Senior Spotlight: Meet Whatcom County's 2024 graduates

Q&A with graduates from Whatcom County Schools

June 2024 | Photos and words by Hailey Hoffman at cascadiadaily.com

How do you stay active?

Drama club. Soccer, skiing and basketball. The reason why I like basketball is because I want to be on the court, and I like shooting all threes.

What do you like about Unified sports?

It’s like family. When I don’t know what to do, I talk to my Unified coach, and he tells me what to do out there and play all kinds of plays. If I’m ever feeling down or something like that, my teammates are supportive and I can talk to them a lot.

A video of you got millions of views online. How’d that happen?

At one of my basketball games, one of my teacher’s sons dared me to do the worm. He said that once I make that shot, I should do the worm. So I made that shot, and when I was halfway down the court, I did the worm. I thought it was really funny, and then it went viral.

What was your favorite play from your time in drama?

A favorite musical, actually. My favorite musical was ‘Cinderella.’ I liked being part of ‘Cinderella’ because it’s fun to be in that drama community. I was part of the ensemble.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

When I was on the cheer team, I was the person who was running the flag, and I felt like the crowd went wild. I was running and the crowd did the wave, and I loved that.

What hurdles have you overcome in high school?

I have Down syndrome, so for me, it’s really hard to do my classwork. I feel like all my teachers are helping me out with my accommodations. I need that kind of support, but it was fun. I feel like the teachers, staff and friends believed in me. But, I don’t have too many friends to hang out with outside of school. Everyone’s nice to me at school, but I wish I had a circle of friends to do things with on the weekend or to go to school dances with.

How do you feel about graduation?

I feel like it’s really nice to graduate, get my diploma and going across the stage to throw my hat up in the air.

How do you feel about leaving your family?

It’s fun to ditch them, actually. But, it’s going to be sad. It’s going to be OK because it’s going to be more exciting to go to college.

How do you feel about leaving Sehome?

I’m sad/happy. I’m going to explain my sad reason first and then my happy reason. My sad reason is I’m going to miss a lot of my friends down here, and teachers and staff members. The happy reason that I want to leave is because I want to do stuff by myself and learn from my mistakes.

How do you stay active?

Drama club. Soccer, skiing and basketball. The reason why I like basketball is because I want to be on the court, and I like shooting all threes.

What do you like about Unified sports?

A video of you got millions of views online. How’d that happen?

What was your favorite play from your time in drama?

A favorite musical, actually. My favorite musical was ‘Cinderella.’ I liked being part of ‘Cinderella’ because it’s fun to be in that drama community. I was part of the ensemble.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

When I was on the cheer team, I was the person who was running the flag, and I felt like the crowd went wild. I was running and the crowd did the wave, and I loved that.

What hurdles have you overcome in high school?

How do you feel about graduation?

I feel like it’s really nice to graduate, get my diploma and going across the stage to throw my hat up in the air.

How do you feel about leaving your family?

It’s fun to ditch them, actually. But, it’s going to be sad. It’s going to be OK because it’s going to be more exciting to go to college.

How do you feel about leaving Sehome?

How’d you get involved with Technology Club?

In the beginning of high school, it was really hard getting back in, especially with the COVID-19 stuff. I’ve just always been pretty anxious, so when I found the Technology Club, it was just a place that I could be myself and find other people like me. Our IT director made the club. His name is Owen Craig, and he’s been really welcoming and kind. It’s been really fun, makes high school so much better.

I started sophomore year. I saw posters, and I was interested because, you know, video games. There were all these boys playing video games, and Mr. Craig comes up and talks to me. I just instantly felt like I could belong.

We do lots of stuff. There are video games and there’s also design. We put together social media posts. We also record [videos] for local businesses and companies. We also compete in state for video games, esports.

What do you do in esports?

I play on the ‘Valorant’ team. You find a team, and you’re connected with other players. We have a coach, and we go over team tactics. Most of it is like building a friendship with each other. [We play] a shooting game, just fighting another team. We play it, and we compete against different schools. We were pretty close to getting to state this year.

What advice would you have for a younger student?

You have to search for your place in life. If you’re ever feeling down, maybe just go find a new place to go, or a new club to join. There can be some really nice people out there, you know, when you don’t expect it.

How do you feel about graduating?

