1997 Lilac Festival Princesses

Crystal Stoehr Shadle Park

What’s the purpose of school spirit?

Ask Crystal Stoehr, 17, varsity cheerleader, and she’ll say it’s important for creating a school atmosphere where everyone can get involved.

“It doesn’t matter who you are,” she said. “If you like to wear baggy pants or whatever, school spirit makes it so you can be included and accepted.” Stoehr is also promoting spirit on a street near her church. She’s a member of “Adopt a Block,” a neighborhood clean-up program. The group chose a block, helped out the elderly residents and invited them to church.

Through the Associated Student Body at her school, Stoehr participated in a program that provided holiday meals and presents for the needy.

Last summer, Stoehr traveled to a small town in Mexico where she and her youth group helped clear a field so the local kids would have a place to play.

She learned that “happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have.”

“In America when I play sports I had to have the right shoes, a newly mowed grass field and gold goal posts,” she said. “Over there, the field was sometimes just dirt and weeds. And when they played they didn’t wear shoes.”

Stoehr plans to attend Pacific Lutheran University to study either nursing or education.

Pang Xiong North Central

Pang Xiong is the first Hmong girl to be a Lilac Princess. For her family and her culture, the title is an honor.

“I want to be a good role model for the Hmong community,” Xiong, 18, said. “I like kids. I want to be one of the motivators in a kid’s life.”

Xiong wants to attend Gonzaga University and one day become a pediatrician.

Xiong was born in Thailand but came to Spokane when she was 10 months old.

“My parents gave up their educational pursuits to provide for us,” she said. Xiong has three brothers and one sister.

When Xiong isn’t studying for her classes in biology, math and chemistry, her activities center around community involvement related to her culture and the larger Spokane community.

She is an active member of the Hmong Cultural Awareness Group, which seeks to preserve Hmong culture, its festive New Year celebration and its spiritual traditions. Xiong walks animals for the Humane Society, volunteers for Habitat for Humanity and for ArtFest at the East Central Community Center and helped collect personal hygiene supplies for the YMCA.

But when Xiong has a spare moment she likes to draw, play volleyball and play pool

Latisha Stephens Rogers

When Latisha Stephen’s got involved in the site-based council at her school, she realized teachers were human, not just figures behind a desk.

Stephens, 18, discovered teachers have opinions about school policies and procedures just like parents and students.

That kind of willingness to get involved seems to be part of Stephen’s past and present activities. She’s been involved in Spokane Child Abuse Neglect Prevention, where she counseled a 15-year-old single mother.

“I had to learn to listen and not to tell her what to do,” Stephens said.

Stephens became active in abuse prevention after she heard one-too-many naysayers complain about the terrible stories in the newspaper about abuse.

Stephens has also worked with the Northeast Community Center, coordinating the year-round clothing drive.

During the summer, she’s cleaned, painted and repaired the homes of elderly residents through a program administered by the Hillyard Rotary Club.

Stephens would like to attend Pacific University in Oregon, near Portland, and complete a pre-med degree. The next stop? Medical school to study the workings of the brain.

“I want to become a neurologist and find out why people act the way they act,” she said, smiling.

Erin Moore Mead

Erin Moore will be wearing a formal plum-and-white tea dress to her Advanced Placement Calculus Test.

Superstitious? Dress for Test Success? No. Just a busy young woman.

“I take my calculus test from 8 to 11:30 a.m., then I have a Lilac Princess luncheon that starts at 11:30 a.m.,” she explained.

But Moore, 17, isn’t worried about the mad dash she’ll have to make from one event to the next. She’s used to it.

“I’ve been over-involved in school… too many things to do,” said the 4.0 student.

Moore is a senior class officer, a member of the varsity soccer team and president of French Club.

She’s planning the senior class prom, the cruise and the breakfast.

In January, she helped organize the Mr. Mead Pageant, somewhat equivalent to the crowning of the Lilac Queen but on a smaller scale. Moore is also active in her community as a DARE role model.

Happily, she’s been accepted at Whitman College and Stanford University, so she has a pretty good idea where she’ll be next year.

She plans to earn a degree in biology and then attend medical school.

Her only worry? “It’s been such a hard year because of all the ice and snow. Hopefully, all the lilac trees didn’t die.”

