If you have walked through the halls and heard laughter or seen a burst of energy, you have met senior Bella Starr. She describes herself as caring, busy and bubbly which are three words which fit her personality.
Starr has been part of theatre since the fourth grade; it’s her creative outlet and place where multiple of her closest friendships began. Theatre is where she feels free to express herself and connect with others who share her passion.
“It’s always been a great creative space for me,” Starr said. “It’s where I met most of my best friends.”
Starr and her best friend, Elena White, met through theatre. The two starred in “The Dining Room.”
“She is the kindest leader I have ever met. She’s in a space where she often isn’t respected for her leadership, but she still leads with kindness and gets things done because people admire her, and it ends up in amazing things happening.” White said.
Her involvement at school extends far beyond the stage. Starr serves as student body president for the Student Council, a position that keeps her schedule full but also gives her a sense of purpose.
“I get to work with so many amazing people and help our community. STUCO is such a welcoming and kind space that allows us to impact others through drives, pep rallies, and school spirit,” Starr said.
Starr is enrolled in three Journalism classes, where she holds a leadership role as head of PR and marketing for The Beacon, the school’s magazine. She manages and designs social media, including a full rebrand she created over the summer. Her passion for media grew from her experience in journalism, which led her to take on another major role, chief editor of The Online Beacon. She redesigned parts of the website herself and continues to manage a small team of writers.
When she earned the title of chief editor, it was one of her proudest moments. “As a dyslexic student, I never thought I could edit a whole website,” Starr’26 said. “I’m proud of all the work I’ve done.”
On top of her other commitments, Starr is the co-executive producer of ‘Tangy Today, the school’s broadcast program. The studio is where she discovered her interest in journalism and production, a field she plans to pursue after graduation. Her dream is to study journalism and broadcasting at Ohio University, with hopes of eventually working in broadcast news.
“I mean every single day when I walk in here, I have her first and second period, and every single day she’s in a good mood, like I genuinely never walk in here and she’s never not in a good mood,” Ellie Macdowell said.
She explains her drive for leadership began with competitiveness but stayed rooted in community. “I’ll be honest, part of why I strive for leadership is because I love to win, but the reason I stayed was the people I met, so many amazing people, and I learned from them,” Starr said.
Starr’s favorite memories are from moments when her work and community came together. She recalls leading her first rally and when she performed her final fall play, “Clue: Onstage”.
“That final bow into the senior circle was emotional. I had acted in every fall show since freshman year,” Starr said.
One of her best friends, Maria Karim, described her as “hardworking and genuine. She is one of the kindest people I’ve ever met. She puts her energy into everything she cares about, especially her friends,” Karim said.
“Bella is heavily motivated by success. She’s worked really hard for everything she gets, and the success of seeing her hard work pay off is what motivates her when things get hard,” White Said. “You can see how when things go well, it motivates her to work even harder for the next thing.”
Her advice for younger students is, “Believe the wind will take you where the wind will go, don’t spend high school trying to find your part, life will find it for you,” Starr said.
