Cheering for the basketball team, playing a right-side hitter, outside, and back row positions in volleyball, throwing the discus and shot put for track and field, and participating in Mock Trial as well as Teen Institute seems like a heavy workload, but Maggie Zurn takes it all on. Zurn’s schedule demands tenacity, especially for a freshman.

Zurn showcases her leadership abilities through her involvement in many different sports and extracurricular activities her freshman year.
Zurn acknowledges the difficulty of managing all of her extracurriculars as well as her schedule but still manages to find time for each activity.

“It’s hard, it takes a lot of time management and knowing what you’re committed to at a certain time, and when you make an engagement you know what to prioritize. I do them all because I like them all for different reasons,” Zurn said.

Zurn’s motivation to maintain her busy schedule comes from the people around her, as well as herself.

“I don’t like disappointing [my] parents, my teachers, myself, or my friends. That pushes me. I don’t want to say [I am] a perfectionist, but I have my moments,” Zurn said.

Zurn’s ambitions after high school turn to studying law and business, driven by her aptitude for guiding others.

“I think it would be pretty cool to go into politics. I want to get a law degree and a business degree. I like politics and I know I want to help someone or people in general. And I know that sounds kind of like a cliche, but I like using my voice and I think I’m a pretty good natural leader,” Zurn said.

Zurn met Bonnie Simonelli through her involvement in the PANDA club (Preventing And Neutralizing Drugs and Alcohol) before she became president of the club last year.

“I met Mrs. Simonelli in fifth grade with Too Good for Drugs and then throughout middle school I did PANDA, then [during] my eighth grade year I was the PANDA president. It’s just something I think is really important, especially in our area, where heroin abuse and drug abuse is such a prominent issue,” Zurn said.

After knowing her for four years, Simonelli considers Zurn a leader who is well aware of her limits.

“She’s very articulate and on top of things. She’s very passionate about the things she gets involved in. She is definitely a leader, but a quiet leader. She’ll take on leadership roles, but she’s not bossy. She’s very productive in her leadership roles and getting other people and giving other people credit,” Simonelli said.

From an early age, Zurn possessed a powerful voice and leadership skills, but she had to learn how to utilize them effectively.

“My parents always said I had a very powerful voice and influence on people and I just needed to learn how to use it in the right way. When I hit middle school, I stopped caring as much what other people thought of me and just [started] being the best me that I could be,” Zurn said.

Simonelli considers Zurn’s speaking abilities a gift that Zurn worked to develop.

“All the energy she had in Bath she turned into positive energy. She took something negative and she turned it into her gift,” Simonelli said.

Zurn’s volleyball coach, Emily Sokolowski, detailed Zurn’s versatility on the court as a junior varsity player.

“We only had seven girls on the team, so she played all the way around. She was mainly our right side sitter, but she did play outside as well. She also had to serve and play back row for us,” Sokolowski said.

Sokolowski changed Zurn’s position often, giving Zurn an opportunity to quickly adapt to many different situations.

“I changed her position so many times and she just had the best attitude about it and really made every position shine. She is always a leader on the court and was always able to keep the positivity, motivation, and cheering going,” Sokolowski said.

Although Simonelli meets with numerous new students every year, she says she will remember Zurn for her dedication.

“There are students that [I] will always remember and always have a special place for and Maggie is one of them because she’s so dedicated and has so many gifts and uses them so well,” Simonelli said.

Zurn continues to dedicate herself to her rigorous schedule and remains hopeful for her three remaining years at Revere.