For the top Wright City Ambassador, Alejandra Salazar, becoming more involved in school naturally followed becoming more engaged with her community.
Salazar, a Wright City High School junior, was named as the winner of the annual ambassador contest at this year’s Strassenbash festival on Saturday, Oct. 3. To achieve the title, and a $1,100 scholarship, Salazar had to earn the highest score by participating in community volunteer events, completing a professional interview and developing a professional resume.
Salazar said she was recruited into the ambassador program after Heidi Halleman, one of the program organizers, reached out to her mother.
“I’d heard about it last year, and I wanted to do it, but it was way too late,” Salazar said. “This year I said, ‘Of course I’ll do it.’
“I personally love to help in the community. I love to do food pantries,” Salazar added.
But prior to joining the ambassadors early this year, she said she wasn’t motivated to take on any special interest or leadership opportunities at school. At the start of the fall semester, Salazar said being an ambassador made her want to be more involved and explore her interests, so she joined the student council and botany club at the same time that she was signing up for classes at Four Rivers Career Center and the A+ Program.
“The past couple years, I was not in the mindset to reach out and do anything with anyone. ... (The ambassadors) made me more comfortable with being myself and joining everything.”
Q: What have you learned about yourself by joining up?
“I’m really good with people. I can connect well with people, even if I don’t know them.”
Q: What do you do in botany club?
“We take care of plants. ... We do field trips, like the Butterfly House (or) stuff like the lavender farm here in Wright City. We go and interview them, ask about how they work with everything.”
Q: What classes do you take in school?
“I go to the Four Rivers College in Washington for three hours, and then I do zoology and English 3.
Q: What do you study at Four Rivers?
“Business. I want to do real estate. ... I’m not sure where I want to be located yet. I think I want to do the real estate where you go to different places, and you can see where there are things that are worth it and fix them up.”
Q: What’s your favorite class?
“Probably the business class. (The teacher) is really good. She pushes us to do everything, she doesn’t take any excuses. She says ‘This has to be 100 percent, or you’re getting a zero.’”
Q: Has anyone else been an inspiration?
“I’m not in band anymore, but my band teacher, Mr. (Bill) Schaffer. ... He pushes you to be your best. He knows you can do it, so he tells you, ‘You’re gonna do this, because I know you can.’”
Favorite food: Hot wings
Favorite show: “Grey’s Anatomy”
Favorite movie: Adam Sandler movies
Favorite music: A little of everything
Favorite destination: Destin, Florida
