Meet the 2011 Graduates: Caitlin Cline

Lifelong borough resident and 17-year-old senior Caitlin Cline is finally embarking on the career she's dreamed about since age 8.

"My dad was diagnosed with cancer when I was 8 years old," said Cline of her father, who is still battling the disease today. "And as a little girl, I used to go with my dad to his radiologist's office. From my first visit, I was fascinated by radiologic machinery and how things like that could help someone get better.

"But my initial reaction, before the fascination began, was fear," she said of radiology equipment. "As a child, seeing all those huge machines made me  scared that they'd hurt my dad.

"My father's radiologist saw my nervousness and leaned down to comfort me, explaining the machines would actually help my dad," said Cline. "At that moment, I decided I'd be a radiologist someday. I'd be the doctor comforting a scared child, helping a patient beat cancer."

Cline's vision is finally materializing, and she's enrolled in Camden County College's (CCC) X-ray technician program for the coming fall semester.

"I'm going to attend Camden County College for two years. I chose CCC because it's cheaper, for one. And two, I'll be nearby, so I can still help with my responsibilities at home, helping my dad through his cancer treatment," she said.

After CCC, Cline plans to transfer to a four-year school.

"I will start medical school after CCC," she said of her dreams of becoming a doctor, specializing in radiology. "I'd also like to work at Cooper (University) Hospital while I'm in med school."

It's that same, steadfast determination to achieve that's helped Cline balance her many responsibilities at .

Besides playing lacrosse for three years, she spent high school juggling activities like theatre, choir,  National Foreign Honors Society, Interact, Club, Student Council, Unity Club, REBEL, Prayer Club, even acting as president of the German Club.

The hardest thing about senior year, said Cline, was balancing schoolwork, extracurriculars, and a job busing tables at restaurant. 

"But the easiest part of senior year was having that positive mindset, of knowing it was my last year, that everything was about to change, and being ready for it," she said. 

To next year's graduating class, Cline suggests keeping constant focus on schoolwork, not losing track or procrastinating, and not succumbing to senioritis.

When asked to describe Cline, Collingswood High School Principal Edward T. Hill lit up, grinning.

"Every day, when I see Caitlin, it brings a smile to my face," said Hill. "Her personality, and her manner in school, just brightens any setting—the classroom, the theatre, and all the programs in which she's involved. It's been a pleasure seeing her perform in our musicals, and she brings that talent to our daily life at school. She's going to go far."