[June 17, 2011] Saltsburg Student of the Year nominees named Tweet Jun 17, 2011 (The Blairsville Dispatch - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- If Zachary Cable's Saltsburg High School career could be summed up in one word, it would be "music." The son of Mark and Donna Cable, of Clarksburg, took advantage of every musical opportunity he could seize, with his saxophone in hand -- marching band, lettering four years and serving as drum major, concert band, Jazz Band Club, County Band four years, District Band two years, District Jazz Band three years, and Regional Band as a senior. He also has earned a spot in the Indiana University of Pennsylvania Honors Band the past two years. As a vocalist, he was involved with chorus, County Chorus two years and District Chorus two years, and was in the spring musicals and fall plays. Music is the career path he has chosen as well. He will attend IUP in the fall to major in music education, with the intent of one day becoming an instructor " and a mentor to young musicians while serving as a voice for the continuation of the arts in the community," Cable said. His acceptance into the IUP music program at the beginning of March was what Cable named as his greatest success in life so far. "There are several highly regarded music schools in the region, but there is only one that suits me to perfection," Cable noted. "Against the advice of family and my own common sense, I placed all of my eggs in one basket and sent one single college application to IUP. It was a huge gamble, but it was a gamble that paid off." Knowing that the IUP music department was highly selective, when Cable was working on his saxophone audition, "I knew I would have to perform flawlessly in front of the faculty members in order to be accepted into their program," he said. When he received a phone call from his future faculty adviser indicating that he had been accepted, it was at once a relief and a moment of extreme pride for Cable. The phone call, he said, was "the culmination of all of my work, dreams and aspirations. Music has always been my passion, and from a very young age I knew that I wanted a career in music. "The lesson that I learned from this experience is to work hard for what you want and not settle for less if you believe that something greater can be attained." Other interests In addition to his musical pursuits while in high school, Cable also played JV basketball for two years, then went on to compete with the track and field team. It was in discus competition that he encountered his worst moment of failure, he said. After throwing discus for two years, he was thrilled to qualify for the district meet this year in Altoona. He had thrown a personal best of 119 feet at the meet prior to the district competition, and he was hoping to improve even more. When he threw a career-high 119' 9" at districts, he hoped it would be enough to qualify him for the finals, but it wasn't to be -- Cable had missed the finals by a single inch. "It was a devastating end to my discus career," he said. "The realization of my last high school meet coupled with the knowledge of just how close I fell short, was a serious blow to my pride. "This was an important moment in my life, because I came to the realization that disappointment and failure is a constant occurrence in life. "Sometimes you need to figure out why you failed and learn from it, and other times you need to accept it and laugh about it. I believe that failure has helped to teach me the joy of success, the power of motivation, and the pitfalls of taking yourself too seriously." Among Cable's activities while at Saltsburg, he was a past member of Student Council, served as class president and student representative to the school board his junior and senior years, earned Distinguished Honor Roll status all four years of high school, and was the Challenge Program Academic Award winner in 2010. He was a member of the National Honor Society, serving as president this past year, competed in the Brain Drain Games, and was voted Mr. SHS and a member of the Sweater Hop court his senior year. Aside from membership in the National Honor Society and the IUP Honors Band, Cable names his other top honors as being named a Saltsburg Lions Student of the Month and a Trib Total Media Outstanding Young Citizen, as well as winning the Comcast Leaders and Achievers Award as a senior. Outside of school, Cable's time was spent playing with the Blairsville Community Concert Band. He is a member of the Trinity Presbyterian Church youth group, serving as president this past year, is a groundskeeper for the church, and has taken private saxophone and guitar lessons for many years. Cable has worked for many years as a landscape laborer, as well as working as a laborer for the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. Volunteerism has also been part of Cable's high school career, He has worked with the Saltsburg Food Bank, volunteered and performed as part of the Haiti Relief Benefit Concert hosted by the school, and he delivered food and flowers to shut-ins as part of his church youth group. Visiting the shut-ins held the most meaning for Cable, he said. Members of his youth group routinely visit elderly members of the community, bringing them food, flowers and words of scripture to uplift their spirits. "During these visits, our youth group had the opportunity to interact and engage our hosts, and the look of joy and appreciation on their faces was the greatest reward of all," Cable said. "I am often fascinated to hear them tell stories about their travels, their family, their interests and their accomplishments. "I cannot think of another activity that has had such tremendous benefits for all parties involved quite like this function." -- Sara Prenni Sara Prenni, Saltsburg High School nominee, believes that some of the most important lessons in life are learned through trial and error and learning from one's mistakes. "We should never be afraid of failure, but instead turn it into a stepping stone for success," she said. "Mistakes build character and, to me, a person's success or failure is better measured by their character." Prenni's greatest failure led to her greatest success in life so far. The summer before her junior year, she had to say goodbye to three important people in her life: her sister, who went away to college, and two of her best friends, one of whom graduated and another who transferred to a different school. "I seriously felt alone in the world, and at first I wasn't motivated to do anything at all," she acknowledged. "I didn't really care to do anything." But she was able to draw herself out of the fog of depression she had been feeling by applying herself to more constructive pursuits. "I decided to put my negative energy towards something else to better myself, so I started to concentrate on my schoolwork and my own success and self improvement," she said." After a few weeks my grades started to improve, I started to feel better about my school year. My failure was beginning to turn into one of my greatest successes." She noted that by the end of her junior year she had brought up her GPA by two percent, pulled up two spots in her class rank. Her renewed dedication to sports qualified her for the district track meet, and she placed in the county for discus. "Ultimately, throughout my life I have never had to face any great failures, however, the one year, when I thought I was going to fail terribly, I ended up succeeding," she stated. "I went from being dependent to independent. I learned that you are never alone in life, and that if you think positive, great things will come from you." Duriing her four years of high school, Prenni, the daughter of Luke and Gene Prenni of Nowrytown, was involved with varsity basketball, lettering four years; and varsity track, lettering two years,. She served as president of Remembering Adam, treasurer of Student Council, and secretary of both the senior class and the National Honor Society. She also competed as a member of the Science Olympiad team and was active with the yearbook and newspaper staffs as well as the concert band. For Prenni, being chosen to attend the Keystone Girls State Leadership convention in Shippensburg as a junior topped her list of high school achievements, along with becoming a member of the National Honor Society, being chosen as October Senior of the Month, her selection as Saltsburg's female recipient for the Heritage Conference Academics, Athletics, and Activities 2011 Scholarship Award, and being voted "Most Likely to Succeed" by her classmates. Outside of school, she is an acolyte at her church and holds a part-time job at Kiski Valley Inn. Prenni involved herself in the community as a recreation teacher at her church's Vacation Bible School and helped out at her town's bingo events. She assisted the Central Blood Bank with its blood drives at the school, becoming a blood donor herself. She also volunteers at the local food bank twice a month, where she helps collect food and carry heavy loads for elderly people. It's a project she named as the most meaningful to her, "because it allowed me to see a side of the community that I don't usually see," she said. "After seeing how others have to live, and giving my assistance to them, I felt better with myself as a person because I helped them better their lives." Prenni will head to Edinboro University of Pennsylvania to begin her studies in the field of nuclear medicine technology. Once she earns her bachelor's degree, she plans to continue on to graduate school to pursue a doctorate degree in radiology "I would also like to work with the treatment of cancer patients, giving them hope and encouragement," she said. To see more of The Blairsville Dispatch or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/blairsvilledispatch/. Copyright (c) 2011, The Blairsville Dispatch, Pa. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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