Senior Arianna Vranas remembers touching her hair for the last time.

This was the moment that Vranas had been waiting for since middle school. Yet, with her bald head, she was scared of being criticized by others.

But as the razor buzzed closer to her head, Vranas was overcome by the support of her cheering peers.

Last year, Vranas raised over $8,000 for the St. Baldrick’s Foundation. And in March, she will relive the experience by shaving her head once again.

“I had such an amazing experience last year,” Vranas said. “I knew I wanted to do it again. Why not?”

St. Baldrick’s is a foundation dedicated to raising money for pediatric cancer research. This year, Naperville North has 44 students and teachers who will be shaving their heads on March 15 to support the cause.

“I was really happy I shaved my head,” Vranas said. “I have a lot of people in my life who have either passed away from cancer or are going through therapy right now.”

Vranas’ fundraising efforts led her to become the top high school student within the Chicagoland area.

“St. Baldrick’s sends me an email or letter every month thanking me for helping the cause,” Vranas said. “Over the summer, I received a plaque from them telling me that I raised the most money in the area.”

Along with Vranas, humanities teacher Ryan Dengel will also be shaving his head for the fourth year. He takes a unique approach to fundraising.

“I grow my hair and my beard, and then I tell my classes that the class who raises the most money gets to shave my hair and my beard as awkwardly as possible,” Dengel said.

He then promises to stay with the haircut for a day before getting his head shaved.

“This year, my students get to make a laundry list of ten crazy things I have to do before I get my head shaved,” Dengel said.

Although Dengel makes his fundraising efforts light-hearted, he also understands the significance behind the fundraiser.

“The best part of the event is seeing the students’ genuine excitement about helping people they may not know,” Dengel said. “It’s an important thing to talk about. Cancer is unfortunately going to impact many of us at some point.”

Freshman Shannon Jennings also decided to shave her head for St. Baldrick’s this year with her friend. Although Jennings is looking forward to raising money and being bald, she has some worries.

“I know that people are going to make comments or be confused on why I’m bald,” Jennings said. “I know that I have to be positive and make it a good outcome. We definitely want to give back.”

Vranas strongly abides by the St. Baldricks statement, “Brave the Shave.” She said that many seniors aren’t shaving their heads this year because of prom and other events. Vranas did not let this stop her.

“Shaving your head does so much more than wearing a T-shirt or donating,” Vranas said. “It makes a statement, and it’s very empowering to be able to shave your head for such an amazing cause.”