Senior Victoria Conner has only attended Wenatchee High School for a year since transferring from Eastmont High School. Yet, despite her brief time at WHS, Victoria has found camaraderie and connection and left an unforgettable mark on those around her.
In only a year, Victoria found her place among various groups and engaged in the WHS community.
“I’m in orchestra right now, I’ve done bowling and I’m doing ASL right now. Out of all three of them, my favorite one is ASL. I’m a treasurer for the ASL club, and basically, I just sign off on when we need to spend money, such as our recent production of Sign Idol. We put in a lot of work.”
She also quickly discovered a close circle of friends upon arriving at WHS. One such friend was Asher McCann. Although they’ve only known each other for the better part of a year, they’re steadfast friends and support one another through thick and thin.
“She’s a really endearing person [and] a really anxious person. She was scared her dog was dying when it was, in fact, just hiccuping,” Asher said. “She’s just been there for me ever since we’ve known each other. She doesn’t know how to handle it, but she does the best she can.”
Victoria has also drawn the attention of teachers such as her Adulting 101 teacher, Armando Estrada, who noted her kindness and positive presence in the class.
“She’s just doing a great job all around, being a friend, being a great person to others and she had definitely made her mark by making those around her feel welcome,” Estrada said. “Making the class a better educational experience for herself and her peers through her consistency and ability to get things done.”
Victoria’s pilates and yoga teacher, Monique Force, similarly noted Victoria’s ability to lead by example, never hesitating to be proactive in helping others.
“She is somebody as a peer and a student that works to include everyone, and I think that ends up making all students have a better experience,” Force said. “She’s got a great sense of teamwork and leadership skills and wants to engage in new things. It’s so genuine that everybody else can look at her and go, ‘Yeah, we can do that too’. People do look to her in a quiet way.”
However, as much as Victoria has enjoyed her final year of high school at WHS, the same couldn’t be said of her other three years of high school. Like others of her graduating class, Victoria’s freshman year was confined to a screen and life under isolation. She also had to face mental health struggles during this time and bullying by her classmates. These adversities have shaped her into who she is today.
“Since I started in COVID year, being online really changed how I focus on myself because I had to be inside a lot,” Victoria said. “I became more outdoorsy. And [I] needed to be on top of my schedule and my classes… Trying to balance school work and my social life and people messing with my social life, being stressed and then finally being bullied out of my last school and coming into this school has shaped me to be better and more open-minded.”
Through her struggles, Victoria has grown as a person, gaining a newfound independence and assertiveness. Part of her journey was also learning to move on.
“I’m not so dependent on other people [anymore]. To notice when someone is being bad to you and realizing when to walk away. Before, I would just let it slide… People can be rude. People can be nasty. They can be malicious. They can be really destructive. Being able to deal with what they have done and then taking all that in so you can be braver and not let that take down your life.”
To the incoming freshmen, Victoria encourages them to face life head-on, no matter what lies ahead, and to do so with their heads held high.
“To not be afraid of doing anything and to do everything wearing a smile,” she said. “Just be more positive, enjoy things and don’t dwell on the past. You just started high school, push through it, don’t let anyone stand in your way, and you can do this. You are capable.”
Post-graduation, Victoria will be taking a gap year until she decides on the path forward. In the meantime, she’ll be keeping busy with raising her new puppy.
“I’m taking a gap year, and then I’m going into the STEM field,” she said. “I’m really fond of cybersecurity [and] computer forensics. I’m looking into engineering because I want to help in the creation of AI bots.”