Celebrate Your Senior! Dedicated Volunteer EMT To Study Nursing

RIVERHEAD, NY —For so many students who should have been enjoying senior year with prom, graduation, and other milestone events, the coronavirus crisis has meant that sadly, dreams and long-awaited celebrations have been put on hold.

Patch would like to shine a light on these amazing young people and their accomplishments; a new series "Celebrate Your Senior!" launched this week, inviting proud parents and others to spotlight the young people whose accomplishments can't be derailed by coronavirus.

Hanna and Pawel Cichy nominated their daughter Jenna Nicole Cichy, a senior at Riverhead High School.

"We are extremely proud of all her accomplishments throughout her life. She’s smart, intelligent, determined, kind-hearted, loving, and funny," they said. "Jenna has an awesome outlook on life and shares her beautiful smile with everyone, every day! She’s been asked many times why she always smiles, and her answer is, 'Why not?'"

In addition to attending Riverhead Senior High School, Jenna also attends the Eastern Long Island Academy of Applied Technology at Ward Tech, know as BOCES, they said. Jenna has been inducted into both the National Honor Society at Riverhead High School and the National Technical Honor Society at the Eastern Long Island Academy at Ward Tech, where, for two years, she has studied both clinical medical assisting and nurse assisting, courses that have "helped shape Jenna for her future career as a nurse," they said.

"She’s been asked many times why she always smiles, and her answer is, 'Why not?'"

Because of Jenna’s love for wanting to help others, her parents said, she has become a volunteer EMT at both the Flanders-Northampton Volunteer Ambulance Corps and the Riverhead Volunteer Ambulance Corps, where she has devoted most of her spare time, the Cichys said.

She’s currently taking a course through Suffolk EMS to become a certified EMT and works part-time at the local Stop & Shop in Riverhead, they added.

Jenna has been accepted to and will be attending Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY to study nursing.

Congratulations, Jenna Nicole Cichy!

To be included in "Celebrate Your Senior!" send photos and a description of why you're nominating your senior to be featured in a Patch post to Lisa.Finn@patch.com. Tell them why you're proud of them and all they've accomplished. Let's celebrate our amazing kids!