I have the worst senioritis right now. It’s super bad. Then, I know I’m scared because it’ll be just so different getting out of here. I’ll miss the school and the community of people. I’ve tried to plan it out very clearly, but I know I’m going to miss it.

Why do you want to be a nurse?

I feel like I have a good connection with understanding how a lot of people feel. I just want to help people out because in school, I was anxious. I want to help people out when they feel those feelings.

How are you feeling about graduation?

If you asked me a year ago, I wouldn’t have thought I would be graduating. But also, I would have been like, ‘Heck yeah, let me graduate. Let me be done.’ Now that I’m really close to it, I’m kind of sad, especially since I just switched schools. I really like it here, and I wish I had more time here.

What was the switch like?

It was so much better … I went from basically not showing up at school at all to showing up every day.

What was your early high school experience like?

It was pretty much COVID-19. I mean, it happened in eighth grade, and that was kind of hard. I had just lost my grandfather before COVID, so things were already pretty difficult. Then going into high school, I had a few friends and I knew people, but I just didn’t have connections with people. If I did, they ended up breaking off. That might have been because of me, because I wasn’t really doing well mentally and [that] can reflect on other people. It was kind of difficult for a while.

What advice would you give to yourself a year ago?

Probably just to not give up, just to keep going.

Why are you interested in being a wildland firefighter?

I’m currently in a fire and EMS class through Northwest Career and Technical Academy. I have family who did firefighting, and then my sister was also in the same fire class that I am [in] now, so that introduced me to it. I really wanted to get away from the multiple classes I had. I was struggling a lot. I had lots of anxiety and other mental health issues. My sister did FITE, she enjoyed it and I’m going to do firefighting. It might be a good idea to just try it out, see if it’s something I actually want to pursue. You’re able to experience a lot of things that most people aren’t able to, especially at such a young age. We get to go to a drill tower; we get to put on real firefighting gear. At the end of the year, we do a real live fire that is supervised, but that’s really fun.

I have always had a love for helping other people, animals, things, the environment, and I feel like just a while doing wildland is a very rewarding job. I get to kind of do all those things.

What do you have to do moving forward?

I’ve already got all my certifications that I need at 17, so I just had to apply. We had a Zoom class to just refresh our memories and go over some safety stuff. In June, we will have a physical test and field day. So, we get to meet each other and we’ll get to see our station in Alder Creek, Washington. We typically respond to places like Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California.

How does it feel that six months from now you could be out fighting real fires?

I’m excited, but I’m not going to lie — it is a bit nerve-wracking. It is a pretty dangerous job. Lots of things can happen. You always have to be aware of what’s going on.

What are you most excited for?

I’d say meeting new people and also, obviously, putting out fires.

Tell me about your involvement with media arts.

I am involved with Blackhawks Studios with Mr. [Lorne] Gripp and Mr. Nate [Kamkoff]. We are doing a project, a mini movie. It’s going to be a horror comedy. I’m one of the main characters, Darwin. What I like about it is I can’t stop smiling. Each time we’re doing a shoot for the video, when I’m being chased down by Bigfoot, I feel the natural need to smile.

It was my main purpose to learn animation, since I do a lot of drawings. Ever since I’ve been doing the Blackhawk Talk, I just found there’s a new version of me that I never knew about myself. I am very shy, but I like to smile to bring people together.

What do you like about being in front of the camera?

I feel like being a different person, where I can be someone who people want to watch. I have that [instinct] to bring people together.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I have to say my cousin Nate [Kamkoff]. He really impacted me because he made me push my boundaries. He [says] to me, ‘You can do this’ and ‘You really did your best in there.’ He makes sure I do great because I overthink a lot.

What obstacles have you overcome in high school?

Some obstacles I’ve been going through is that I don’t need to hide my feelings, instead of keep holding it in until I can leave the class. I can go somewhere to talk about my feelings. Not a lot of schools do this, except for here. They let me go to the counselors or my therapist once I get my work done.

What do you look forward to most after graduation?

I have to say that I am finally getting my life plan together. After I’m stable enough and have the right mental health, I want to have kids in the future. That’s one of my dreams. What I’ve learned from my life is not a lot of people take their mental health seriously when they’re having their family because it can lead to a really bad situation at home. I want to be better for my kids.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Yes, you’re angry for not getting the childhood that you wanted, but you can always make a good life out of it after you leave a bad home. You don’t have to be like what your family is to you in your eyes. If you don’t know what’s going on with your homes, just know that you got friends who support you outside your home. You can live for them and live happy.

