Carson City Rotary Club Senior Spotlight: Dianna Angcod balances studies, cheer, leadership and family
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 09/03/2024 - 9:40am
For those who think teenagers are lazy, I would like to introduce them to Dianna Angcod. Her first class begins at 6:45 a.m. Her schedule includes AP English, Honors Chemistry II and AP Psychology. She ends her school day with 2 ½ hours of cheer practice and then it’s off to work for 4 hours.
Some days she also has to make time to cheer and other days she’s busy with student council. In other words, this young lady is far from being lazy. She is truly inspiring and worthy of recognition as this week’s Senior in the Spotlight.
One of Dianna’s favorite activities is cheer. She has participated in all four years of high school. Halfway through her freshman year, she was promoted to the Junior Varsity team. By sophomore year, she was a member of the Varsity team. “Before my freshman year, I was not associated with the cheer world at all because, back in my home country, cheerleading wasn’t a relevant thing,” she explained. “But thanks to my friends back in middle school, they introduced me to cheer and told me to try out, and here I am today.”
Dianna’s home country is the Philippines where she lived until she moved to Carson City 4 years ago. She stays connected to her Filipino culture by speaking Tagalog and eating Filipino food with her mother, aunt and grandfather. She also Facetime’s with family members that live in the Philippines. “Doing little things like hanging out with my family that live here in Carson, or even texting my family back in the Philippines makes me feel connected and reminds me daily about where I came from, and it reminds me to be humble every day.”
Giving back to the community is one of Dianna’s core values, and she finds ways to serve the school and community through Student Council. Like cheer, Dianna enjoys the friendships and collaborative nature of both groups. “My most favorite thing about leadership is being able to offer help to different people and serving the community.” An added bonus is that Dianna has learned a lot about herself in the process. “Whenever I am in leadership, I feel confident to speak out what I’m thinking … and be more open to other people’s ideas,” she said. “It gave me a chance to look at things a different way and feel more comfortable working with others and being more open to other people’s ideas.”
Dianna admits that juggling school, cheer, leadership, family obligations and work can be challenging. “Sometimes it’s just hard to manage my time and give enough attention to each thing I do.” She finds the best way to manage is to focus on the present. “To be honest, I just try to take one day at a time because if I start getting ahead of myself, I know I’m going to get overwhelmed and end up doing nothing.” If she could talk to her ninth-grade self, she said she would have this advice: “Slow down and take one day at a time… God has everything in control, and there is literally no point in worrying or always thinking ahead.”
All students named as a weekly Senior Spotlight are featured at the weekly meeting of the Rotary Club of Carson City. The Rotary Club of Carson City is a vibrant and dedicated group of professionals and community leaders committed to making a positive impact. The club welcomes individuals who are passionate about service and enjoy opportunities for personal and professional growth, networking and fellowship.
