Carlee Collins

Age: 18.

School: River Ridge High School in Lacey.

Parents or guardians: Deana and Jack Collins.

Best personal achievement: My best personal achievement so far in my life was when I was a sophomore. I was a part of the play “High School Musical” that my school produced and I was voted the Sterling Artist award. This award is given to the person that is a good role model, inspiring, and a good cast member on and off stage. It meant so much to me because the cast votes on this, so I was selected by my peers and friends.

How I spend my time: Working at my dance studio, Debbi’s Dance Etc., dancing there or in the theater at my school or at my church, Evergreen Christian Community.

Favorite subjects: Theater, leadership, and yearbook.

Favorite movie: “Burlesque.”

Favorite book: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” by J.K. Rowling.

Dream job: Professional dancer all around the world and an actress on Broadway.

Someone I respect: I respect my dance teachers a lot because they put up with all of us kids and make dance a great outlet for us, and they help us with all that they can.

The hardest part of being a student is: Finding time for everything you want to do, need to do, and everything in between. It gets hard to balance schedules with students doing so many activities these days.

My future ambitions or career aspirations include: Becoming a professional dancer and actress and finding a way to help people.

Someone famous I would like to meet: I would love to meet Taylor Swift. I love her music and how relatable she is to her fans. Even though she is so talented and famous, she still seems really grounded and down to earth. She is also an amazing singer and guitar player, which are two things I have been trying to become better at. I also really admire how she writes songs that are so personal to her and she is brave enough to play them for the whole world.

Someday, looking back on my life, I’ll be able to say: “I was involved in everything I wanted to be, and I don’t regret any of it.”

Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: Growing up too quickly and not being able to enjoy being teenagers. Most teens these days are just dying to grow up or feel as if they have to act like a grown-up instead of enjoying this time in our lives that we will never get back.

One thing in the world I would change if I could: This is a tough one. I think I would change two things. One is how expensive gas is, and the other is I would make sure that the people who needed help got it, and the people who are able to help did.

Nominated by: English and yearbook teacher Troy Sparling. He wrote: “This is Carlee’s first year on yearbook staff. She has quickly made herself a vital member of the team. Carlee strives for excellence on her assignments and does her best to meet all deadlines. She has an exceptional work ethic, which propelled her to the role of student editor.”