How’d you get involved with FFA?

With FFA, I’ve done vet science and trap shooting. I started doing it my freshman year of COVID-19. I hated it. It was all tests, it was all in front of the computer and there wasn’t any fun in it. My adviser was like, ‘Stay with it. Just try it one more year when it comes back to normal.’ And, I absolutely loved it. We were doing hands-on clinicals. Even with the stuffed animals, it’s still fun. So I stuck with it.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

I think a memory of mine is probably when I first started doing trap shooting. [Brent] Feller, the adviser, said to my parents that I was the quietest girl he’s ever met. Now, he talks about how he can’t get me to shut up. Everybody’s turned me into a very talkative person. I feel comfortable there. To me, that’s cool — how much FFA has brought out of me. I’m now FFA president for this year. If you told me freshman year that I would have run for officer, I would have said, ‘No, that wasn’t me. Someone else, another Gracie. I didn’t do that.’

What hurdles have you overcome in high school?

I’m Type 1 diabetic. It’s hard to act like a normal kid with that. It’s nothing I have to hide from, but I got burned out last year and ended up in the hospital several times over summer. [I] crashed a car because of it. That was so hard for me and it was like two weeks before the last day of school.

What are you most nervous about post-high school?

The unknown. So much can happen. You’re not following a schedule like you are at high school. You get to make all the decisions on your own. You’re an adult. There’s too much unknown. We’re so used to schedules, and now you’re just out there doing your own thing.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Try more things. Get out there. Don’t be so nervous about talking to others. I was so shy in my first two years here. I wouldn’t talk to teachers, I wouldn’t talk to other people unless I already knew them from middle school. Just get out there, talk to people and meet new people.

Why do you want to stay in Whatcom County?

The people I have around me, the friendships, my family. I don’t want it to be day after graduation and I never see them again. I want to still hang out with my friends, still see them.

What do you like about singing and performing in theater?

I just like being a different person because sometimes being yourself can be difficult. Being someone and having that change of pace and trying to inhabit somebody else is super fun. I do have stage fright, so it’s kind of ironic that my favorite thing to do is perform on stage in front of hundreds of people. It’s a very vulnerable thing.

Do you have a favorite show?

Honestly, I don’t know because I’ve done a whole lot. I have favorites for different things. I directed my own show, so that one was fun. I really loved ‘Mamma Mia’ because it was my last one, and ‘Into the Woods’ was when I first got into the directing side.

Do you have a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I would say Ms. T [Olivia Theilemann]. She’s … I don’t know. She’s Ms. T. She’s smiling every day and she sees past what most people see in students. She can feel the energy in us. I don’t know how to explain it. She understands that we have more than just school going on, and she shows respect towards us, and we give that back to her. Then, Ms. Allison Traff — she’s our career and GEAR UP (Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs) specialist. She helps [us] through our [post-graduation] transitions. She’s helped us fill[ing] out scholarships, applying for colleges and pretty much anything else you can think of.

How did COVID-19 impact your high school experience?

Honestly, I was a little bummed. I was excited for this new thing to happen in my life, but I think it honestly helped with my schoolwork. In middle school, I was a terrible student. I didn’t care. Then, I realized I needed to put in the work. Freshman year showed me that I found my love for learning and for teaching. I had to teach myself because my teachers could only do so much online. I like to think that COVID helped me find my love for teaching.

Why do you want to be a teacher?

It’s because of my brother. The education system kind of pushed him aside because he learned a little bit differently. COVID really hurt him. I want to make sure that no student feels pushed aside. He inspired me to be a teacher because I don’t want anyone to feel the way that he did.

What hurdles have you overcome in high school?

Honestly just mental health. It’s been a big struggle. I think everybody, especially in high school, they go through it. It’s hard to juggle school, your mental health work, after school, extracurriculars and everything in general. Trying to find time for yourself and take care of yourself is hard.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t dye your hair as much as you did. And if I could talk to my elementary school self, don’t get that pixie cut you said you wanted. Don’t do it. It’s not worth it. But, I would probably say to just keep trying. Don’t let yourself give up, even though it’s hard and you want to.

What inspired you to get ahead in school?

