New Jersey/Pennsylvania Super Teens

The Next Step Magazine wanted the best. Scratch that—we wanted the best of the best. So we asked your guidance counselors, parents and friends to nominate the best teen volunteers, students, athletes, singers, leaders and more for the annual Next Step Magazine Super Teens contest!

We asked each applicant these questions:

What activities or qualities make you stand out from your peers?

In what clubs, volunteer organizations or youth groups are you involved?

Explain an opportunity you had to act as a leader. What did you learn from the experience?

Who or what experience has had the greatest impact on you?

What are your plans for the future?

How do you want to be remembered at your high school?

We know there are a lot of great teens out there. So let us know about you! Log on to www.nextSTEPmagazine.com/superteens for a Super Teens application to apply for next year's contest.

Congratulations to the cream of the crop, presented right here. We think you're great!

During her time at Bridgeton High School in Bridgeton, N.J., Darla Bunting, 18, has helped her local zoo go smoke-free, helped put on a senior citizen prom, has been president of her class for four years, a peer tutor, summer camp counselor, news editor for her school paper The ECHO, yearbook features editor and has participated in several other journalism-related activities. Darla, a senior, is captain of the cross-country team, is African American club member and past president and National Honor Society vice president. As a writer and columnist for The ECHO, Darla tackled controversial issues. “I learned from experience that even though some people may disagree with what one believes, it does not mean that what one believes is wrong,” she says. Darla plans to become a broadcast journalist and found a non-profit organization to help students fund their educations and get inside views of college through workshops, speakers and tours.

Jacqueline Colon, a 16-year-old junior at Abraham Lincoln High School in Philadelphia, wants to become a nurse. That is, after she finishes playing clarinet in the school band, playing volleyball, participating in National Honor Society and several mentoring programs. “I have had opportunities to act as a leader in classroom and group activities,” Jacqueline says. “People look up to me as a good example for my school and for the people that surround me.” Jacqueline wants to be remembered at her high school as a involved, friendly student with good grades.

Jenee Cyran was voted captain of this year’s varsity soccer team at Penn Cambria High School in Pennsylvania. “I seized this opportunity to see the unique skills in each individual,” says this high school senior. “This experience made me understand that positive encouragement goes farther than criticism.” Jenee has taken dance for 15 years and piano for seven. She has participated in Interact Club, track, forensics and National Honor Society. Jenee credits her chemistry teacher with encouraging her interest in science. She plans to become a surgeon. “This would give me the opportunity to help many people and hopefully have a positive impact on their lives,” she says.

“It’s not how successful you are in life that matters, it’s the work and dedication you put into getting there that makes the biggest impact on others,” says 17-year-old Jackie DeMusso, a senior at Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, N.J. Jackie is a member of Heroes and Cool Kids, a student-athlete leadership program that works to improve sportsmanship and give elementary school students older mentors. She is captain of her school’s field hockey team, has been in drama club, Interact Club, National Honor Society and has volunteered to tutor two children three days a week the last four years. Jackie is active in her church and earned the Marian Award, a religious recognition program through the Girl Scouts. She plans to become a nurse or physician’s assistant.

Spain, France, Italy and Australia: Those are the countries where Mahmoud Esmail, a senior at High Tech High School in Jersey City, N.J., has visited (so far) as a student ambassador for the People to People program. “With my stay in these countries, I experienced foreign cultures firsthand and represented my country proudly,” says Mahmoud, 17. “Traveling…has dramatically changed how I view life and how I live it. I now tend to see everything in the larger picture.” Last summer, Mahmoud conducted leukemia research at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He has participated in several school-sponsored clubs, including student government, French club and the varsity bowling team. He has participated in a teleconference with Sri Lankan students about current events and is working with four other students to bring a treaty to the Senate. Mahmoud plans on pursuing veterinary medicine in college and having a family.

Bryana Fogarty passed the same old, homeless man on her drive home from Rancocas Valley Regional High School every day. One day, she stopped and brought the man an umbrella. That night, she bought him a new winter jacket, some hats, gloves, sweatpants, socks and food. After delivering the goods, “the feeling I got inside was great; I felt like I did the right thing,” she says. Bryana is president of the National Honor Society and attended a four-day leadership and goal-setting conference, the Rotary Youth and Leadership Academy. On the conference’s second day, the attendees met a man who could break a wooden board using only his hand and self-confidence—not strength. Each time Bryana tried to break the board, she failed. But on the last day of the conference, her hand cracked it in half! “From then on, I knew I could do anything,” she says. Bryana plans to study special education at college.

As a member of the Interact Club, Alexandra Gastulo, a 17-year-old senior at Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, N.J., volunteered in the Gift of Life program in which the club’s members buy needy children gifts from their Christmas wish lists. Alexandra has also made holiday cards for people in nursing homes with the National Honor Society, has been an altar server at her church and has volunteered for the Special Olympics and her community’s food bank. Alexandra is also captain of the varsity soccer team. “I had to be both a teammate and a captain,” she says. “I know when to have fun and joke around with my team and when to be serious and work hard.” Alexandra plans to become a lawyer.

