Trinity High School is blessed with countless students who are talented, engaging, and involved. Below are features of just a few noteworthy students.

Giana Abbas Earns Perfect ACT Score

Giana Abbas ’20 (Seton House) earned a perfect score on her ACT. Gina scored a 36 on each of the four portions of the ACT (English, reading, math, and science), giving her a composite score of 36. This feat is achieved by only one-tenth of one percent of the 2 million students who take the exam.

At Trinity, Giana is involved with a number of clubs and activities, including, speech and debate, mock trial, pep club, prom committee, and Community Voices Together (a service program with pairs students with special needs at Cumberland Valley High School, with “buddies” from Trinity High School). Giana also competed on the tennis team, was vice president of the astronomy club, and was an activity representative. Next year she will take on the role of Mentor Group Leader in Trinity’s House System.

Giana credits “challenging AP and honors courses and the workload at Trinity” for helping her to prepare for the ACT and for college. Before Trinity, Giana attended Saint Joseph School, in Mechanicsbug. She plans to study computer science in college, and is currently interested in the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

Ms. Jan Kiker Wins a Golden Apple Award

Faculty member, Ms. Jan Kiker, has earned the distinction of being awarded the Golden Apple, by the Diocese of Harrisburg. This excellence in teaching award is given to seven Diocesan teachers annually.

Ms. Kiker has been a faculty member at Trinity High School since 1979, teaching math and computer applications during her tenure. She has also coached Track and Field, and has moderated a number of “spirit” clubs, such as the prom committee and pep club. These clubs allow her to mentor students in one of the areas where she excels: remembering others. Ms. Kiker has, for years, celebrated every student before they compete in athletics, every faculty member on their birthday. and any member of the community on achievements great and small.

Most significantly, Ms. Kiker participates in a “ministry of presence”. She attends every concert, every performance, and every athletic event in which Trinity students are involved. While not the loudest fan, her unwavering support is always noticed and always appreciated.

Ms. Kiker was “humbled and grateful” by the award, while faculty, alumni, and students commended her as a “gift” and the “heart of Trinity.” Join us in congratulating Ms. Kiker for this recognition!

Maya Arora Begins Community Service Program

Maya Arora ’20 (Immaculata House) began a community service initiative in 2018–Community Voices Together. This program aims to build relationships between Trinity High School students and special needs students at Cumberland Valley High School. Maya shared her perspective regarding Community Voices Together.

What is Community Voices Together?
Community Voices Together is a volunteer program between Trinity students and special-needs students at Cumberland Valley High School.  It pairs one CV student with one Trinity student.  In those pairs, students perform one community service activity and one social activity each meeting.  Meetings occur each month after school at CV High School.  This past meeting, we made cards for nursing homes and watched Incredibles 2 while playing card games.

What inspired you to start the program?
I was inspired to start the program for two reasons. The first was because of my interest in pediatric neurology, which involves work with special-needs kids. Since I’ve gone to parochial school for the majority of my life, I haven’t worked with kids in special education before. I wanted the opportunity to do this, so I created it for myself.  The second reason was that I wanted to integrate community service into the lives of special-needs students who usually don’t have as many opportunities as other high school kids.

With a few visits under your belt, what effects have you seen? Both in THS and CV students?
We have only had two meetings so far, but personally, all the Trinity students have raved about how much they love working with the CV students. I think the Trinity students gain an experience not available to them otherwise. The CV students are able to make out-of-school friends and participate in a club that is fun and gives back.

What have been some challenges in getting this program off the ground?
When I first got the idea for the program in late July, I started emailing the administration at Cumberland Valley, and I didn’t receive a response for almost two months. I finally got an email back and the director of special education, Mr. Justin Flickinger, set up a conference call with me. After that, it was meetings and emails for another three months before our first meeting. Student participation has probably been the most difficult because there are only about 10 Trinity students participating. I would like to expand the program but students have trouble committing to the monthly meetings. Funds were also an issue until I received a donation from a connection through Trinity. That donation opened up a lot of doors and lifted a weight off my shoulders.

What is your hope for the future of this program?
I hope that this program takes off in the coming years and the participation grows so everyone in the school is participating or knows someone who participates. It’s an amazing program and it would be a great chance for most Trinity students to try something new.

Students interested in volunteering should contact Maya here.