My parents sat me down one time, and my dad told me how it’d be kind of a disappointment for him if he saw his child working alongside him in a field [after] he came to the United States. That opened my eyes. He came here to give me opportunities. It’s a lot of pressure, and I understand it, too. That’s why I did Whatcom. I want to take all the hardest courses I can if it means I’m able to secure my path and become a mechanical engineer.

How does it feel to be the first person in your family to graduate high school?

I can’t believe it yet. I’m still trying to get there, but I’m very happy. I know my parents are. I think they were kind of shocked that I have plans to go to a four-year university.

I have four siblings. They’re all younger than me, so I guess I’m trying to set an example. Part of me feels like I have some pressure on me because I have to do good in college because I’m the first one. But, another part of me is like, ‘Dude, you’ve done something that no one in your family has ever done.’ I’m very happy.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

I think, trying to build a bridge out of pasta noodles. It’s very hard with just glue and pasta noodles. It was for an engineering course. We had to see how much it could hold in Newtons. Throughout our process, we made a bunch of mistakes, so we had to improvise. Our initial bridge design was not how the ending was.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

There’s a lot of them. Mr. [Christopher] Johnson — he was my Spanish teacher for three years. He is very resourceful, and he gave me a bunch of advice for beyond high school. Then, Mr. [David] Lewis who was my science teacher for Earth, Matter and Motion. He was one of the teachers that got me interested in science, particularly space. There’s been other teachers I’ve only had for like one trimester who have been a bunch of help — Mrs. [Erin] DeRoco, or Mr. [Justin] Thibault, Mrs. [Ginny] Sullivan.

Why do you want to study mechanical engineering?

I wanted to do aerospace engineering because of science, but I took an engineering pathway at another high school during COVID-19. That’s where I started to learn about CAD [computer-aided design], programming and robotic design. From then on, I felt like I like to do problem-solving. I like to program, and I like to do math. I like to design 3D designs, and I figured, well, there’s got to be an engineering field that has a bit of every one of these things. It was mechanical engineering.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Make mistakes because that’s what helps you grow. You get to learn new things about yourself.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

My favorite memory is [from] the times I’d hang out with my best friend during chemistry class. We’d always talked together, laughed about everything and in the back of class. It was a fun time. I enjoyed it.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I would say the ones that I had, they were pretty cool — like my chemistry teacher and U.S. history teacher. They were cool people. They made the subject much more interesting for me to learn.

How were you involved at Meridian?

I didn’t really do a whole lot because, honestly, I was — I’m still — really reserved. I don’t really see myself in a whole lot of group activities, so I tend to just come to school, do whatever I need to do. Do my work and then just go home, rest for the day.

What hurdles have you overcome in high school?

It was, kind of, loneliness. Last year, my best friend dropped out of high school, and I had other friends who dropped out and/or were doing Running Start full time. Honestly, it was really hard for me because I felt abandoned. I didn’t really have a whole lot of friends here. It’s just hard for me to go through school sometimes.

How did you stay motivated?

My mom. She’s done a lot for me. All she wants for me is to graduate high school. So, I just kept going through it. She’s happy, real happy.

How do you feel about graduating?

I feel relieved because I’m done with school.

Why are you joining the Army?

I didn’t really know what to do after high school. Before, I wanted to become a video game programmer. Once I got into that subject, I was like, ‘You know, this is really boring. I don’t want to do this.’ I realized I didn’t like computers, so there was a time period when I didn’t really know what to do — if I still wanted to go to college or not. I hung out with my best friend one time and he told me how he was joining the army. They have so many jobs, and I was like, ‘OK, let me let me give that a try.’

What are you most nervous about in the future?

You don’t know what happens.

What do you like about attending Lummi Nation School?

It’s easier for me to get attention and help. I was struggling when I attended Ferndale for a bit, and it was such a big public school. There were so many kids in classrooms. When I started attending Lummi, there were like 15 kids that I knew because they’re all family, basically. Everyone, from what I know, is really nice.

Can you tell me a little bit about the Salmon Ceremony?

It started up again three years ago. I got to be a witness, and that’s when I first learned it. Being a witness, from what I remember, they’ll have three people sit up front, watching closely [over] the Salmon Ceremony. They’ll have the Blackhawk Dancers go out and dance on the floor. They will have us watch as they cut the salmon and hand it out to people. We return the bones, and then they bring us down to the Stommish Grounds where we put the bones back, so they can tell the Salmon People about us.

