Senior Spotlight is a Cascadia Daily News annual series, highlighting the lives and experiences of graduating seniors from Whatcom County high schools.
DIEGO SERRANO
After immigrating from Venezuela, Diego Serrano immersed himself in Lynden High School. He played for the football, baseball and basketball teams, and competed in cheer as well as track and field. He is also part of the Associated Student Body (ASB). He enjoys math and hopes to be a math teacher after graduating from the University of Washington. Serrano will continue cheerleading for the Huskies next year.
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.
MASON NAMMINGA
Mason Namminga likes to be involved and collaborate with other students. During high school, he’s participated in Lynden’s chapter of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) and National Honor Society, while also serving as co-editor of yearbook this year. In his free time, he enjoys reading, graphic design and coding. He plans to attend Washington State University to study business administration or business leadership, with a focus on project management and possibly graphic design.
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.
Visit CDN’s Senior Spotlight page to learn about Whatcom County graduates from other schools. New profiles will be posted every Monday, Wednesday and Friday until June 19.
Hailey Hoffman is a CDN visual journalist; reach her at haileyhoffman@cascadiadaily.com; 360-922-3090 ext. 103.