Marian Hamilton, a 17-year-old senior at Apollo-Ridge High School in Apollo, Penn., has been a tutor for two years. Her first tutoring job was as a sophomore helping an eighth-grade class. “I learned how to walk the notoriously thin line to make sure they respected and listened to me without making them feel as though I were a drill sergeant,” Marian says. She overcame her fear of public speaking by participating in her school’s theater program. “After two months of rehearsals and the final performance, I emerged a new person, armed with the confidence that I could speak, laugh and smiles, and that an audience was quite the opposite of terrifying,” she says. Marian is president of the French and book clubs at her school, vice president of the marching band counsel and an active member of the Ambassador’s Club, a community-service group. After college graduation, she hopes to travel the world and publish a book.

Jillian Hollen, 18, is first in her class at Penn Cambria High School in Pennsylvania. She’s been able to maintain her class rank while juggling National Honor Society, SADD, Make-A-Wish Committee and more, a part-time job and dance classes, too. Jillian is also a member of a program called Teen Lead, an outreach program to intermediate school students. “Every month we meet with a specific class to teach them beneficial, moral, even life-altering lessons,” Jillian says. “I learned that fourth and fifth graders have much respect for us, which makes me feel like my time with them is very valuable.” Jillian plans to study pharmacy at Duquesne University.

“Whether it be singing, acting, or playing the flute or sax, I have been actively involved in the performing arts so much that it has been one of the many things that I have been identified with,” says 17-year-old Alan Morales, a senior at North Plainfield High School in North Plainfield, N.J. But Alan does more than just participate in several bands and choirs. He is also the student director of Heroes and Cool Kids, a child mentoring program. He is also president of his school’s French Honor Society, a member of the National Honor Society and a varsity member of the track and field team. Alan plans to study biomedical engineering.

Mzimeli M. Morris, 17, spent the summer working in the mental health division of the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md. “There, I learned how to conduct statistical analysis and deal with schizophrenic patients,” she says. Mzimeli, who is a senior at Rancocas Valley Regional High School in Lumberton, N.J., has also worked in the field of urological research at Temple Medical School. She is a participant of the Physician Scientist Training Program, in which she spends her summers working a 9-to-5 job away from home. Mzimeli wants to study biology at college and study abroad in Zimbabwe or South Africa. She plans on becoming a pediatrician.

Adam Short, 18, is active in student council, Ambassador’s Club, drama and martial arts at Apollo-Ridge High School in Apollo, Penn. He’s on the track and field team, is a Sunday school teacher and part of the German American Partnership Program. “When I went to Germany as an exchange student last summer with six other students from my school, I felt that the others looked at me to be a leader,” Adam says. “I learned that being the one to take the first step can be scary and intimidating.” He credits God and his parents with keeping his faith strong and learning to treat everyone with respect. “I want to be remembered as a friendly, helpful and compassionate person,” Adam says.

The United States Military Academy is where Jessica Elaine Ray, 17, plans to study political science. Jessica, now a senior, participates in JROTC at Strong Vincent High School in Erie, Penn. “Strong Vincent’s JROTC has over the past four years taught me discipline, diligence and most of all, it has taught me how to become a true leader,” she says. When Jessica’s JROTC Drill Team went to the annual McDowell Drill Competition, everyone was nervous—the school hadn’t ever competed in the event. “I stood up and took the initiative to lead the team in their first experience,” says this battalion commander. She also plays varsity volleyball, track and swimming, National Honor Society and has been in drama club and band.

This April will be the fourth time that Stephani Elizabeth Stasburger, 17, will be a facilitator at the International Student Leadership Institute conference. “Students come in with all different anxieties, problems and fears, and through our small-group activities and one-on-one interactions, they leave feeling better about themselves and their situations,” says this North Pocono High School senior. Stephani is also president of Interact Club, corresponding secretary of the Future Business Leaders of America, a varsity basketball cheerleader and majorette. Last year, when assisting a special-education class at her school, Stephani helped one particular young man who made a difference in her life. “He allowed me to let down my defenses,” she says. “And in helping him, I helped myself.” Stephani plans to pursue a career in either medicine or pharmacy.

As vice president of her class, a volunteer at Chilton Memorial Hospital, a member of a volunteer club and a representative of the Hugh O’Brien Youth Leadership Conference, Maura Tappen, 17, has her work cut out for her. While at the HOBY conference, Maura helped collect nonperishable goods for those serving in Iraq. “From this, I gained a greater appreciation for different cultures and ways to be a better leader in my school,” she says. Maura is also a singer and actress. She is currently ranked number one in her class at West Milford Township High School in West Milford, N.J., where she’s a junior and works at Van Dyke Valley Assisted Living Center. She plans to become a doctor.

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