The dance team has “always been my safe space,” senior Audrey Wersch said. When she was just three years old she fell in love with dance, but it wasn’t until she got older that she realized that dance would become her “one thing,” she said. 

In regards to her in-person high school experience being shortened due to the pandemic, Wersch is attempting to make the most out of her senior year. Her passion for dance has led to many of the fond memories she has made as a senior so far. One of her favorite memories is “performing at football game halftime,” she said. “It’s fun to see the response from people but also it’s super bonding,” she said.

Wersch said that her years in high school have given her the opportunity to find her true self. “I feel like coming into high school you still don’t really know who you are,” Wersch said. “And you kind of figure it out over time, and I feel a lot more confident in myself and who I am.”

This year, Wersch attempted to find a middle ground between difficult and easy classes. After her junior year of taking three AP classes and one honors class, she was ready for her senior year to be less stressful. This year she has lightened her workload by taking two AP classes; AP United States Government and AP Statistics. Wersch is also taking Honors French which she has been thoroughly enjoying because “Mr. Fitz is fantastic,” she said.

Out of all of Wersch’s classes, Anatomy and Physiology is her favorite course this year. “I really like science classes,” she said. 

After attending Portland Adventist for elementary and middle school, coming into La Salle was a pivotal point in her life. Her initial thoughts of the school were “now there’s a bunch of people here,” in comparison to her previous school with only a few hundred students.

She came to La Salle along with two of her close friends, seniors Ava Whalon and Erin McGinnis. Knowing that there were two familiar faces in the school was a comforting feeling for her. 

Beyond La Salle, Wersch is planning on attending Washington State University and majoring in psychology. Although her plan is not final, Washington State is the ideal location. “Far enough away from home that I’m not at home, but close enough that if I needed to come home for a weekend, I could,” she said. 

She advises underclassmen to “just have fun and don’t put pressure on yourself because like it’s going to happen, life’s just going to zoom by,” she said.