By Daniela Santos

Throughout her years here at Wheat Ridge, Daniela Santos has truly displayed her creative and hard-working nature as editor-in-chief of The Haystack,

part of the fall play, and participating in Destination Imagination (an improv group.) On top of that, she has tutored students, been part of the CSU Communications Institute, and volunteered as a leader at outdoor lab.
Santos’s parents have been her biggest influence. “My parents have contradicting personalities, and I like to think I am a mix of the two,” she said. Her mother has paved the way for her optimistic attitude, and her stubbornness and humor come from her dad. The Daily Show’s host Jon Stewart has also heavily influenced Daniela. She asks herself, “What would Jon Stewart do?” and has garnered some of her interest in journalism and comedy from him.

Freshman year was neither challenging enough nor very fun for Santos and is the one thing she would do over again in her high school career. She also realized during freshman year that soccer wasn’t the place for her. However, she didn’t have the confidence to tell the coaches about this realization and instead came up with an elaborate escape plan that she does not regret in the least.

Santos’s friends are the part of high school that she will miss the most. “My friends are smart, opinionated and hilarious. We always have something to talk about.” For those that don’t know her might see her as polite and quiet. They may be surprised when she cracks a joke or makes random comment. She thinks of this as her best quality, it lets people know when she is comfortable around them.

One day, Daniela would love to write for a newspaper/magazine/or show such as Saturday Night Live, or something similar to it. It would make her love/obsession with music, TV, and movies all worth it. This summer, Santos plans to spend as much time with her friends as possible. In the fall she will be attending DU, hoping to major in communications. She advises any and all Farmers to remain weird. “I personally believe high school was more fun when I stopped trying to be like everyone else. Life after high school embraces what is different,” she explained.