Breighana Sahagian

When Breighana Sahagian went to her junior prom last year, she wore a tuxedo. ``People thought we were the cutest couple ever," said the 18-year-old Marlborough resident.

Her date was female.

Sahagian's openness about her sexuality and her vibrant personality have paved a path for other gay students at Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School to ``come out" without shame.

This year another girl went to the prom in a tuxedo with her girlfriend.

``Breighana is very open about her sexuality, but she does not flaunt it," said Henry Viles, a digital media instructor at the Marlborough school. ``She accepts people as they are, and people accept Breighana as she is. It's very difficult for a young person to be that open about their sexuality. She has made it easier for other students."

Sahagian said she was 13 when she admitted to herself she was gay. ``I was very homophobic before I accepted that I was a lesbian, probably because I wasn't ready to say that I was myself. I actually made fun of people who were gay. It was horrible."

Breaking the news to her mother was uncomfortable, but went better than she had feared.

When one of her close friends came out at 14, her parents disowned her. ``She went to live in a group foster home for gay/lesbian teens whose parents no longer want them. People accepted her, she made friends, and went through counseling." The girl and her parents have since reconciled.

Such stories often come up at meetings of the school's Gay/Straight Alliance. The Tolerance/Acceptance/Diversity group has about 50 members. Members talk about their parents, incidents at school, and their own coming-out stories. They have held fund-raisers to support the Youth Pride parade in Boston and created a youth pride T-shirt.

``Many of the members are straight and come to support their friends," Sahagian said.

Sahagian, who will attend Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester this fall, has also left her mark on Assabet as a shrewd businesswoman. She serves as executive officer of the school's digital media program, which has worked on websites and graphic design for such companies as New Balance and LuLu's Lobsters of Maine.

Concerned that some clients were taking advantage of students by fishing for free designs, she helped redraft the program's contract to require partial payment before work is delivered.

Sahagian is also a member of the Principal Leadership Team, a group of 20 students chosen to help identify problems in school before they get out of hand. Thanks in part to their efforts, several freshmen who were bringing alcohol on campus ended up in court.