Student named state volleyball 'Player of the Year'
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Mina Baban with coach Roger Anderson PHOTO/KEN POWERS

Westborough - In the hustle and bustle during the five minutes between classes at Westborough High School (WHS), senior Mina Baban, bookbag slung over her shoulder, looks like every other high school student in any given hallway.

While her academic accomplishments are exemplary, including a 4.3 grade-point average, her behavior in the classroom doesn't stand out either, as she sits quietly, participates in subject discussions and turns in her homework on time.

A transformation occurs in Baban, however, when she traverses the few feet of the hallway between classroom and gymnasium. The classroom Baban has given way to the on-court volleyball-playing presence of a very different person.

"'Determined' is the word that I think of when I think of Mina," WHS Assistant Principal Brian Callaghan said.

Callaghan served as the Rangers' athletic director for Baban's first three years at the school before moving to his position as assistant principal at the beginning of this academic year.

"She's a very determined young lady in all of her aff airs," he said, "but especially on the volleyball court."

This fall Baban helped WHS capture the Division 2 state volleyball title, the first state title for a girls team in school history, and for her eff orts she was named the Gatorade Massachusetts Volleyball Player of the Year.

"I couldn't believe it when I found out," Baban said. "There are a lot of really, really good volleyball players in Massachusetts. I play on a club team with Emily Harburg, who plays at Harvard now. She won the award last year when she played at Brookline High. I never imagined I'd even be up for the award, let alone win it."

The 5-foot-8 Baban, who plays the position of setter, helped the Rangers to a 23-1 record and in the process collected 618 assists, 88 digs, 83 kills and 41 aces. She was an all-state selection by the coaches association her junior and senior years.

"She's the best volleyball player I've ever coached," WHS coach Roger Anderson said. "You know how Tom Brady makes Bill Belichick a better coach, well it's the same for me having had Mina here for the last four years."

As fondly as Baban looks at her time at WHS, she is looking excitedly toward her time at New York University (NYU), the next stop on her educational journey, where she will be a member of the prestigious Tisch School for the Arts.

"I can't wait," Baban said. "I've been interested in film as far back as I can remember. My first memories are of watching movies. When I was 10 I got a camera as a present and I've pretty much been making movies non-stop ever since."

Baban said NYU has always been her first choice.

"I wanted a place where I could play volleyball and major in film, and I pretty much narrowed my choices down to NYU and Syracuse," Baban said, "but I really was hoping for NYU. When I got my notification that I had been accepted I was so excited."

Baban sees a role for herself behind the camera, possibly as a director or a director of photography. She said many NYU graduates return to the school to teach and give seminars, including Academy-Award winning directors such as Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee.

"How cool will that be?" Baban asked. "Taking a class taught by Martin Scorsese or Spike Lee and maybe getting a chance to hang out with them?"