Written by Charlie Palmer, CHS 2024
Rayya Haider was awarded the Omaha Central Female Student of the Year as a graduate of the class of 2023. She was born April 5th, 2005, and has lived in Omaha all her life. Rayya succeeded in academia at Central through her hard work as an IB student, her involvement in DECA, being a leader as NHS President, and many other achievements. Outside of the classroom, Rayya likes to go to the gym, watch TV shows with her siblings, and play tennis with her friends and family.
Family plays a large role in Rayya’s life when it comes to getting advice or motivation to keep pushing. Rayya explains, “Both of my parents inspire me to succeed. My dad always emphasizes the importance of academics to me and just working hard in general. My mom had to raise three kids, so her college career had to be stretched and I would always see her tired. I’ve realized how hard she works and finally she has become a pharmacist. She just inspires me to continue.”
Rayya is very grateful for her interactions and experiences with Central teachers, DECA, and IB. She first wanted to acknowledge her marketing teacher, Michaela Kavanagh.
“I want to shoutout Ms. Kavanagh for being there for me for three years. I wanted to join DECA sophomore year, and I was only one of two sophomores who joined marketing that year. She noticed that I wanted to be very involved in DECA and helped walk me through any project I was working on. But she also let me grow on my own and didn’t control me.”
DECA allowed Rayya to further explore her interests in business while also making meaningful connections. She elucidates, “It wasn’t only just competitions that made me feel good but also traveling and networking with other students in DECA. I made so many friends through DECA, not only at Central but at other schools too.”
DECA also helped Rayya to achieve her vision of holding a multi-cultural fashion show for all students, called Central Roots.
“I was able to put on a multi-cultural fashion show that started off as a DECA project, something I wanted to do ever since I was a freshman. I wanted to create a positive event that celebrated the diversity of our school where anyone could join.” Alongside DECA, Rayya was appreciative of the IB Program for guiding her to success through challenge.
“IB really opened a door for me to get a global perspective and education because I was learning the same content as students my age who lived in other countries around the world. I recommend it to anyone. It was hard, but at the same time, it was so worth it. The teachers were really good and helped me out a lot. It was the perfect balance of being pushed but not overworked for me.”
Rayya’s favorite part about Central is its diversity. Many of her fondest memories come from exploring and learning about the variety of cultures and backgrounds at Central. She explains, “I was lucky enough to experience Central’s diversity in three significant ways. One was recognizing Central’s tie to the Refugee Empowerment Center while selling Project Refuge lotion candles during lunch periods for my week-long community project in junior year. The second way was witnessing the students’ different ethnicities and nationalities in my multicultural fashion show, Central Roots. The third way was participating in weekly THRIVE meetings to just simply make new friends and hang out with minorities that shared similar and different cultures than me.”
Throughout her experience at Central, Rayya also gained a lot of insight on what it means to be a leader, “I learned that if I wanted to lead others, I had to start from the bottom first. Freshman and sophomore year I was merely a member in all of these clubs. No matter what club you are in, or how much of an expert you think you are before you join, you have to start from the bottom and stay involved before you can rise to the top to lead others.”
Ever since she was a freshman at Central, Rayya dreamed of getting into the University of Pennsylvania. After years of academic success at Central, Rayya worked very hard on her application to UPenn and has since been accepted. She will attend the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business and intends to earn a degree in economics. Additionally, she plans to earn a degree in international studies from the University of Pennsylvania College of Arts and Sciences.
Rayya reveals that within the next ten years “I want to work in the government sector of multiple countries and study the economics of different countries. I want to help find solutions to countries experiencing economic problems. Wherever the wind takes me and wherever I fall into the future, I just want to excel in that field.”
