East Valley’s Savanna Oberg turns around rough start in high school with resilience to graduate

Savanna Oberg describes her first two years at East Valley High School as rough. She had fallen off-track and was short of the credits needed to graduate.

Near the start of her third year, Oberg said she decided to make changes in her life.

“By my junior year, I was thinking about the consequences of what would happen if I were to keep going down that path – that if I needed to change the outcome, I needed to change the actions working toward that,” Oberg said.

Lauded today by East Valley counselors for her resilience and intelligence, Oberg turned her focus on school, secured positive relationships and improved grades – all leading to her graduation.

As she entered high school, Oberg said, her parents had divorced and she hit a turbulent time. She faced housing uncertainty and lived for a while with friends. During that time, Oberg said her behaviors weren’t good.

“Some of my decisions then weren’t the greatest,” said Oberg, 17. “I was hanging around the wrong crowd, I guess.

“With the housing situation not being good, I had limited resources, so I wasn’t doing as well in school. Basically, school was not my main priority. But at the start of my junior year, I knew we were getting closer to graduation, and I wasn’t on track for graduation.”

That year, she and her mom got an apartment, and she focused more on school. Oberg said she also ended some unhealthy peer relationships.

“You are who you hang around with,” she said. “I got rid of a lot of old friends and just started focusing more on school.”

East Valley counselor Mariah Nepean got to know Oberg well and watched the student’s turnaround.

“She made some positive changes with behavior and was able to totally turn things around,” Nepean said. “She went from being off track and us worrying to the point of, ‘We don’t know if she’ll graduate,’ to being on track and ready to graduate at the end of this school year.”

Counselors saw Oberg still face challenges but find solutions, such as buying a car, teaching herself to do minor repairs and get it running.

Nepean said Oberg is a critical thinker, has innate ability to read people and is funny.

“Savanna really connects with everyone,” Nepean said.

“She influences the school climate and culture in such a positive way. She’s incredibly honest and intuitive about where people are at, and she knows how to check in on them – students and adults.”

Oberg plans to go to a community college and eventually do real estate work part-time. She has worked for the Flight 509 arcade center since before it opened in April 2024.

“I love it there,” she said. “I’ve found I can just be myself and put my personality traits into the work environment. It’s a very fun place to work.”

Oberg’s mom, Deanna Dawson, said her daughter overcame a lot.

“I’m so proud of her for what she’s accomplished; there was a complete turnaround,” Dawson said. “She has come a long way.”

EVHS teachers and counselors build relationships with students, Oberg said, and that made a difference for her.

“The teachers connect with you on a personal level,” she said. “The counselors are really good at that, also. They have good resources and are willing to help.

“All around, that school is very community-oriented. They really do make sure everyone feels like that’s where you are supposed to be.”