Junior Ayva Alston feels she was welcomed into the Makers Club after she “wandered into Ms. Coleman’s room freshman year,” and made a few friends, she said. After slowly starting to help out at the Makers Club’s after school events and other activities, she was able to become an official leader.
Alston also enjoys doodling in her free time, and while she started with simpler things, like flowers, she is slowly beginning to move on to drawing people, though not in realistic style.
Alston took Technical Theatre and Scenic Construction her freshman year, and she enjoyed the hands-on aspect of getting to build sets. She found learning about the theater without being on stage really interesting.
Although she spends most of her time focused on academics, Alston is interested in reading during her free time. She started by reading graphic novels when she was younger in both Spanish and English, as her elementary school was bilingual.
Eventually, she moved on to a wider variety of books. She currently prefers fiction to nonfiction, due to the world that the authors can create.
Coming to La Salle as a freshman was a big change compared to her middle school, Alder Creek, a shift exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
She came here not knowing many people, but since then, feels she has found a community here.
Spanish has always been her favorite subject, as there is always something new to learn and she appreciates that the Spanish teachers are friendly and helpful. Alston likes that she has been learning Spanish for so long, and has been consistently encouraged to continue.
She is going on La Salle’s trip to Spain next summer, which she’s excited about because it will be her first time in that part of Europe. It will be her second time in Europe, after her family trip there last summer, which was her dream vacation. She appreciated meeting family in France, Germany, and London who she had never met before.
She looks up to her parents, saying “they’ve always been like really good role models in my life.” Alston grew up hearing about her dad’s experience in law school, and the effort her mom put into starting a nonprofit. Alston values all of her parents’ hard work, a virtue she hopes to live out in her life.
Alston appreciates having a little sister close in age, saying some of her favorite memories are spending time with her and getting to be her best friend growing up. They enjoy going for walks, watching movies, playing games, biking, and scootering.
She grew up with some unusual pets, including two goats and some chickens. Now, Alston has a dog named Sunny.
Although she is not sure what exactly her dream job is, Alston says she wants to do “anything that makes [her] happy.” She is also unsure of her college plans, but is aiming for Reed College. She plans on taking her positive experiences in high school into college and finding a major that she loves.
