Rabia Picentini has not stood back to watch City College change around her. Rather, she’s been deeply involved in change and evolution with the students at the college.

Since her start in the fall of 2005, Picentini has been hugely active in creating and managing clubs, and participating in other extracurricular activities at City College and in the Santa Barbara area. She hopes she can continue serving her community throughout her professional careers after college.

This semester, Picentini has been the co-chair of the Inter Club Council as well as a member and former treasurer of the Video Game Club. She described the Game Fest event as “pretty amazing.” The club hosted it on April 25 and saw about 80 gamers stake out in the cafeteria with their computers or other gaming consoles.

She’s also involved in Phi Theta Kappa at City College.

The Video Game club is very important to Picentini. With 200 members on its roster, and 100 “active” members as she describes them, it’s become a group effort.

“We’ve become a family-a dysfunctional family,” she said while trying to stifle a laugh. “I met my boyfriend there, and other people who met there are getting marred. It’s become our own little community.”

Picentini already has her future career plans mapped out as she pursues ventures in law and community service. Creating the Thymus Club, a law club, with a friend two years ago set her up for her major in political science at the University of California, Santa Barbara starting in the fall.

“My goal is that, after I’m a lawyer, is to become a judge,” Picentini said. “After that I’ll think about going into a political realm. Government has changed into a monarch-type and I think people need to have more fundamental rights preserved.”

Already she’s helping families in the Santa Barbara community through Habitat for Humanity. Twice a week Picentini works with the organization on projects around Santa Barbara, and will be starting another one in June. She said it’s something she’s wanted to do for a long time.

Picentini, who was born in Santa Barbara, spent eight years living in Mexico and 10 in Antigua before coming to City College. While always educated in public schools, she didn’t know what to expect in college. But she believes City College continues to evolve as a strong community, one that she’s embraced as a family.

“It’s really about the people,” she said.