Students of Distinction: Four more 2021 seniors with a bright future

Each year at graduation time, the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation and The Gateway present “Students of Distinction,” profiling 36 graduating seniors who have excelled in scholarship, athletics, the arts or public service. Here are the second four in a series that will continue weekly through June. This feature is made possible by a generous grant from the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation.

Peninsula senior excels in sports, academics and helping others

Hope Flanigan is a multi-talented student who has earned varsity letters in two sports and in community service, while maintaining a 4.0 GPA. She has also been a Girl Scout for 13 years and was awarded bronze and silver medals for her volunteer work making toys for the afters-school program at the Tacoma Rescue Mission and for organizing care packages for students affected by the Oso landslide.

That was a very emotional experience, she said. “It was hard, but seeing their strength and how they were trying to cope — that was an inspiration and it was so rewarding to be able to brighten their day.” Flanigan also mentors younger Scouts.

In addition, she has attended service trips to Ensenada, Mexico where she volunteered with Agua Viva, helping to host a vacation Bible school for children and helping at a men’s rehabilitation clinic. Her knowledge of Spanish enabled her to act as translator for other volunteers.

Flannigan feels that her community service work is one of the most important things she’s done in high school.

The other important thing was being captain of her swim and dive team. Participating in those sports was a challenge during COVID, she said. “Swim and dive season starts in February, and we were able to do social distancing at the pool with all the doors wide open, even though it was freezing and snowing outside.”

She was able to participate in three in-person dive meets before COVID restrictions were put in place, she said, but after that all the meets were held online, with cameras in the gym and the pool. Her favorite dives are inward and backward one-and-a-half flips. She also competes in free-style swimming.

“COVID was an opportunity to realize that there are things we can’t control so there’s no use in stressing about it. I just tried to take advantage of the things I could do, and find safe ways to be with friends, even though all our classes were on-line from March 2020 to March 2021.”

Flanigan’s persistence and dedication to schoolwork impressed her teachers. “Hope was one of only a handful of students who, despite possessing an “A” in my course and knowing that there was no requirement for further work to be turned in, continued to engage in classwork,” said PHS history instructor Kyle Kendall. “She demonstrated a true desire to be exceptional and go above and beyond expectations. This paid dividends on the AP exam, for which she scored a ‘4.’”

Flanigan has taken AP classes in U.S. history, statistics, English language and composition and biology and in her senior year, she was Commissioner of the ASB Senate.

Her suggestion to younger students is to live in the moment. “This year has taught us that nothing is guaranteed and we need to take advantage of all the opportunities we get. And to spend time with our friends.”

This fall, Flanigan will attend the University of Washington where she plans to major in public health/global health with a minor in Spanish. She hopes to become a physician’s assistant.

Category: Community Service

Education: Senior, Peninsula High School

GPA: 4.0

Parents: George and Allison Flanigan

Activities/Achievements: Varsity Swim Team Captain; district and state qualifier; SSC Scholar Athlete; ASB Class Senator, Commissioner; Interact Club President; National Honor Society; Student of the Quarter

Favorite teacher: Mr. Kendall. “I was part of his APUSH class and his passion for both history and teaching was incredible. The care and commitment he put into his lessons and activities was inspiring and pushed me to do the best work I could. He is easy to talk to and engaging in conversations about U.S. History were always exciting. He always pushed me to ask questions and dig deeper and his classes prepared me intellectually for the AP test and practically by helping me set up effective study habits for college.”

Best thing about high school: “the ability for students to find their community. We offer so many opportunities to get involved from sports and clubs, to arts and ASB, and all of these communities blend together with mutual respect and support. I’ve loved reaching outside of my communities and seeing the amazing things other students are working on at PHS, whether that’s attending the spring musical or watching a volleyball game, the talent and drive at our school is incredible.”

GHHS senior shines in sports, academics and community service work

Of the many activities in which Kate Gardner has participated during her high school career, she’s most enjoyed the time she spent with the Kitsap County Youth Court, a program in which student volunteers work closely with defense attorneys and learn to serve as jury, judge or defense attorney for juvenile offenders who had committed minor misdemeanors.

“We got to work with the kids’ attorneys and represent the kids in court and really learn about how our juvenile justice system works,” Gardner said. The experience led her to her career path: in the fall, she’ll enter Gonzaga University to study criminology with the intent of becoming an attorney.