For this current salmon ceremony, they wanted us to go big, because this is sponsored by us seniors. We are organizing the whole thing. My job I picked was culinary arts.

What made you want to be a marine biologist and work with fish?

When I was a kid — this is going to be cheesy — but cartoons kind of encouraged me. One of my favorite cartoons would be ‘SpongeBob.’ It got me really thinking about what fish are. Then there was this other cartoon called ‘Octonauts.’ These little animals go underwater to help fish. Then they show us what fish do and how they look. I started to learn about more fish, which got me really passionate about underwater life. I used to canoe paddle when I was in elementary school. We would see little fish swim under the canoes. I always tried to reach out and grab them, but they would run away. They’re part of our life out there. It’s something our ecosystem needs to live.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I have a group of them. Mrs. [Cara] Carbone — she is one of our math teachers. She’s very encouraging and trying to make sure that we’re all in good shape and know our math. There’s Mrs. [Sandra] Kellar. She was an English teacher. She still checks up on us even though she’s [an instructional coach]. There’s also William Hill, but we call him Billy Hill. He is a history teacher who [taught] us about our Native rights, and he really showed me how our ancestors really fought hard for our lands. There’s also Michael Andrews, who is one of the newer teachers here. He’s much younger, so he relates to us more. He understands who we are, so it’s easier to talk to him. There’s also Lauren Vasquez. She’s my current English teacher. She is very encouraging and helping us through the Salmon Ceremony.

You were in FBLA for four years. What was your experience with it?

Freshman year was COVID-19 times. We were all on our little screens. So, one way that I tried to get out there was just by joining FBLA, which was one of the main things in my high school experience. With FBLA, I ran two community service projects. I helped coordinate those alongside the rest of my officer team members — one of those ended up placing fourth in the nation. That was called Crafting Futures, Cultivating a Love for STEAM. Project Sincerely Yours was a partnership with Solstice Senior Living. That was one of my favorite things that I’ve done in high school because that was [with] the seniors [who] were coming out of COVID isolation. [We] had events like a pen-pal program, virtual reality tours, tech-help hour and cookie decorating.

What else were you involved in during high school?

After that, my junior year I joined National Honor Society, and I was kind of nervous about that, but then I was like, ‘You know what, let’s just go for it.’ That’s my biggest takeaway with high school is just, even if you’re scared, just do it. And hopefully it’ll work out, and most of the time it does. That was a good experience — to gain community service and then also a leadership role [while] serving as secretary this year. My final thing is yearbook. Last year, we didn’t have a yearbook class, so I was brought on last minute. We did about two pages a day, and we brought the book to print — barely, barely made it. Then this year, I got to take over as editor.

You’ve been involved in service- and people-oriented clubs. What draws you to that work?

I’ve never been very good at sports, but I still wanted a thing that I could do that was a part of a community. High school can be kind of lonely if you don’t find ways to get plugged in and do stuff. Then, I also really enjoyed the leadership aspect of it.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

Yes, Mrs. [Jody] Bogues has been my FBLA adviser and she’s been with me all four years, and then Mrs. [Mariah] Butenschoen, my yearbook adviser, has been really crucial in making me take those scary steps.

How do you feel about graduating?

I’m so scared. I’m scared for the next chapter, but excited. I was scared for high school, like terrified, and it turned out really good. So, I’m hoping college turns out really good.

How do you feel about leaving Lynden and Whatcom County?

I’m really sad. One of the things [I’ll miss] is the environment, the nature that we have around us, literally in our backyard. I walk out in my backyard and boom, mountain. I just love that so much. Also, the relationships. I feel like people here are really nice, and I feel like our school is really unique. We have a really tight-knit community, and our school spirit is really high.

What was your start at Lynden High School like?

I moved here my freshman year from Venezuela, like mid-school year in February. It was a COVID-19 year, so very weird. Half [the other students] were coming two days, and the other half were coming two days. I had to be here every day because I was learning English, and I was very frustrated because I wanted to talk to people, to make friends.

How did you overcome the language barrier?

I decided to join the baseball team my freshman year. That was really helpful. I got to meet people [and] also learn English more [quickly] than other people. When I talked to my teacher, they were like, ‘Oh, yeah, people usually stay in this English class for two years at least.’ I was only there for four months.

How else were you involved in high school?

