Starting over and succeeding
When Joel Nitteberg walks across the Spokane Arena stage Saturday to accept his Central Valley High School diploma it will complete an arduous journey.
Nitteberg had to learn in just four short years what his classmates accomplished in 18 years of life and a dozen years of schooling. All of it. How to talk. How to walk.
In spring of 2004, Nitteberg suffered a traumatic brain injury in a bicycle accident. When he came out of a coma he had to start from scratch and relearn everything.
“I was just riding my dirt bike,” he said. “From what I understand and what my family understands, I was going up a gradual hill. Another rider came out of nowhere at me. I must have pulled my front brake because I flew over my handlebars. I must have flown over the side of the hill and down into a dip and landed on my head.”
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West Valley
Love of fashion carries her away
West Valley senior Tanya Lund’s passion for design has landed her a $78,000 scholarship to study design at the Art Institute of Seattle
Lund, who has dreamed of a fashion design career, entered her gray, wine and silvery cream-colored dress in The Art Institutes’ Passion for Fashion competition and won first place in New York City from among more than 35 submitted nationally by high school seniors.
“I’m obsessed with fashion,” she said. “It’s art to me. I know there are people who look at fashion and figure you really don’t need a brain to go off and do that. But really, there’s a lot more to it than just the clothes. It’s more about art and being creative.”
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Valley Christian
Helping others is just her way
Valley Christian’s Veronika Dragomir enjoys serving others.
“I usually go help people – that’s my hobby, I guess,” Dragomir said in describing her interests.
Since seventh grade she’s served food in the cafeteria to other students. And she’s quick to volunteer to help relatives.
Dragomir came to Spokane at age 10 with her family, arriving from a small village in Ukraine. Dragomir spoke Moldavian and there was only support at her school for Russian-speaking students.
Today she speaks Moldavian, Russian and English.
See story on Page 2
Index
Barker2
Central Valley6
Contract Based Eduation18
East Valley10
Freeman8
Gonzaga Prep3
Liberty4, 12
Northwest Christian8
The Oaks3
St. George’s10
St. Michael’s16
Spokane Valley4
University16
Upper Columbia16
Valley Christian2
West Valley12