Shannon Lyn Snow Lewis and Clark

Princesses can be jocks, too. That’s what volleyball coach Buzzy Welch told Shannon Snow the day after she was crowned. And Buzzy’s word is gospel.

“Volleyball is my love,” said Snow, 18. “I’ve learned as much through athletics as in the classroom.”

Snow credits Welch with teaching her to win with humility and lose with dignity. Experience as a team member has taught her how to relate to people.

People skills came in handy when she went to Tijuana, Mexico, two years ago with her youth group from First Presbyterian Church.

The group spent a week building homes for the poor, she said. Snow helped residents pour concrete, raise frames and tar roofs.

The experience gave Snow an appreciation of conveniences Americans take for granted - like running water and square footage.

“The people there were thankful for their homes, which are the size of most peoples’ living rooms,” she said. In addition to raising the roof, Snow also likes to play piano and read. She hopes to become an attorney, like her father, specializing in business and real estate law.

In the fall she plans to attend Washington State University or Seattle Pacific University. And after?

“I definitely want to live in Spokane,” she said.

Fianna Dickson Ferris

What does a drill team captain, rock climber and former junior class vice-president aspire to?

Becoming an FBI agent, of course. OK, make that a desk job, says Fianna Dickson, admitting she’s not sure that risky ventures appeal to her.

But Dickson, 17, is interested in the criminal mind.

“I’ve always loved mysteries,” Dickson explained.

But don’t pin down this young woman to one career; her interests have changed through the years. At one time she wanted to be an architect.

And she’s still considering a career in education. She’s got the experience; Dickson has been a student and a teacher. As part of a program at Ferris, she teaches social studies one period a week at Chase Middle School.

And in summers past she has taught jazz and ballet to kids ages 12 to 17.

“I want other people to get the joy out of dance that I do,” she said.

So what’s it going to be?

Whatever her decision, she hopes to pursue her goals at Gonzaga University, her “dream college.”

Malia Holst West Valley

Malia Holst was scared of math. That fear didn’t serve her well, particularly since she wants to become a medical researcher.

“I got tired of being scared,” said the spunky 18-year-old.

So instead of giving up, she started going for extra help.

“Math was controlling me. I started controlling it instead,” Holst explained.

This year, Holst’s math teacher thought so highly of her math skills that he asked her to tutor a German exchange student in calculus.

Holst is the varsity cheerleading captain, a member of the Spanish Club, a volleyball player and a violinist.

Holst is also an avid outdoor aficionado, with bike riding and swimming at the top of the list.

But her first love is science. “I love the mysteries of it. I love chemistry and biology.”

In her spare time, Holst reads medical mysteries.

One day she would like to help people overcome disease.

In the meantime, she’s brought a little cheer to kids suffering from disease or disability.

She’s volunteered at Shriners Hospital and helped set up last year’s Special Olympics at Cheney.

Holst said the pursuit of a science degree should take her to one of three schools: Gonzaga University, Seattle Pacific University or Carroll College in Helena.

Angie Wheeler Northwest Christian

Some of Angie Wheeler’s biggest fans are in jail.

Twice, Wheeler and her youth group visited a jail for juvenile offenders in Canada.

“The first time it was scary,” she said. “But they really appreciated us. They didn’t want us to leave.”

Wheeler says she understands how teens can get in trouble.

“Life isn’t easy. There’s a lot of choices,” she said. “And teenagers sometimes get caught up in drinking and partying.”

She finds excitement singing in her church’s choir - “for as long as she can remember,” - snow skiing, water skiing and cheerleading.

The 17-year-old senior class secretary, shortstop and singer wants to be an example of a good teenager. With the support of her family, church and friends, Wheeler has tried to be a model for others - both teens and adults.

Her biggest support system has been her family.

“They’re always there for me,” she said. “I love them to death.”

Her goal? To help other kids find their way. With that in mind, she would like to become a teacher. She hopes to join her brother, Matt, next year at Costa Mesa, Calif. to pursue a degree in education.

Tara Jorgenson East Valley

Tara Jorgenson isn’t one of a kind.

She’s a member of a trio.

A triplet, Jorgenson has two brothers who are identical twins, Matt and Jake.