My sophomore year, I joined football, which was awesome, because by that time, people could now understand me pretty well. That’s where I’ve made my best friends. We went all the way to state, and we won the state championship that year. Then, I tried out for cheer for my next year. That was the start of everything. I love it. I really like the experience of it. With baseball, I really like the sport of it, and football I really like the people around it, but cheer is everything. I connect to the sport. I like throwing people into the air and catching them. The people are great, and cheer is for others.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Just do it. Don’t be afraid to try something new because the worst that can happen is that you don’t like it. Then you just don’t do it anymore.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I’ll say Mrs. [Laura] Toften. She helps people from different countries, like Spanish countries, and translates for them. She was awesome with me in my freshman year. She helped me with everything. My parents were working during freshman year, and I was doing baseball. She was picking me up from my house and taking me to practice and taking me back and going to all my games. That was everything, and she was always willing to help me with anything. She’s so excited for me, so proud of me.

How do you feel about graduating?

I’m really, really scared about it because [in] high school, you still have help, but after high school, you’re pretty much by yourself. Which I think could be a lot, but I think it’s nice too, that you get to start [being] on your own.

What do you like about Lynden?

It’s very nice. The people we have here — they’re always willing to help. It’s a safe place. I like that the community is really close.

How do you feel about graduating?

I’m excited for graduation, but I’m taking my senior year and enjoying all the moments I still have left.

Do you have a favorite memory from your time in high school?

There’s so many. One of them was in ‘Big Fish’ and being an ensemble member. Being together and part of the singing and the dancing are two things that I absolutely love doing. Throughout high school, the friendships that I’ve been able to create — they’ve just been so encouraging and so uplifting.

What was your experience on the student advisory committee like?

The student advisory committee is a group of students, two from each high school. We meet monthly with the superintendent, [Greg] Baker, as well as the assistant superintendent, [Jay] Jordan, and we talk about a variety of issues that are influencing our school district, from extracurricular program funding to how substance use in our community is affecting our schools. I’m glad that I have gotten the opportunity to be on the committee because I feel like I’m able to see what’s going on in school and share that with those who would be able to make a difference in those policies.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

One of them is Ms. [Erika] Thorsen. She has been my English teacher, academic workshop teacher, speech and debate and media studies. She is someone who will go and find the evidence to back up every claim that she makes and she’s very aware of what’s going on around her. The classes I’ve taken with her have been really interesting. Her English class was like the best English class I’ve ever taken.

Also, Mr. [Jose] Rodriguez [Torres]. He was my soccer coach and also my AP Spanish teacher. His philosophy of teaching is that we as the students have to put in the work. He won’t necessarily force us to do it, and it’s helped me realize I have an internal motivation to work toward [learning] Spanish.

What advice would you have for a younger student?

Get involved. High school is so much better when you know people in your classes or even if you’re part of one club, one association or one sport. That can open up a lot of friendships. It’s really important to have that support network around you.

What are you planning to study at Western?

I’m planning on minoring or double majoring in Spanish. The other degree is going to be something that will lead to a passion where I can help and serve others directly. So, not interfacing through a computer, but really getting the chance to meet people where they’re at and serve their needs. I haven’t boiled it down to what I want to do, but I know that’s the pathway I want to go.

Do you have a favorite memory from high school?

I scored a last-minute goal from far [away], like farther than half the field last year, [against] Lynden Christian. It made it so we tied up the game. It just felt crazy because I was goalkeeper. People were like, ‘Pass it, pass it!’ Then, someone was like, ‘Shoot it! Shoot it!’ So, I went for it and shot it and scored it.

How else were you involved in high school?

I used to do Club Lectura. That’s where you teach Spanish to elementary kids. The little kids look up a lot to you, which is pretty cool. It was chaotic. Sometimes they don’t stay still, or they’ll be making lots of jokes and everything, but it’s funny.

What’s high school been like for you?

I’ve been able to pass all my classes. One of my proudest [achievements] is not getting in trouble at all. In middle school, I would never be in class. I was always in the office. It was that bad. I remember I got suspended two or three times.

What caused the change?

My mom. She would have to come in, miss work, just to help me out. She never gave up on me and told me, ‘Keep on going. Keep on going.’ During that time, I had the mindset that I wanted to drop out once I got to high school. All I thought about was just working. But my mom never gave up on me, which was pretty cool.

How does it feel to be the first son to graduate high school?

