Senior Emily Babb never expected to be recognized as the Trentini Scholarship recipient and frequently felt her achievements went unnoticed due to a lower GPA than many top students.

However, Babb, a lacrosse player of four years, junior and senior class president, DECA, NHS and Spanish Honor Society member, has now earned the prestigious Trentini Scholarship of $30,000 awarded to one student at our school each year.

“It means so much to me. There’s so many things at school I just feel like I haven’t been recognized. I just feel like everyone who has the top GPAs and everything is really celebrated at our school,” Babb said. “I just felt like I didn’t really matter, and I did so much, and I didn’t really think anyone cared or noticed me or anything, so to have those people just accept me in the interview is a wonderful thing and to have those people accept me and recognize what I did, I can’t even put into words what it means to me. It just means the entire world.”

The Trentini awards students of outstanding scholarship, athletics, leadership and school involvement and also requires an essay component and an interview for finalists. Babb’s hearing the news became her favorite memory of her high school career.

“I was so freaking excited. I jumped up, and my dad was like, ‘Oh my god,”’and my dad cried. And my dad, I’ve never seen him cry before in my life,” Babb said. “I jumped up and I was so excited, and I actually tripped over something next to me, and I just started crying.”

The journey to this moment was filled with uncertainty.

“It was stressful to me just because I have a kind of lower GPA than other people in my class, so I thought that because of that I would be counted out, which I didn’t think would be right because GPA is just a number, and there’s so much more to people than their GPA, so I was just kind anxious about doing it,” Babb said. “My counselor kind of encouraged me to apply, too. She was like, ‘Emily, do it. GPA isn’t the only thing.’ And I was like, ‘Okay,’ but I didn’t believe her. But I’m glad that I did.”

Babb, who is involved with numerous extracurricular activities, believes her greatest achievement was not within these or academics but instead in self-growth.

“I learned a lot about myself, and I learned a lot about other people, and I just learned to always be nice to people. I think my greatest achievement is kind of having that realization and just to always treat others the way you want to be treated,” Babb said. “I know that sounds so like a cliché, but it’s just really true, and I fully appreciate that saying. It’s just kind of to help other people.”

North Carolina State University is the school Babb will attend, with her major tentatively set at international studies.

“I’m not exactly sure because there’s a billion things I want to do. But I think I want to do something more in the public sector. Something in nonprofit business administration. International studies so I could understand different cultures and go around and study abroad and then also minor in nonprofit business so I could start a business to help people around the world because that’s what I want to do,” Babb said.

The college opportunities Babb will experience have been dramatically improved by the Trentini.

“It helps me so much because my dad said, together me and him, we have enough savings for two years of college for me,” Babb said. “Now after this, I don’t have to worry about it for me, which is amazing because I only had two years of college guaranteed for me, so after those two years I’d be kind of screwed, so this is like completely wonderful.”

Babb has some advice to impart to underclassmen.

Babb said, “I would tell underclassmen to fully appreciate all that high school has to offer, to get involved in things, and if things seem scary or outside of your comfort zone, definitely get involved with that. Enjoy high school and always be nice to people because you don’t know what they’re going through.”