Sparked by the inspiration of an influential teacher and passion about her topic, Calhoun High School senior Bianca Liriano authored and published a children’s book about anxieties surrounding test taking.

Liriano recently addressed fellow students from the district’s Prep program about the messaging in her book, “This Test Does Not Define You.”

“Testing anxiety is an incessant sensation that plagues even the brightest of students,” Liriano said. “This high test anxiety … inevitably lowers test scores, allowing for an inaccurate representation of a student’s academic ability. We should all just try our best, as the test results do not define who you are.”

The idea was born out of a Student Council meeting about ways to honor the late history teacher, Doug Smestad. Liriano then tied this into her Girl Scout Gold Award, which is the highest honor earned for a Girl Scout. A longtime Girl Scout, Liriano is even featured on the cover of the Tagalongs cookie box.
While Liriano said it required quite an effort on her part, the process was completed fairly quickly.

“You have to write the book, then have people help you edit it, draw things for you, get information from a publishing website and then there was getting it on Amazon,” she explained.

A planned communications major, Liriano advised fellow students to “write about something you’re passionate about.”

The book is available via Amazon.com for $6.