Her work with the Youth Court was one of many community service activities for which she volunteered. She also worked with the Fife Police Department’s “Shop with a Cop” program, helped at the Tacoma Rescue Mission, worked as a docent at Harbor History Museum and babysat for artists’ children during TideFest.

Of the many courses she took during her high school years, her favorite was an AP psychology class. “We studied how the brain works — including how my own brain works. It was kind of creepy, but also very cool,” she said with a smile.

Gardner also excelled in tennis and soccer, served as Vice President of the GHHS Book Club and tutored seventh graders in math.

“Kate has left her mark in a variety of communities,” GHHS English teacher Brittany Kealy said. “Her accomplishments go beyond the academic to the physical, the spiritual and the global. She has left an exceptional mark on the landscape of our Gig Harbor community as a leader with a heart and care for others, and brilliance in the classroom.”

Even with all her extensive volunteer work, Gardner said her senior year was much different than she had expected, due to COVID-19 restrictions. “I was always busy and always working very hard. But then it all just stopped when COVID shut everything down,” she said. “But that quiet time was actually a blessing because we all had to recoup and find ways to do things virtually.”

Gardner’s advice to younger students is to stay organized “and always ask questions. Ask for clarification when you don’t understand something because other students probably have the same questions,” she said.

Category: Community Service

Education: Senior, Gig Harbor High School

Parents: Aaron and Andrea Gardner

Activities / Achievements: Vice President – National Honor Society; Vice President – GHHS Book Club; manager GHHS Girls Varsity Soccer; Senator – freshman year; Head Coach of two Harbor Premier – Junior Academy soccer teams; Player – Harbor Premier Soccer and West Narrows Soccer; math tutor for seventh graders; Volunteer: Basket Brigade; Kitsap County Youth Program; Harbor Recreational Soccer; Harbor History Museum; Nourish Food Bank; Fife Police Department Santa Run, Shop with a Cop; Special Olympics – Polar Plunge; North Tacoma Soccer

Favorite teacher: Kelly Indahl, leadership and math teacher, “because she valued us as people. It was a huge blessing to know her and be in her classes.”

Best thing about high school: “The sense of community. They teach us to be focused on good life skills — to be kind, be thoughtful — and help us grow as people.”

Gig Harbor High senior is outstanding in academics, loves poetry

Kathryn (Katie) Forhan is reaching for the stars. After an exceptional academic record that included honors in science and technology, Forhan plans to study aerospace engineering at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and hopes to someday design space probes and satellites for NASA.

Forhan fell in love with space in elementary school and that passion was encouraged by her middle school science teacher, according to Phyllis Payne, GHHS math instructor. “That was the start of Katie’s commitment to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) where she studied space and later designed her own STEM educational program, Problem Solvers Workshop, to provide fourth- and fifth-grade girls with STEM support.”

In high school,. Forham designed a prototype Mars rover, led a team in an interplanetary spacecraft design project and, in her junior and senior years, was selected as a Western Aerospace Scholar from a pool of thousands of students.

She honed her presentation skills competing in the Louder Than a Bomb Poetry Festivals, where she was a finalist with a poem about school gun violence. “In a world where high schoolers fall into a fairly typical ‘rigor’ mode of challenging classes, a sport and a club, Katie breaks the mold as a young woman with real passions and an innate desire to pursue science academically and creatively,” said GHHS English teacher Brittany Kealy. “And she will remind her peers to dream and to love learning.”

Even as COVID turned everything topsy-turvy in students’ lives, Forham was still able to thrive. “It was a huge change from normal,” she said. “But at some point you have to accept that you can’t change it, so you just have to do your best,” adding that one of the “gifts” of the pandemic-induced isolation was that she realized she “had to figure stuff out for myself and be responsible.

“I’m used to handling a hard workload, but at the start of quarantine I went way overboard in over-achieving,” she said. She felt fortunate, though, because she was able to find ways to see her friends. “And we had great teachers, and we all realized that we’re all in this together.”

Forham is eager to begin her college career and aerospace engineering studies. “There will be lots of labs and hands-on work,” she said. “They even have an English for Engineers class.”

Forham recommends that students entering high school learn to manage their time, especially if virtual classes continue. Stay motivated and keep organized, she advised. “And take advantage of all the offerings and fun classes and activities. There are so many opportunities and so many new things to try.”

