Discus Award Winner
Winners Gallery
PHOTOS
Sandra Walther
11th Grade, CA
ATTRIBUTES
Academics
Academics have always held a high place in my family, and I am proud of saying that I follow in the tradition. I started taking college classes the summer of my Freshman year of high school, and to date, I have 33 credits to my name. My GPA currently stands at 3.98, because of one college class, a rather strenuous math class that I got a "B" in, which did factor into my high school GPA. In my high-school classes, I continue to receive straight "A's", and I have been part of the honor roll since 5th grade. I have been a member of the California Scholarship Society since the spring semester of my Freshman year. In my Sophomore year, when I took the PSAT for the second time, I received a 72 on the math portion, and according to the ASVAB, I am in the 99th percentile in math, and 98th overall.
Community Service
For the past four and a half years, I have volunteered at the Tracy Animal Shelter. I have gone as regularly as my schedule allowed, but at least once a month, and often more. I have done everything with the animal control officers who run the shelter, from accompanying them on calls to scrubbing out cat cages with bleach to keep the entire feline population of the shelter safe from pan leukemia, and certain euthanization. Along with this passion of mine, working with the animals, I also volunteer regularly at the Four Seasons Therapeutic Riding Academy, keeping the horses' yard clean of poop, and cleaning out their water supply when algae starts growing. Along with both of these, I am a regular visitor at the Anthony Traina Elementary School, where I help teachers with remedial tutoring.
Athletics
I am a proud swimmer on the Tracy Tritons, and have been since I was six. I continually work to improve my times, and throw everything I can into my love of the sport. In 2006, I won the Thomas Kreeft award, an award given to the swimmer on our team with the most love for the sport. In 2008, I received it again, making me the only swimmer to ever have received the award twice. Even this past year, my ninth season on the Tracy Tritons, I put my limited free time into improving. I ended up practicing at odd hours, just to be able to stay competitive. Currently, I am the best swimmer on our team in three of the four strokes, and I also lead the group in the Individual Medley. My favorite stroke is the Butterfly, which, while it is difficult, is really rewarding if you can do it well.
