Senior Spotlight is a Cascadia Daily News annual series, highlighting the lives and experiences of graduating seniors from Whatcom County high schools.
GRACIE MARSHALL
Gracie Marshall has spent most of her time at Meridian High School in Future Farmers of America (FFA) and color guard. She’s enjoyed the vet science and trap-shooting courses. Beyond that, she likes to hang out with her friends and animals, including her goat, Noodle. She’s interested in taking business classes at Bellingham Technical College or Whatcom Community College and dreams of owning a business one day.
How’d you get involved with FFA?
With FFA, I’ve done vet science and trap shooting. I started doing it my freshman year of COVID-19. I hated it. It was all tests, it was all in front of the computer and there wasn’t any fun in it. My adviser was like, ‘Stay with it. Just try it one more year when it comes back to normal.’ And, I absolutely loved it. We were doing hands-on clinicals. Even with the stuffed animals, it’s still fun. So I stuck with it.
Do you have a favorite memory from high school?
I think a memory of mine is probably when I first started doing trap shooting. [Brent] Feller, the adviser, said to my parents that I was the quietest girl he’s ever met. Now, he talks about how he can’t get me to shut up. Everybody’s turned me into a very talkative person. I feel comfortable there. To me, that’s cool — how much FFA has brought out of me. I’m now FFA president for this year. If you told me freshman year that I would have run for officer, I would have said, ‘No, that wasn’t me. Someone else, another Gracie. I didn’t do that.’
What hurdles have you overcome in high school?
I’m Type 1 diabetic. It’s hard to act like a normal kid with that. It’s nothing I have to hide from, but I got burned out last year and ended up in the hospital several times over summer. [I] crashed a car because of it. That was so hard for me and it was like two weeks before the last day of school.
What are you most nervous about post-high school?
The unknown. So much can happen. You’re not following a schedule like you are at high school. You get to make all the decisions on your own. You’re an adult. There’s too much unknown. We’re so used to schedules, and now you’re just out there doing your own thing.
What advice would you give your younger self?
Try more things. Get out there. Don’t be so nervous about talking to others. I was so shy in my first two years here. I wouldn’t talk to teachers, I wouldn’t talk to other people unless I already knew them from middle school. Just get out there, talk to people and meet new people.
Why do you want to stay in Whatcom County?
The people I have around me, the friendships, my family. I don’t want it to be day after graduation and I never see them again. I want to still hang out with my friends, still see them.
RONNIE GONZALEZ
In Ronnie Gonzalez’s time at Meridian High School, he enjoyed chemistry and history courses but is excited to take the next steps in life after graduation. He grew up in Seattle and has spent the last few years in Whatcom County with his family. He enjoys spending his free time hanging out with his friends, playing video games and working out. At the end of June, he’ll ship off to boot camp to join the U.S. Army as infantry or in the military police.
Do you have a favorite memory from high school?
My favorite memory is [from] the times I’d hang out with my best friend during chemistry class. We’d always talked together, laughed about everything and in the back of class. It was a fun time. I enjoyed it.
Is there a teacher or staff member who has impacted your high school experience?
I would say the ones that I had, they were pretty cool — like my chemistry teacher and U.S. history teacher. They were cool people. They made the subject much more interesting for me to learn.
How were you involved at Meridian?
I didn’t really do a whole lot because, honestly, I was — I’m still — really reserved. I don’t really see myself in a whole lot of group activities, so I tend to just come to school, do whatever I need to do. Do my work and then just go home, rest for the day.
What hurdles have you overcome in high school?
It was, kind of, loneliness. Last year, my best friend dropped out of high school, and I had other friends who dropped out and/or were doing Running Start full time. Honestly, it was really hard for me because I felt abandoned. I didn’t really have a whole lot of friends here. It’s just hard for me to go through school sometimes.
How did you stay motivated?
My mom. She’s done a lot for me. All she wants for me is to graduate high school. So, I just kept going through it. She’s happy, real happy.
How do you feel about graduating?
I feel relieved because I’m done with school.
Why are you joining the Army?
I didn’t really know what to do after high school. Before, I wanted to become a video game programmer. Once I got into that subject, I was like, ‘You know, this is really boring. I don’t want to do this.’ I realized I didn’t like computers, so there was a time period when I didn’t really know what to do — if I still wanted to go to college or not. I hung out with my best friend one time and he told me how he was joining the army. They have so many jobs, and I was like, ‘OK, let me let me give that a try.’
What are you most nervous about in the future?
You don’t know what happens.
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.