Category: Science and Technology

Education: Senior, Gig Harbor High School

GPA: 3.994

Parents: Malin Larsson-Forhan and Robert Forhan

Activities/Achievements: National Merit Finalist; Varsity Letter in Community Service (3); National Honor Society Gold Service Award; Western Aerospace Scholar; Technology Student Association Nationals; Project lead and presenter for interplanetary spacecraft design team; designed Problem Solvers Workshop, an engineering education program for girls; LTAB Independent Poet top finalist; Vocal Motion Secretary/Treasurer

Favorite teacher: “Mrs. Payne. When I started taking calculus I was confused and intimidated, but the way she works through problems makes even the most confusing problem make sense, and I’ve fallen in love with calculus.”

Best thing about high school: “The opportunities. Through the wide range of classes available at GHHS, I was able to find my true passion — aerospace engineering. After being able to take Astronomy and Aerospace Tech, I was able to explore my interests and discover the incredible field of aerospace engineering.”

Henderson Bay senior overcomes challenges to reach success

Kaylee Johnson has always had a passion for seeking out justice for herself and others. But as a young teenager, she got derailed by partying and mixing with the wrong crowd. She went to counseling and rehab, but both were unsuccessful and she pretty much gave up on school.

One night she ran away from home and was in car accident that resulted in a concussion. A week later she developed flu-like symptoms that turned out to be caused by a cancerous brain tumor.

Twelve hours of surgery removed the tumor, but left her with double vision and paralysis and numbness on her left side. “Thankfully, that was all temporary,” she said, “but I had to endure months of occupational and physical therapy, speech therapy and radiation.”

When the therapy ended six months later, Johnson realized it was “time to face the same questions that troubled me before. Who was I? What was my purpose in life? Why was I still alive? There had to be a reason. This time I was determined to find out — the right way.”

The next school year, she was enrolled at Henderson Bay, which, she said, seemed “like God’s way of giving me a second chance to get back on track.”

She was a year behind her classmates but she was willing work hard, and her teachers encouraged her to strive to do her best.

When she learned about the criminal justice program at West Sound Technical Skills Center in Bremerton, she quickly enrolled. And thrived. She earned the additional credits she needed to graduate on time, got straight A’s on her report cards and received the Student of the Semester Award.

When COVID turned school upside down, Johnson persevered. “I’m kind of an introvert so I didn’t really get out that much anyway,” she said. “In some ways COVID was almost a positive thing because I was with my younger sister all day and I got to really connect with her and help her. But of course it was also a bummer because there wasn’t a prom or things like that. But I’ve tried to look on the positive side. We just have to make the best of it.”

Her determination impressed her teachers, especially Eric Bockelie, her criminal justice instructor. “When COVID hit, many students lost their personal connection to the class and didn’t do assignments or stay engaged in this new virtual learning environment,” Bockelie said. “Kaylee, on the other hand, did not miss a beat. She continued to be engaged in classroom activities and assignments at the same high level.”

The most significant event in Johnson’s high school career, other than joining West Sound, was getting involved in the HBHS Interact Club. which provided an opportunity to give to the community — to give back to people.

Johnson’s advice to younger students is not to feel pressured if you don’t have everything figured out. “Everyone’s path is different, so don’t be discouraged if your path looks different. It’s OK to fail and have times that aren’t as great as others. Just work through it and find your path. And never give up.”

Category: Overcoming Adversity

Education: Senior, Henderson Bay High School, West Sound Technical Skills Center

Parent: Michelle Johnson

Activities / Achievements: Interact Club; ASB; Student of the Semester Award

Favorite teacher: “I have great appreciation for all my teachers, but Mr. Bockelie inspired me to continue my career in criminal justice and has been a great encouragement in my life. He has changed the way I view myself, which has helped me realize that I can reach my full potential regardless of the challenges I’ve faced. He has shown me that I can be accepted despite my flaws, and for that I am thankful.”

Best thing about high school: “Their ability to focus on each kid’s career path. At Henderson Bay, we focus on project-based learning and student-centered teaching where students obtain a deeper knowledge through exploring different career paths in the real world. The teachers at Henderson are truly invested in each of their student’s lives and will do by any means necessary to see them succeed.”