KCRG-TV9 Student of the Month makes a difference by being kind

WAUKON, Iowa (KCRG) - The final KCRG-TV9 Student of the Month for the school year is Trinity Sommer. She just graduated from Waukon High School, and is looking forward to what’s next, while also keeping in mind all that’s gotten her this far.

Mike Shupe teaches high school chemistry, physics, and engineering. He’s been a teacher for 35 years, including 17 at Waukon.

“She’s definitely a top pillar student,” said Shupe about Trinity. “It’s not just her academic ability that certainly stands on her own, but her ability to work with all types, to want to help others.”

Trinity’s plans changed during high school, when she got a part-time job at TASC. It’s a center that helps people with disabilities. She had wanted to go to college, and a double major in math and actuary science. Now, she is going to college to be a nurse.

“I got to thinking after getting this job that I just wouldn’t be satisfied with math, I want to be able to help people,” Trinity said.

Her mother, Dacia, is proud of who she is and how hard she works.

“She has always made us so proud, but to see her take on the stuff that she has, working two jobs before school in the morning, and then coming to college classes,” Dacia said.

“My main motivator is being successful,” explained Trinity. “I never wanted to think of myself as a failure, so that really pushed me to get involved, I work all the time because I really wanted to be independent as possible.”

As a National Honor Society member, she worked hard for her good grades. School itself though wasn’t always easy for Trinity.

“I actually had a lot of trouble making it to school when I was younger,” Trinity recalled. “I struggled with anxiety, and growing up, I started to find ways that would make me want to go to school.”

She didn’t let hard words make her bitter, instead, the opposite.

“Each day, she kept getting stronger and stronger,” Dacia said. Her teachers saw that too.

“Whatever else is going on, she’s always looking for the positive,” Shupe said.

For prom, Trinity and her boyfriend invited Jenna, a classmate who is in a wheelchair. That included working with the prom committee to set up a ramp, so Jenna could take part in the grand march.

“That’s exactly how we raised her, you be accepting of everyone, and you include everyone,” Dacia said. “I want her to feel complete. That she’s making a difference. By being kind. That’s what’s important.”

As she moves on past high school, Trinity has a message for both her younger self, and anyone else going through struggles, “Keep going, give yourself some time to figure yourself out.”

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