Abby attended Petaluma Junior High and chose to attend St. Vincent de Paul High School because “it is unique in that you can be involved in so many different activities.” 

During her four years at St. Vincent’s she played Varsity Softball and Soccer where she was co-captain and All-League in both programs. 

In addition to Varsity Cheer, she was the founder and President of the “Young Writers’ Club” –not surprisingly, she earned highest honors in journalism, creative and expository writing.

CREATING HER OWN OPPORTUNITIES 

She selected Chico State University because of the distance from home, the gorgeous campus, and a robust program in her intended area of study; parks and natural resource management. Abby intends to become a park ranger with longer term plans to work in a higher level position in the U.S. Department of the Interior with aspirations to make national parks more accessible for the disabled.   

“My teachers challenged my thoughts and helped me develop my opinions on just about everything,” she revealed. “They saw that I needed to be challenged in the classroom and pushed me beyond what I thought I could do.”

GETTING INVOLVED MAKES AN IMPACT

Abby was a committed student, and she was strong and outspoken in her views,” said Mr. Tim Corrigan, both her English and Journalism teacher. “I appreciated this virtue. She is forthright in her beliefs, but she was also eager to listen.”

He continued, “When she wrote an article in the school newspaper, The Onlooker, about bringing Human Interaction classes to Catholic education, she did so because she believed all students would benefit from it.” 

Her advice to incoming students is to “try everything….until you find your passion.” She credits St. Vincent’s with encouraging her to get involved in the community outside of school and work. Abby was a committed volunteer during her summers for United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay, and this past summer hiking all around the San Francisco Bay Area. 

Abby has accomplished a lot in four years at St. Vincent’s and we wish her well in college and beyond. We are honored to feature her as one of the outstanding students from our Class of 2019.