Gabriella, I Hope you dance!

by Cate Murway

"I hope you never lose your sense of wonder

You get your fill to eat

But always keep that hunger"

The halls of Bristol Borough Junior/ Senior High School on Wilson Avenue are lined with motivational posters.  The students attending the sturdy brick BHS must be reading them!  The school truly is “building the future one student at a time”.

Commended Student of the Month for November, Gabriella Louisa Moyer, born in April 1989, will soon be starting her life solo dance. Her parents, Jennifer Maria [Pirri], BHS ‘79/BCCC and Harry Walter Moyer, Jr., BHS ‘76/BCCC met when they were just 14 years old.  She and her brothers, football/basketball athlete, 9th grader, Dante Dominic and older married brother, Elliot Alexander [wife Liza Davis] have been blessed by positive family influences. With the loving support of such a closely- knit family, Gabby is ready to “start spreading the news” in her educational goal landmark of New York. She discovered “the city that never sleeps” during her 9 year dance career in a local dance academy when Dance Masters of America competitions took her to The New York Marriott Marquis Hotel, in the Times Square Broadway theater district of midtown Manhattan. She showed the town, “She's got style, She's got grace, She's a winner” when she performed her favorite jazz dance routine to Tom Jones’ hit, “She’s a Lady”.

A Girl Scout since 1994, Varsity Cheerleader & Dance Team captain and VP of the Chemistry Club, Gabby was nominated to the National Society of High School Scholars. Claes Nobel, NSHSS Chairman and Founder, who’s great-uncle Alfred established the world-renowned Nobel Prizes, states “Young people are 50% of the population and 100% of the future. The young scholars of this generation are future world leaders.”  Also a National Honor Society member, she is currently enrolled in the BCCC offered 3-college accreditation courses of AP European History, in preparation for her academic aspiration of Political Science and Business Majors and has opted for Effective Speaking during the next semester.

"I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance

Never settle for the path of least resistance

Living might mean taking chances

But they're worth taking"

Her sights are set on Fordham University in Bronx, NY, the first Catholic institution of higher learning in the Northeast, where she would have the opportunity to study Art History/Music. Course description from the Fordham website, “The Department of Art History & Music plays a vital role in the intellectual life of the undergraduates, teaching students necessary skills to analyze and appreciate non-verbal modes of expression.”  Abby shared that she particularly enjoys the “lyrical emotions of hip-hop dance”.

An ultimate goal is to become Gabriella L. Moyer, Esq. Her colleges of choice include Hofstra University, School of Law, Hempstead, NY, that has recently launched two new clinics. The Clinics provide the students with the opportunity to actually practice law by providing top-notch legal transactional (non-litigation) services to the disadvantaged in the community, an invaluable experience that truly defines their legal education.  Gabby’s other preference is St. John’s University School of Law in the park-like Queens campus, which offers a rigorous and broad-based curriculum providing a solid foundation in the law and cutting edge legal issues. She has earned “priority consideration applications”, making her eligible for application fee waivers. Last summer, Gabriella was selected for the Presidential Scholarship to the Honors Program, to be one of the eleven future attorneys and judges “stepping into the courtroom” to receive some early experience during Clarion University’s “Mock Trial,” the 2006 Summer Academy, operated for high achieving high school students. She will have her first occasion to put the newly accrued training to use in the upcoming PA Statewide Mock Trial Competition, “Jamie Anderson v. Taylor Williams, a civil action that centers around cyber stalking. Her course load is a hefty one, yet she determinedly achieved Distinguished Honors in the Gifted Program throughout her H.S. academic career.

Mrs. Karen Lee Pezza, Principal of St. Mark School for the last 6 years and Gabby’s 3rd grade teacher, recalls Gabby “as an excellent student who was totally involved in school activities”. She maintained Honor Roll status, participated in Mathletes [a mathlete is to the math team as an athlete is to a sports team], and is the premier recipient of the “Eileen Waldron” Award, named for Eileen R. Dunn Waldron [1950-2003], the Guidance Counselor secretary of BHS for 10 years. The award acknowledges the student who faces adversity without complaining and manages to maintain grace, dignity and a sense of humor.

Gabriella has well honed her leadership skills. She participated in “Rising Stars”, a youth leadership development program that helps high school students develop their personal leadership skills and begin to set goals and direction for their lives. As a member of the

Mayor’s Youth Advisory Council [MYAC] she is actively involved in service clubs, community organizations and the local Borough events. On Bristol Day in October, Gabby assisted Mrs. Anna Larrissey in preparing The Wade Funeral Home on Radcliffe Street for visitors interested in the history of the house. It was established in 1992 when Mark T. Wade and his wife, Michele, took over the former Murphy Funeral Home, which had served the Lower Bucks area since the early 1900's.

Gabriella astutely decided to read the paperback her mother offered to her, The Power of Positive Thinking for Teens by Mary Lou Carney, who used Norman Vincent Peale’s biblical tenets of positive thinking as a basis for this book aimed at teens growing up in the 21st century. Her parents have owned the very successful Louis's Hair Salon on Adams Street for the last 26 years, a business started 50 years ago by Mrs. Jen Moyer’s father, Louis E. Pirri and through their example, they teach her valuable work ethic lessons on a daily basis. Mr. Harry Moyer previously enjoyed working as a woodcrafter at the Bristol Millworks that was located on Wood Street and Gabby’s mom also has worked as a bookkeeper in the Bristol Borough School District for the last 11 years.

Their well diversified student /athlete daughter recently modeled in the 2nd Annual “Evening of Elegance” at Lord & Taylor, King of Prussia which benefited Women’s Health Source of Main Line Health for Bryn Mawr, Paoli and Lankenau Hospitals.

Gabby is pictured in the “Perfect Wedding Guide”, Winter 2006-2007.

Sharon L. Dachino, Event & Wedding Planner of  “On Stage and Off” gushed, “She’s an extraordinary, extremely talented young lady who has modeled in charity events and fund raisers. She is terrific. She has even prepared and distributed flyers for Bridal shows. She never ceases to amaze me!”

"And when you get the choice to sit it out or dance

I hope you dance"

[ALL BRACKETED Lyrics Song: I Hope You Dance]

Artist: Lee Ann Womack

2000 Country Music Award [CMA] for Single Of The Year, “I Hope You Dance” is a challenge to make the most out of life.

Recommend a Spotlight: e-mail vjmrun@yahoo.com

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