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Full speed ahead for Kearney senior

March 1, 2013 Denise Romano
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Ireisha Vaughn is a 17-year-old senior at Bishop Kearney High School.

Not only is she president of the school’s student council, she is a member of the National Honor Society, plays bass drum and is the band’s drum majorette, and is the morning news anchor on WBKS, the school’s radio station.

This coming fall, she will start classes at Seton Hall University, where she will major in occupational therapy (OT).

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“I like [working with] children with disabilities and elderly people, [so] I wanted a profession where I can work with both,” said the level-headed Flatbush resident.

She discovered her calling while she volunteered at the Bishop Hucles Episcopal Nursing Home in Bedford-Stuyvesant. Vaughn was originally assigned to work in the recreation room, but when she informed staff about her interest in OT, they transferred her there.

“I decided that was what I wanted to do,” she said.

In the meantime, Vaughn’s responsibilities as student body president keep her busy.

“I have to know everything that is going in in each year and have to take part in planning each thing,” she explained.

This year, she began a program called Freshman/Senior sisters, where a senior student “adopts” a freshman as her “little sister” and shows her the ropes so she will be better accustomed to the school.

In addition, Vaughn volunteers at Fireflies New York, where she works with autistic kids. She is also starting a new gig helping a social worker who works with children with all different types of disabilities.

When she starts Seton Hall in the fall, Vaughn plans to be on the student council and join the band, as well as the choir. “I like to sing and beat box,” she said, adding that she doesn’t have enough time to join Kearney’s choir.

Vaughn will dorm at college, which she said is just far enough from home. “I can’t go without Thanksgiving dinner!” she said.

Her advice to incoming high school freshmen?

“Do not be afraid to be who you want to be. If you want to do something, just do it,” she said. “Don’t be afraid to try something new. When you get to senior year sometimes you realize, ‘I should have joined something,’ but now it’s too late.”


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