Shannon Dela Cruz

Shannon Dela Cruz, who grew up in Avondale, Arizona, moved to Cathlamet her sophomore year with her mom to be closer to family.

There were thousands of students at her school in Arizona, so Wahkiakum High School was a bit of a surprise. Shannon has been finding ways to make it home.

Her hard work and good grades earned her membership in the National Honor Society when she was a freshman, and back in Arizona, that meant meetings, leadership roles, community service, and activities at the school.

"I loved being part of that," Shannon said. "We would have car washes, make things for people in hospitals, and have fundraisers."

At Wa-Ki-Hi, she's found other ways to lead, mentoring freshmen and participating in events like the annual Day of Caring or a recent food drive.

Her favorite class? Statistics with Mr. Stetzer.

"I like solving the problems and he's a good teacher," Shannon said. "I've always kind of liked math, but this is my favorite so far."

Audrey Petterson is her favorite teacher.

"I always thought that my grammar, my essays, my writing were spot on, but Mrs. Petterson's constructive criticism improved my writing," Shannon said. "I feel like it makes it much easier to be in her class. Right now I'm in her AP Literature and AP Language classes. When covid-19 happened, she was really patient with us, she helped us through it all as we learned online. I thought she was a really good teacher."

Shannon's grandparents are from the Philippines. She was once fluent in Tagalog, but not so much anymore.

Her grandpa taught her to cook, including some Filipino dishes. Lately she's been tackling Mexican cuisine.

"It's so delicious," she said. "I love to cook."

She also loves to bake, and remembers a year ago, when yeast and flour were so very hard to find. Her shelves are stocked now.

Shannon plans to return to the southwest after graduation and get a nursing degree from Arizona State University.

"I've always wanted to be a nurse," she said. "It's more than just injecting people like I thought when I was little. Now I really want to help people out and be in the ICU and go in the same path as my older cousin."

Travel has been a lifelong dream, and she and some longtime friends have been planning since the eighth grade to take a trip to Hawaii after graduation.

Shannon is the daughter of Candice Chapman.