Coming to La Salle from a public school, Alder Creek Middle School, sophomore Anne Rust appreciates how “everyone is pretty serious about their education,” she said. She admires how students at La Salle are motivated and determined to do well in school, something she also strives to do. 

Rust is taking on a heavy course load this year including AP Calculus, Honors German 3, Honors Chemistry, and Honors English 2. Even though the classes require a lot of responsibility and hard work, Rust enjoys them because of her teachers. 

“Those are all my favorite classes because those are my favorite teachers,” Rust said. “It doesn’t really bother me that I have a lot of work from those classes.”

Honors Chemistry is her favorite class because her teacher, Mr. Matthew Owen, is friendly to all of his students. She finds chemistry interesting because she likes “knowing how everything is made and works,” she said.

Rust said she challenges herself in school because she believes that is the best way to prepare herself for her future life and career. 

“I just really want to be successful in my future” Rust said. “I feel like that kind of just starts right now.”

On top of her classes, Rust is part of the cross country, swim, and track teams at La Salle. She believes that being involved in many activities helps her balance the weight of all of her school work. Rust said she especially likes running, because it is a way she is able to detach from the responsibilities of school and take a little time for herself, while staying active. 

“It’s kind of a time that I can kind of have to myself because I can just zone out and run, especially with cross country because it’s for longer periods of time,” Anne said.

However, managing all of her athletic and academic endeavors can be challenging, “especially if my training goes a little bit later, or I just have a ton of homework,” she said. 

Rust’s family is one of the main reasons she participates in three different sports.

“My family likes to run a lot,” she said. “Also, my grandparents, and aunts, and uncles all did swimming.”

Another way Rust’s family has inspired her is through music. Her mother is a pianist and a major role model for her, as Rust has been playing the piano since she was five years old. 

For Rust, music is therapeutic and is another way to alleviate stress from school. “If I’m stressed out, [I] can just bang it out on the piano,” she said.

In addition to school, sports, and music, Rust loves to travel. Her favorite place she has visited is Switzerland. During her trip, she visited the Swiss Alps and spent much of her trip exploring the valleys and mountains by hiking. 

“It’s just so beautiful. I love it so much,” she said. “I love the weather in the summer.”

In the future, Rust wants to be an anesthesiologist. She has thought about her future career a lot recently, and thinks that being an anesthesiologist would be an interesting and rewarding job. She also wants to continue traveling, visiting countries such as Germany and Uganda.