For sophomore Wren Portrait, being surrounded by the right people is important. That’s part of what drew her to volleyball, her sport of choice for the past six years.

“My favorite part of volleyball is … getting to know people,” Portrait said. “I made so many friends through this season, so I love that.”

However, this spring, for the first time since she was in elementary school, she will be participating in tennis instead of club volleyball for a variety of reasons.

“I like playing games,” Portrait said. “I don’t like doing tournaments because it’s super long, and so for club, you only do tournaments. And I would only do club to prepare for school, but I didn’t really want to play on varsity, because that’s even more of a commitment. Plus I’ve done it for so long that it just felt kind of non-exciting.”

Outside of sports, Portrait is very academically focused, with her two favorite classes being Art Foundations with Performing & Fine Arts Department Chair Ms. Cha Asokan and Honors English II with English Department Chair Mr. Greg Larson.  

“I love Ms. Cha, and I love Mr. Larson, and also I like art because … I get to talk to people and it’s more relaxing,” Portrait said. “I like English, because I guess I like to write and read a lot, and Mr. Larson’s really cool and helps make it really interesting.”

Portrait is also a member of La Salle’s Charity Club, Key Club, and Earth Club, which she joined to feel more connected to La Salle’s community. 

“I thought it’d be really fun to get to know people … [and] meet upperclassmen too,” she said. “Most of my classes are only sophomores, so I thought it’d be fun to do that because I can meet new people. And then it also just feels nice to help out the community and get involved.”

Before she attended La Salle, Portrait attended Franciscan Montessori Earth School (FMES). 

“FMES was really good,” she said. “I liked it a lot. I made a lot of good friends that I’m still really close with even if they go to different schools.”

A particularly memorable experience during her time at FMES was a trip she took with her class to Canada and Washington, D.C.

“I felt like an adult, like, I was by myself,” Portrait said. “I was without my parents, and I was with my friends. And you’re staying in dorms, and that was really, really fun.” 

At home, Portrait lives with her dog, her parents, and her younger twin siblings — brother and sister — who she feels she is growing closer with. 

“We’re getting definitely closer, more of friends because before it was like, ‘I’m older sister, responsibilities, blah blah,’” she said. “They’ve always been my best friends, but it’s cool, because we can start to relate to things age-wise.”

While she doesn’t have a specific career path in mind, Portrait, influenced by her father, wants to do something artistic. 

“I definitely want to do something creative that I can have some influence in. Maybe art or writing,” she said.

Although her future isn’t mapped out, Portrait has clear goals. “I want to get into a good college that I would like and be able to do that and also be successful in what I’m wanting to do,” she said. 

In the future happiness would mean being “confident in myself and what I’m doing,” she added.