2014 Young Women in Public Affairs Award Winner

Diana Gerberich shown with Scholarship Chair Kristin Goold

Good evening! My name is Diana Gerberich and I would like to start off by saying thank you to the Zonta Club of the Quaboag Valley for awarding me the Young Women in Public Affairs Scholarship. It is an honor to be the recipient of this prestigious award and to be recognized for my contributions towards promoting women in society. I strongly believe in the important role women play in our society and the unique vantage point they bring to leadership, communication, solving problems, and making meaningful and substantial contributions in our world. I myself have represented the potential that women have through  many leadership roles and extracurricular pursuits throughout high school. I am a recent graduate of Minnechaug Regional High School in Wilbraham.

An activity in which I have excelled to the greatest extent is playing the baritone saxophone. It is also one where I have represented women in a male-dominated activity.  I began my musical journey playing the saxophone eight years ago and never imagined the opportunities music would offer. At the Western Massachusetts District level, I secured the baritone saxophone spot in the Senior District Jazz Band all four years of high school .With determination and hard work, I made it into the All-State Jazz Band by receiving the highest score in the state during my junior year. It was with this ensemble that I performed at both Boston Symphony Hall and the 2013 Newport Jazz Festival– an opportunity very few high school jazz musicians have.  From the state level I was invited to compete at the national level against other state-level jazz baritone saxophonists. My top score earned me the baritone saxophone spot in the All-National Jazz Band and the title of being the top high school jazz baritone saxophone player in the country. As such, I performed with the All-National Jazz Band in Nashville this past October under the direction of internationally renowned bassist Rodney Whitaker. Additionally, I performed at Carnegie Hall in the National Honors Performance Series. Playing on the same stage that so many of my favorite artists like Duke Ellington, Frank Sinatra, John Coltrane, Ella Fitzgerald had also played on was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that I will never forget. In each of these highly selective jazz bands, I was one of only two female jazz musicians. It is uncommon to find females in jazz and even more rare to see a female jazz baritone saxophonist. I did not let my being a minority hinder my passion for jazz and the saxophone. On the contrary, I was even more inspired and determined  to excel in my unique talent and represent women in a male-dominated activity.

Living in Wilbraham my entire life, I have learned the importance of giving back to the community and have done so in many ways. The most influential impact I have made on my community is through my Girl Scout Gold Award project. The year 2013 marked Wilbraham’s 250^th Anniversary and, as I began brainstorming ideas for my Gold Award project, I knew I wanted to relate my project to the 250^th Anniversary. Upon learning that the Veteran’s agency was looking for someone to clean up the Civil War Monument in the center of town along with nearby Gazebo Park, my project, titled “Beautification of Civil Gazebo Park and Civil War Monument in Honor of Wilbraham’s 250^th Anniversary”, began to unfold. I made improvements including removing overgrown shrubs and replacing them with new shrubs, clearing large brush and debris, edging beds, applying new mulch, adding colorful perennials, and replacing the roof on and repainting the gazebo. I wanted to involve others in the project to inspire them to get involved in the community and be the change they wish to see. So, I secured the help of football players from Minnechaug Regional High School and approached local contractors to volunteer their time and services. Residents in town  voluntarily donated their time and offered to help with the beautification process. After 114 hours of my time and effort in planning, organization, and execution,  my Gold Award project has received many compliments and words of thanks from residents and dignitaries of Wilbraham for the work I did on both the Civil War Monument and Gazebo Park. Only about 5% of eligible girls receive the Gold Award each year. This accomplishment is even recognized by the US military. Gold Award recipients who enter the military enter one rank higher and receive a higher pay.

In addition to the Gold Award project, I enthusiastically represented my  high school by serving as a Student Ambassador for Wilbraham’s 250^th Anniversary Celebration. As such, I  planned and organized a colonial bake sale for the First Night celebration and donated  $100 to the Atheneum Society in our town for the preservation of Wilbraham’s history.

One of my proudest accomplishments was having been chosen as Wilbraham’s 250th Celebration Queen. Through a pageant process involving interviews, memorizing and reciting a speech, and answering a randomly selected question on the spot, I was crowned Wilbraham’s 250^th Celebration Queen last year. The randomly selected question by the way, was “If you were a talk show host and could interview one person, whom would it be?”  My answer—-Eleanor Roosevelt because she voiced her opinion which at the time most women did not do, she stood firm in her beliefs even when they contradicted those of her husband’s, and as a United Nations delegate she played a vital part in establishing the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It would be inspirational to all women today to learn about Eleanor Roosevelt’s belief and how she managed to become such an influential female figure in our country and world. Holding this title as 250th Celebration Queen for the next 50 years, I feel I represent a love of our town’s history, pride in our community, and the unlimited potential for success that our schools have to offer Wilbraham students.

Scholastic achievement has been another highlight of my personal accomplishments. All throughout high school I voluntarily challenged myself with honors and AP classes. I completed six Advanced Placement courses and took the respective tests through the College Board. This rigorous course load posed an intellectual challenge that I balanced with all of my extracurricular activities. Recognized for high achievement and academic excellence, I have received Departmental Awards in History, Computer Science, Fine Arts, and Physical Education. Other special awards include the Yale University Book Award, Psychology Book Award, American Citizenship Award, Rotary Club Leadership Award, and the recognition of being a National Merit Scholar.

My extracurricular activities have also given me an opportunity to represent women in unique ways.  At the 2011 Model United Nations Conference at the University of Massachusetts- Amherst, I represented the country Djibouti in the African Union and was given the Honorable Mention Delegate Award for this effort.  I also won first place at the Western Massachusetts Regional Science Fair on a team project titled “Determining the Mechanical Properties of the Embryonic Environment Through Cavitation Rheology”. Please note that for both Model United Nations and science,  women are in the minority.

This fall I will be attending Harvard University where I intend to pursue a degree in statistics or applied math. My aspiration is to utilize my love of math and statistics to become an actuary. Through its Women’s Studies Department, I also hope to take a class that will help me become even more aware of the critical issues facing women across the globe. Sexual violence and trafficking, denial of an education,  poverty and its implications on the quality of life, and female infanticide are all very real and tragic issues facing women around the globe, even in the United States. I applaud each of you as members of the Zonta Club of the Quaboag Valley  for your willingness to be ambassadors and advocates for the equal and fair treatment of women around the world.

I would also especially like to thank the Zonta Club of the Quaboag Valley for supporting me as I continue to grow intellectually over these next four years and continue to represent the potential women have in society. Thank you and enjoy the rest of the evening!