Pacifica Stories

Bianca Iker, a Pacifica junior, shines in academics and extracurricular activities. She is an accomplished athlete, competing on the cross country and track teams, and is a dedicated member of our STEM Scholars program. At the start of the school year, she lent her incredible voice to sing the Alma Mater, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” at Pacifica’s dedication ceremony. Academically, Bianca stands out as an exemplary student, embodying Pacifica’s core values of engagement, curiosity, fortitude, and kindness. Her commitment and talent make her a remarkable representative of her school community, whether on stage, in the classroom, or on the field. In addition to all of these qualities and achievements, Bianca is a member of National Children’s Chorus– a Grammy award-winning children’s choir consisting of 1,000 choristers between the ages of five and eighteen. 

Bianca has been singing in the NCC for 11 years, beginning when she was only five years old after receiving a recommendation from her preschool teacher. Bianca says she has stayed with the NCC for two main reasons:

“First, the NCC helped grow my love for singing over the years because of the memorable and beautiful songs they choose and the happy environment they always have with conductors who love what they do and want to pass that on to the kids,” said Bianca. “Second, the NCC has helped instill a sense of discipline into me because of the schedule of going to practice every Sunday for two hours. I will forever thank the NCC for the helpful skills they have given me because I will use them and apply this discipline and love for what I do in other areas of my life, and I hope to pass on this love for singing to others.”

Bianca’s musical talent has given her many opportunities to travel and use her vocal gift on prestigious stages all over the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York where she performed with the NCC in May 2024, as well as multiple NCC International Tours. This past summer, they traveled to Norway and Sweden on their 7th NCC International Tour. Bianca says that she treasures these travel experiences because they give her different perspectives of the world that she hasn’t gotten yet, and that are vastly different than learning about from books and lessons. Of all her years in the NCC, her most memorable experience was on their 5th International Tour, where she went to the border of North and South Korea to sing a song of peace to the generals on both sides.

“This is so memorable for me because of how rare and unique this opportunity was because no average person wakes up to sing in front of North and South Korean generals at the border, expressing how they should instill peace between each other,” said Bianca. “Having the ability to see such a restricted area just felt so special because only a handful of people get to do this, and I was lucky enough to be one of them. Through this experience, I also gained a new point of view that even though there are differences between both sides, they were brought together by a song of peace.”

We are incredibly proud to have Bianca at Pacifica, where her talents inside and outside of the school are celebrated. She says that she loves the supportive environment at the school where students genuinely care for each other and her passions are encouraged with resources and guidance to help her succeed. Bianca says that Pacifica is “a place where you feel motivated to do your best because the school believes in your potential.”