With the power of humans, she is ready to make an impact. On others, her community, and the FHC theater program, she radiates positivity. Through student council, her church, and theater, junior Sutton Steensma has discovered new people and all the joys this world has to offer.

“I just love meeting people,” Sutton said. “I love new personalities and working with them. The power of humans is really incredible; you can do a lot. I just want to be happy, and I want to be fulfilled.”

Sutton relies on the power of other humans in her everyday life. Through working with others, she has achieved great things in a wide array of activities.

Sutton’s longest commitment has been with her church. She was influenced by her grandparents to attend church at a rather young age. As she grew up, her love for church grew. She became very involved in various activities offered to her. One of her most loved activities in church has been camp counseling. Every summer, Sutton takes a week to travel to Frankfurt to counsel children from her church. She looks forward to this every year.

“My faith is super important to me, and I love after having a full school year of stress, and victories, and all that comes with it, [I] go to camp for a week and get to recharge,” Sutton said. “I get to impact kids, be impacted by kids and peers, and I think it’s super special. There’s nothing like it.”

During the school year, Sutton also allocates her time towards student council and theater. Sutton has been participating in student council since 8th grade. Ever since then, she has remained involved and gained the title of Class President. Sutton loves how satisfying the whole experience is.

“You’re able to make things with your own two hands,” Sutton said. “That’s really special and super fun. I love the fact that we get to compete [at Homecoming and Winterfest] and challenge ourselves.”

Aside from helping lead the class to success during Homecoming Week, Winterfest Week, and the Senior Challenges, Sutton loves working with her class. She has gained knowledge about teamwork through collaborating with her fellow peers.

“[Student Council] has definitely helped me learn about people and working with people,” Sutton said. “That’s something that I’m really passionate about; I just love personalities and meeting different personalities. I love having a say in things that go on in my class. I think it has helped me grow and get more out of my comfort zone.”

Sutton also acts as a leader in the FHC theater department. Sutton got involved in theater at the start of her freshman year. Growing up, Sutton didn’t really know what her calling would be in high school. After trying almost every sport in the book, Sutton knew the life of an athlete wasn’t made for her. Upon entering high school, she was convinced by English teacher and theater director Robin DeMeester to audition for the fall play. After being cast, Sutton quickly found a home in this new activity.

“It was super unexpected, and I had no idea what was going to happen,” Sutton said. “[When I joined the fall play freshman year], I absolutely fell in love with the people and the atmosphere.”

This year, Sutton is very excited to be playing Tiger Lily in the upcoming spring musical Peter Pan. She is looking forward to seeing the show come together.

“Everyone [in Peter Pan] is so talented,” Sutton said. “In shows like Peter Pan, it’s raw talent. It requires a lot of skills. There’s flying, sword fights, and drumming. It’s incredible.”

Sutton is very glad she took the risk freshman year when she joined the fall play. She believes people should take every opportunity and live without regrets.

“If you never know what it’s like to get out of your comfort zone, you’re just going to stay in a mold and always feel like there is more potential, but never get there,” Sutton said. “Everyone has potential, you just have to reach for it. It’s not easy, but you will get there.”

Whether it be working on the student council float, the spring musical, or camp counseling, Sutton makes sure to radiate positivity in everything she does.

“You have to live every single day with grace and thankfulness,” Sutton said. “If you really sit down and think about the things you have in life and love, you are just so filled with joy and gratitude. If you have a bad day, that’s okay because there are going to be people around you that are going to fulfill you with conversation and encouragement. If you are that person for someone because you are just being who you are and being positive, you could change their entire day.”

While Sutton is still unsure of what the future holds for her, she is looking forward to her future. Her ability to take risks and work with others will take her a far in life. With the power of positivity and other people, Sutton is excited to see what lies ahead.

“I know my plan is already laid out for me and I’m just discovering it,” Sutton said. “Whether that means it takes me a longer or shorter time to get there, the plan’s always the same, it’s just you discovering it. That’s almost the more exciting part: figuring out how I’m going to get to the finish line.”