Shadle Park High School: Danielle Cozzetto takes a swing at her future

Living in Florida for six years as a young girl instilled a love of the ocean into Shadle Park High School senior Danielle Cozzetto.

She plans to turn that love into a career.

“Growing up in Florida, I just loved the ocean,” she said. “I love science and I’m passionate about animals, so I thought why not combine that?”

Cozzetto was born in Canada, where her father is from, and also spent time living in the Philippines, where her mother is from. She and her father moved to Spokane from Florida the summer before she started eighth grade. In November 2023, her father died of cancer.

“Ever since then it’s been a little bit tough,” she said. “I was taking care of him for a while. It was hard. I was trying to balance sports and school and then my dad.”

Her three older siblings were all adults at the time, living across the country. As Cozzetto struggled to juggle high school with taking care of her sick father, one of her older sisters moved here from New York to help. “She pretty much dropped everything,” Cozzetto said.

Her sister moved in four months before her father died. She’s now Cozzetto’s guardian.

Teachers and staff noticed Cozzetto’s struggles even as she continued to excel in her classes and on the tennis court.

“She has shown resilience and grit and has persevered through it all,” said school counselor Tippy Winter. “The staff at Shadle Park holds her in high regard for what it means to be a Highlander and we are proud for all she has accomplished.”

Cozzetto started playing tennis when she was in the eighth grade and learned she had a natural talent for it. “My uncle, when I was younger, was a big role model and he was an avid tennis player,” she said. “I didn’t even want to play tennis at first because I thought it looked boring. Actually, it’s fun.”

In middle school she played soccer and tennis and was also on the swim team and took karate classes. In high school she dropped her other sports to focus on tennis. She’s been a varsity singles player since her freshman year. She’s held the number one singles position for multiple years and has earned Greater Spokane League 2A first-team selections. She also plays club tennis, so she’s on the court year-round.

Although tennis has been her focus, she found time for other activities as well. She’s a member of the Shadle Park Drug Free club and serves on the youth advisory board of the Spokane Alliance for Fentanyl Education, which hosts an annual Youth Summit.

Cozzetto plans to continue playing at the college level and said she was recruited by Division III and Division II schools before committing to Arizona State University. A visit to the school sold her on the choice. “I love the weather,” she said. “I just fell in love with it. There’s so much to do there.”

She plans to study ocean science and is considering a career as a marine biologist.