced Designation. It helped him earn a scholarship to Iona, Ricks said. His experience at Bread Loaf didn't hurt, either. "This was a bright young man with a lot of aspirations," Ricks said.
Leighton explained that two juniors are nominated for the Bread Loaf conference each year. When Lynch was selected in 2005, she said, he was an obvious choice. "Hands down, he was by far the best," Leighton said.
Lynch was a rare student, in that he would volunteer to read his writing aloud, in front of students he was still getting to know. "He was well grounded, quiet," Leighton said. "I think he used writing as an outlet of sorts. Showing his writing let the other kids know him. When he entered his senior year, he was comfortable and confident."
Lynch's foray into journalism would have only been the start of what Leighton said could have been a long, distinguished writing career. It was easy to envision him going on to bigger things and becoming a literary force, she said.
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