Anna Deleray understands the role of being a team player and finding a common goal, whether playing through injury to help her soccer team get to state or becoming a founding member of a science club.

Deleray, 18, a Glacier High School senior, has kept herself busy in her last year as captain of the soccer and track teams.

She served on a state education advisory board and Graduation Matters Kalispell committee and was president of the high school’s STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Club. She also is a member of the National Honor Society. Deleray also participated on the speech and debate team for two years.

Being invested in school is the key to a successful and varied high school experience, according to Deleray.

“For me that was a big thing. I’ve been very involved in school and I made it more interesting. I met more people — my friends — through different activities, got to know my faculty and staff better, so I think activities make you have a bond with your school,” Deleray said. “I think school spirit is taking pride in your school and wanting to help make your school a better place through your actions and helping improve the actions of others.”

Deleray joined the Graduation Matters Kalispell committee, which kicked off this year, after being asked by Glacier Principal Callie Langohr to be a student representative. Deleray became an advocate for her peers’ future success through graduation.

Graduation Matters Kalispell is part of a statewide initiative by the Office of Public Instruction to increase the number of high school graduates. Many districts participating in the effort seek out student committees to lead activities and raise awareness in their schools.

“When the committee started, they were trying to get a student representative from Flathead, Glacier and the middle school to give a youth perspective,” Deleray said.

One of projects Deleray participated in was helping creating public service announcements that played during school announcements.

“We interviewed people in the community on why graduation is important to them — whether they graduated or hadn’t graduated and why getting a diploma was important for their future,” Deleray said.

Science is a substantial part of Deleray’s present and future academics. As a founding member of the STEM Club, she has been able to cultivate and share her love of science with fellow classmates.

“I’m very interested in science, my AP chemistry teacher Mr. Morstein and a few other students that were in that class wanted to give other students opportunities we had had working on projects with him and so we decided to form a club that would give students opportunities to do research with different forms of science, chances for experimentation,” Deleray said.

This year, the club worked on a project converting fast-food waste oil to biodiesel, which ties into her post-graduation plans of majoring in chemical engineering at Colorado School of Mines. Her goal is working in renewable energy research and development.

“I feel strongly about protecting the environment and reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. I feel a career in chemical engineering would help me to research renewable energy beneficial to our society,” Deleray said.

And she won’t leave the soccer ball behind. An all-state forward on the Wolfpack soccer team, Deleray will play on her college’s team, the Orediggers.

“I hope I’ve left a good impression on my school and my teachers — that as a leader on the teams this year, and in the past, that I’ve been a good leader to the younger athletes and students coming up, so that they can be the same way when they’re older students and help lead and support the younger students.”  

Reporter Hilary Matheson may be reached at 758-4431 or by email at [email protected].