Jorgenson, 18, has lived in Spokane all of her life and she might even have been born here except her birth and that of her two brothers necessitated their mother taking a helicopter ride to University Hospital in Seattle. Jorgenson was the first born.

Her interests are vast. “I love the outdoors - hiking, climbing, rafting and, this summer, rappelling,” Jorgenson said. “I love the rush.”

Jorgenson, a cheerleader at East Valley, has also been a fan for many years of a very special athlete she calls “my little boyfriend, Mike.”

Since junior high, Jorgenson has attended the Special Olympics at Horizon Junior High. Every year she helps set up for the event and helps run the arts and crafts booths. And, every year, she cheers on Mike.

Indoors, she excels in her advanced-placement English class, which involves a lot of reading (Shakespeare, Voltaire, etc.) and writing. She’ll earn a college credit for the class.

Jorgenson would like to attend Brigham Young University in the fall and pursue a career involving youth programs.

Tam Nguyen Gonzaga Prep

Tam Nguyen crowned her mother at the dinner table. The day she was named a princess, she made sure her mother got to try on her tiara.

Nguyen, 17, is a cheerleader at Gonzaga Prep, but she’s also a cheerleader to some of the kids at Shriners Hospital and the YWCA transition school for homeless children.

At Shriners, she has spent time with sick children, reading stories, playing games and eating candy with them. At the YWCA transition school she talks with kids and tries to be a good role model. She’s even taught a cultures class, explaining different cultures and sharing a batch of her own Vietnamese spring rolls.

Nguyen arrived in Spokane when she was 8 months old. She is Vietnamese but was born in Indonesia.

In 1992, Nguyen visited Vietnam for the first time.

“I experienced culture shock,” she said. “We take for granted the bathroom, the cars, the cleanliness.” “And I saw children my age who didn’t have the opportunity to go to school.”

For her Gonzaga Prep senior community service project, she elected to tutor adults to read, write and speak English at an English as Second Language course. Nguyen, who has studied Japanese for four years, would like to attend Santa Clara University or the University of Puget Sound and major in international business.

Kelli B. Van Matre Central Valley

Kelli B. Van Matre loves Kadi, her golden retriever. And if dogs could be princesses, 3-year-old Kadi would be on the Lilac Festival float with Van Matre.

“I’ve tried to put my tiara on her, but she hated it,” Van Matre admitted.

Good with dogs, Van Matre is even better with kids. A volunteer elementary-school mentor, she spends two hours every school day tutoring children in math, reading and art.

Teaching just may be in her blood. Her mother teaches first and second grade, her father is an assistant vice-principal at East Valley. At dinner, she’s privy to lots of conversation centering around education. That is, if she’s home for dinner.

The busy student is a cheerleader, Associated Student Body representative and blood drive worker.

Outside of school, Van Matre snow skis, water skis, goes camping with her parents and sister Kristi, 13, and plays summer softball.

Van Matre would like to become a high school history teacher and perhaps, later, a high-school guidance counselor.

“My parents helped me in my decision to be a teacher,” she said.

Brianne Adams University

If you’re going to eat a big lunch and then go swimming at Chester Hills Park, you may get a visit from Brianne Adams. And you’ll be happy to see her.

Adams, 18, has been a life guard for three years. During that time, she’s pulled a few people out of the water - mostly little kids.

“One little kid was about 3 years old,” she said. “I jumped in and grabbed him. He was startled.”

Adams and water go together. Always have. She teaches swimming lessons to kids. She loves to waterski. She sometimes goes fishing for walleye with her grandfather and her dad at Lake Roosevelt.

“I catch my fish sometimes, but it takes a lot of patience,” Adams said.

Even her dog, Willy, and water go together. Willy, “a short little guy” that loves camping and swimming.

Between water sports, Adams has helped wrap presents for kids at the Vanessa Behan Crisis Nursery, maintains a 3.7 grade point average, and revs up the student body with her cheerleading skills.

Adams has always wanted to be a Lilac Princess. And she’s always wanted to attend Washington State University or the University of Washington to major in business. She hopes to someday take over her father’s company or be the CEO of a major corporation. , DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 12 Photos

MEMO: See 3 related stories under the headlines: 1. Winning Ways (Valley Voice) 2. Role Models (North Side Voice) 3. Winning Ways (South Side Voice)