The Community School: Aya O’Reilly jumped out of her comfort zone

Coming into Community School, senior Aya O’Reilly had one main goal: start doing things that scare her.

“I was a really anxious person. I was very solitary, and interacting socially with other people was really scary,” O’Reilly said. “I just set this goal for myself going into high school: I’m gonna just start doing things, because the things that I’m scared of aren’t gonna get less scary if I just sit there and stare at them.”

For a person intimidated by social interactions, theater seemed like the scariest place, so O’Reilly signed up. During her first class, she talked with her teacher about her strength of organization, and her teacher offered her the job of stage manager. O’Reilly said finding her voice through this leadership role and using it to help develop the theater program was her biggest achievement during high school.

“Over the past three years, I’ve been able to help create something that’s able to stand on its own,” O’Reilly said. “Freshman year, a lot of the seniors that were involved, I heard them talk about how they were worried (about) when they leave, what’s going to happen to this beautiful thing that they’ve created, because there’s no support systems in place. The organization was lacking. Over the past three years, I’ve been able to create that organization that was missing.”

Matthew Inman, O’Reilly’s adviser, said when she first came to Community School, she was going through a period of immense personal struggles but has since grown into a confident, assertive, capable and curious student who also is kind and empathetic.

“Aya had people around her who cared a lot, but more importantly, had a resolve and a strength to grow and get through these challenges,” Inman said.

Inman said Community School uses an approach centered on integrated, collaborative, project-based learning, while emphasizing community engagement. O’Reilly said this approach inspired her desire for community service and connection. During her time in high school, she interned with River City Youth, working in a community garden, and became heavily involved in local activism.

“I think it’s important that everybody knows that they’re a part of something bigger, and that they do have impact, and they have the ability to create change,” O’Reilly said.

O’Reilly said she plans to attend Eastern Washington University and hopes to transfer to Washington State University’s undergraduate dietetics program. Her long-term goal is to work at a residential eating disorder facility for adolescents, where she can continue to have a direct impact on others despite the career being challenging and often underpaid .

“She says to me, ‘If I save 200 people’s lives, it’s worth all the debt in the world.’ That’s the kind of kid she is,” said Jill O’Reilly, Aya O’Reilly’s mom.

Inman said Community School has full confidence that no matter where O’Reilly goes, she will continue to bring a desire to better herself and the world around her.

“Every indication is she’s going to take this next step, and I don’t know exactly what it’ll be, but I know that it’ll involve working with others, caring about how that work affects the people in the community around her and doing so in this joyful way,” Inman said.

O’Reilly said she is excited for the opportunity to continue to grow in her independence and gain more knowledge.

“I love learning,” O’Reilly said. “(I’m) a firm believer in the idea that you learn something new every day, and I want to keep being able to believe in that for as long as I can.”