School: North Thurston High School in Lacey.
Grade: 9.
Parents or guardians: Joy Luper and Jesse Daniels.
Best personal achievement: My best personal achievement would be placing in the top 10 in my age group in the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Big Climb in 2012. It is a 69-flight stair climb fundraiser for the LLS. I have been doing the Big Climb and raising money for the LLS for five years now, in honor of my dad. Also another big achievement has been winning the overall state obedience title at the Puyallup Fair’s obedience championships for dog 4-H in 2009 with my dog, Wendy. I have been in the dog and leadership clubs of Washington State 4-H for eight years, and it has been a huge part of my life.
How I spend my time: Spending time with my family and friends, playing sports, staying active, youth group and competing with DECA.
Favorite subjects: Marketing and English.
Favorite movie: “Mamma Mia!”
Favorite book: “The Secret Life of Bees” by Sue Monk Kidd.
Dream job: Business executive.
Someone I respect: My mother has led me down the path to success and is always there for me. Also, my youth leader, Teri Dickason from Gloria Dei Lutheran Church always has wise words of advice and has taught me so much in life.
The hardest part of being a student is: Keeping up with grades and assignments while having sports and extracurricular activities, and getting enough sleep.
My ambitions or career aspirations include: Going to a four-year college and majoring in marketing and business management.
Someone famous I would like to meet: Ellen DeGeneres. She is always giving back to her community and I want to dance with her.
Someday, looking back on my life, I’ll be able to say: “I’m glad that I was so involved in my community and school. I made good choices, and I had a lot of fun.”
Biggest challenge facing teenagers today: Pressure. We are always getting pushed to our highest potential and it can get overwhelming at points.
One thing in the world I would change if I could: Bullying. I know it sounds very generic but recently, while attending a student senate conference, one of the speakers Harriet Turk said, “Bullying is always a problem. Bullies never change, they only grow up.” This spoke to me and while she continued speaking about how people should just be able to express themselves without being judged. It really spoke to me and inspired me to want to help change the problem.
Nominated by: PE and fitness teacher Sue Colard, who wrote, “I would like to nominate Andrea for The Olympian’s Student Spotlight. She is a freshman at North Thurston High School and an amazing girl. We are working on hobby projects in our health class, and I just found out she runs marathons, has completed the 200-mile Seattle/Portland bike ride and constantly is earning money for the leukemia foundation. I am so impressed with her abilities.”
To nominate a ninth- to 12th-grade student for Student Spotlight, email the following information to lpemberton@theolympian.com, fax it to 360-357-0202, or mail it to P.O. Box 407, Olympia, WA 98507, attention Lisa Pemberton.
Selected students must submit a photograph and fill out a questionnaire.
Provide the student’s name, age, grade, school name, telephone number and/or email; a quote about the student from a school staff member; and the name and contact information of the nominator.