Pretty cool. I’m proud of myself that I didn’t make that choice to drop out. It makes my mom pretty happy. I’m also proud of myself for graduating because last year, I went to Mexico [and] my grandpa, before I came back, he told me something like, ‘Be the first one to make me proud, to graduate,’ and ‘The day you graduate come visit me.’ Then, in August, he passed away.

Why do you want to be an electrician or truck driver?

My parents wanted me to be a dentist or something where I could just stay in an office. But for me, I just can’t stay still. I have to be moving around no matter what.

I grew up doing a lot of things. My dad got me working when I was 11, so I’m just used to that. He taught me at a young age how to drive stuff like tractors, pickers and everything. It was fun. It taught me a lot of things: how to prepare yourself and how life is going to be. I’m low-key glad I did it because it gave me a different mindset.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

Mrs. [Jennifer] Bailey. She’s always helped me out, always pushing me to be my best. She always supported me in the good and bad. She’ll be hard on me, too, but I know it’s for my own good. If I need someone to talk to at school, she’s always the one I go to.

How do you feel about graduating?

I’m kind of excited, but at the same time, there’s something inside of me … it’s coming already and it’s super weird to think about it. Then, I know what I want to do but at the same time, I don’t know.

What hurdles have you overcome in school?

I had to learn English because I’m from another country, from Guatemala. When I came here, I was in fifth grade. It was really difficult because there was no one that could speak Spanish in that school. It was really difficult for me to understand them and them to understand me. It was [isolating]. I had no friends. I had nobody.

What was your experience learning English in elementary and middle school?

I ended up getting help from people that didn’t speak Spanish. It was super difficult. If you only speak English, it’s kind of weird. They were teaching me, but at the same time I didn’t really understand the words.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Don’t be afraid. I was super afraid to express myself to others. Then, I didn’t know what to do. Now, if I [could] go back, I would know what to do. I would try to get more and more into school, even though I wouldn’t understand that much, but I would try.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I think that every teacher in high school is really nice, and you can always get help from them, all of them. No one treats me different. But, Ms. [Joan] Hudson, she’s always been with me. She helps me with everything … like everything. If I have a problem with a class or if I’m getting low grades, she helps me to increase them. She is really involved in my daily life.

In what ways were you involved?

I have choir and sometimes we have concerts after school. Usually, I come to school, do whatever I have to do. I’m really obsessed with the grades. I want them to be up. I really like to learn different stuff in school. Culinary was a really good class to take, and agriculture science.

What do you like about choir?

I just love music. I love to learn about music, and my choir teacher is so nice. I decided to keep doing it.

What has your high school experience been like?

High school’s been great. I feel like I have respect for everyone, so everyone has that same respect for me. I always have a smile on my face and am just really welcoming to everyone, even if something is different with them. I try to accept who they are.

What’s it like being in Latinos in Action?

I think it’s been great to be a co-president. It’s just fun meeting so many people and having so many relationships with the community. At our [Hispanic Heritage Night], we were expecting maybe 200 or 300 people to show up and about 700 showed up. We ran out of food, and it was just overall a great atmosphere.

How’d you get involved?

It had gotten brought up last year and then became a real class this year through our teacher Hugo Santiago. A lot of people wanted to join in. We have room in the classroom for about 30. There were maybe 90 that signed up. I got first dibs to go into the class because I had also been helping and advising that we should have this class at Squalicum.

What do you hope for future students in Latinos in Action?

I hope there’s big success for this program. It’s a great program that shows leadership, authenticity and the power to keep going … There’s going to be those bumps, but you’ll get over them. Communication is key.

How do you feel about graduating?

It’s scary because, you know, I feel like I know what I want to do. But at the same time, it’s scary to be an adult.

Why do you want to become a chef?

I’ve loved it ever since I was young. I love the heat. I love the intensity. I like being under pressure and working through it. Then, after all the pressure is over, the satisfaction that comes from it — it is great for me. I hope to one day own my own place, have it run itself and then teach.

Did your family influence your desire to take the culinary route?

Coming from a Hispanic background, I’ve always seen just women cook. From my experience, my father would also cook a lot, so it was really mind-opening. I feel like my father isn’t like the rest of the Hispanic community, or they’re kind of set to their, like, standards. He tries to break those walls, and my father’s a big influence on my life.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

I would say Jared Ibarra. He’s a guidance counselor here at Squalicum. He’s been great. He’s known my family for a long time now, and he’s just been super helpful. He cares a lot about me and the students here.

