Cresskill — Bianca Cabrin, 18, has spent the past four years leading her peers as class president and head of Cresskill High School’s Student Organization. Come graduation, she will again lead her class as valedictorian.
The 18-year-old has an extracurricular activity list that begins with track and volleyball and ends with Spanish Club and a peer-counseling group called National Helpers.
Through National Helpers, Cabrin would speak to middle school students about bullying and stereotypes and volunteer during class periods to speak with students about their problems.
But the activity that speaks to Cabrin "probably more than anything," she said, is the student council.
On the student council, Cabrin said she helped in fundraising for officers’ scholarships and organizing events like Spirit Week.
For Spirit Week, the high school classes battle one another in a series of competitions such as hall decorating, tug of war and the "newly added" musical chairs, said Cabrin.
Next fall, the valedictorian said that she plans to major in biology at Johns Hopkins University.
Cabrin still has another four years to decide whether to help others through a career in medicine or dentistry.
"[Until then,] I want to do more counseling and helping out new students," she said.
The valedictorian of almost 135 students said she knows of a freshman orientation program where she can put her leadership skills to the test.
"I’ll see what I can do with student council and intramural volleyball," she said. "Right now, I want to keep my options open."
Compared to large universities, Cabrin said that the smaller campus would facilitate the making of lasting relationships like the ones she has had as a student in a close-knit and "laid-back" high school.
"I think Cresskill is so small, you basically know everyone’s name," she said. "The teachers know you and they have a relationship [with you], so they can help motivate and guide you."
That’s "definitely why" Cabrin said she is "nervous, but excited" to start the new academic year.