Why do you spend so much time with birds?

When I was really young, I loved birds. I was obsessed with birds. Then during COVID-19, I downloaded a bird sound identification app on my phone. From that point onward, I started getting more and more interested. So, I got into bird photography. I got binoculars and started actually going out birding. Then, my sophomore year of high school, I had a friend who was volunteering at Sardis Raptor Center. She said that they were looking for volunteers. So, I went out and did a tour with them and asked about volunteering, and I started that week.

How’d you get involved in theater?

I got involved with theater at BAAY — Bellingham Arts Academy for Youth — when I was 13. I absolutely fell in love with it. It was a great community for me, and I struggled in middle school finding people that I really connected with and having an extracurricular activity with such a supportive group of people was really important to me.

When I came into Sehome, I auditioned for ‘Connect/Disconnect,’ which was our device film project. We weren’t allowed to be next to each other or near each other at all. We wrote the script and filmed it. It was based in the world of COVID, so we were doing a modern-day piece on what it was like for teenagers … We did ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ which we did outside at Woodstock Farm because we still weren’t allowed to do it inside. That was my first time meeting most of the people in person and the same community that I found at BAAY, I found there and absolutely loved it. And I just looked up to everyone so much. I really couldn’t imagine myself doing anything else, so I stuck with it.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

Kandace McGowan is my director and my teacher. I have had her every single year for drama. I’m in advanced drama and theater tech, and I’m currently TA-ing for costuming. I spend most of my … days in the theater and a lot of time outside of school, creating a show. She is such a wonderfully kind person, and she truly has everyone’s best interests at heart. She is trying to help students grow.

How do you feel about graduating?

I am ready. I’m sad to be leaving the community, but I’m also ready to move on. I kind of know what I’m doing next year, and I’m really excited for it.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I think trust yourself more and believe in the good of other people. I struggled with that a lot when I was in middle school. Connecting with people was really hard, and I think knowing that most people have your best interests at heart and that finding those people is really important.

How’d you get involved with FFA?

I didn’t want to do it at first. My parents were like, ‘No, you have to at least have one club.’ That was a rule. Freshman year didn’t really count in my opinion. Sophomore year we started our in-person meetings. I was like, ‘OK, this is cool. I can get behind doing the competitions.’ Then, we actually had one person short for our officer team, and my mom was talking to my advisers and she threw me under the bus [and said], ‘Oh, my daughter can do it!’ So I got elected, and ever since then I really loved the program.

What made you love it?

The multiple opportunities I have to discover — it’s really helped boost my confidence throughout the years. I’ve met a lot of new people through it, and I have gained a lot of friends. Mainly just getting to hang out around people is fun, even if we’re doing a meeting, doing the official business. It’s just a nice place to socialize. I love ag sales and stuff, but if I didn’t get along with my teammates … it’d be kind of against the point.

Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?

Probably any of my agricultural advisers, honestly. They all push me a lot to be the best version of myself. That’d be Tony Torretta, Mitch Davis, Nicole Perry and Kristine Anderson. I can’t choose just one because I’ve been with them all throughout the past four years.

What advice would you give your younger self?

Listen to your counselor when he tells you not to take three Advanced Placement [classes] in a year. You’re going to regret it. Your senior year, you’re going to hate yourself. Honestly.

How do you feel about graduating?

I’m excited. I’m ready to go. I think it’s mainly because it’s been changing for the past four years. Honestly, it’s probably that. I got a half a year, freshman year [in the old building]. Sophomore year, I was there two days a week [due to COVID-19]. Then, junior year they started destroying the old building and building the new one. By the end of junior year, I was moved in here, but I still had the old career-and-technical-education (CTE) wing. Then in the middle of senior year, they destroyed the CTE wing. I’m glad for it, but it’s just so much change.

How do you feel about leaving?

I’m sad for the fact that I’m leaving some of my friends who are underclassmen. But like I said, I’m excited about it. It’s going to be rough leaving my family. I’m going to miss my dogs, my parents, my brother. I’m really going to miss being able to come home every day and rant to my family. I won’t be able to do that. It’s going to be a difficult change, but it’s a needed one. That step between starting your adult life, but you’re still kind of a child in other people’s eyes.