Academics Makenna is currently enrolled at UCLA 4.0 GPA at UCLA 5.0 GPA in high school President of the Junior State of America (JSA) Chapter at her school for two years Co-founder of Planet Action Now, a podcast focused on climate solutions College Classes Taken: Spanish 1, 2, 3 & 4 U.S. History Biology Inorganic Chemistry English (College Composition) Precalculus, Algebra/Trigonometry Calculus Drawing and Composition World Music Professor Comments: Dr. Michael Mangin, Ph.D. -U.S. History at Cabrillo College "Makenna Damhorst is one of the best students I have ever had. She is bright, responsible, curious, and extremely articulate. She consistently turned in the best work of any student I had last semester. She is extremely responsible and very much a self-starter. I always looked forward to her journals and responses because they were full of her observations about the irony in history and the foibles of human beings. She earned a strong “A” grade for the class, of course. In addition to her intellectual gifts, Makenna brings a humane and tolerant attitude to everything she does. She is one of the best writers I have ever taught." Joanne Brown, M.S. Consultant Teacher (5yrs) and several class at AFE “I had the pleasure of being Makenna’s academic advisor and classroom teacher at Alternative Family Education. Makenna is enthusiastic, hardworking and enjoys challenging herself academically. I especially appreciate her positive attitude and her ability to work well with her classmates. She has great leadership skills and is always willing to contribute to class discussions. Makenna successfully completed several courses with me, including Art of Native North America, Ecology and Creative Writing. She exceeded expectations in each of these classes, often choosing to research related topics on her own. As her consultant teacher, I had the opportunity to meet with her monthly and I was always impressed by the variety of subjects that she chose to explore, including rocketry, current events, politics, photography, drawing, cooking and many more. Makenna’s natural curiosity and passion for learning will serve her well in any endeavors she chooses to undertake.” Rena Dubin- Dramatic Literature 2020: "Makenna’s work was outstanding, displaying a true grasp of the complexities across the body of Shakespeare's work. A+ level work throughout the course. Makenna consistently impresses with her mature understanding of the material and her creative responses to the intricacies of the plays. Her responses showed a thoughtfulness and dedication to the subject, more representative of college-level than high school expectations." Ruthie Yarme, MBA- Economic and Life Skills: “Makenna is an exceptional student and human. She comes to class exquisitely prepared, is always thoughtful, and is dedicated to deeply understanding the course material. She is a clear thinker who finds meaning in her studies and is able to share that meaning with her fellow students. The classes that I taught at AFE were 9-12 grade courses. Makenna was among the youngest students in the class- and always among the strongest! A class full of Makennas would be a teacher’s dream.” Ayala Younger, MA- Health and English: Listen up! Critique and creation of Podcasting. “Makenna is an active and engaged learner in her classes. She participates respectfully, sharing ideas about her deep and reflective thinking, while also being open to new ideas. Every class, she comes prepared, having read and prepared the materials so she is able to participate fully. Her written work is well-constructed (she is a very capable and articulate writer). She also takes risks with her learning, tackling and persisting through challenges, learning from mistakes, and always seeking to improve and to expand her knowledge. Makenna is a student who makes connections, asks insightful questions, and clearly wants to learn for the pure joy of learning.” Leisl Ludington: -Government, Econ, Life Skills, and Show Tunes Choir: “It was my pleasure to have Makenna Damhorst in several of the classes I taught at AFE. She was always prepared and contributed thoughtfully to class discussions. I appreciated her active engagement and focused attention during lectures. She brought a positive attitude and willingness to collaborate to each class. Outside of the classroom, I witnessed her inclusivity and generosity. It was refreshing to see her exuberance for life and clever sense of humor as she interacted with both students and staff. I am grateful to have had her as a student.” Stacey Saady, MA-World History through monotheistic World religions: “Makenna Damhorst was a student in my Spring 2021 World History class, during the height of Covid. This course was held entirely on zoom, and students were required to submit rigorous weekly projects. Makenna’s work was always, every week, in the top 5% of the assignments. Additionally, even though we were on a platform that many students tend to “go quiet on,” Makenna was an active and enthusiastic participant during our meetings who contributed thoughtful questions and insightful comments to the dialogue. I know Makenna is a truly astounding competitive gymnast because I asked her once – after she took time out of one of the competitions she had traveled to to join us on Zoom – if she would send me a video. To say I was impressed is an understatement. Her ability to compete at such a level and manage her time so effectively that she still attended all of our meetings and turned all of her A level work in on time tells me she will have no trouble balancing and meeting the demands of college work. Add her conversation skills and academic work effort, and you’ve got an excellent addition to your program. Nancy Alysworth, Dramatic Literature 2022: “Makenna is a dedicated student who clearly loves to learn. She was very engaged in the material and thorough in completing her assignments. Her homework assignments were always a pleasure to read as her responses demonstrated close reads and her ability for in-depth reflections and ability to make connections between literary pieces as well as the literature we were studying and contemporary issues. She wrote more than most of the students on all of her weekly assignments too. In our Dramatic Literature class, she could be counted on to work with any combination of students and in any role. She is kind to and respectful of all of her peers with sincere consideration for inclusivity in regards to gender, orientation, ethnicity, race and ability of others. When called on in class, I could count on her fresh and meaningful insights which often served to elevate the group discussion.” Jason Camara, Ph.D. Chem 3 and Chem Lab 3: “The summer 2021 cohort was a strong and invested group of over 60 students. Makenna’s grades in both the lecture (Chem 3) and the lab (Chem 3L) were in the top 5 percent of that cohort. She was a delight to work with, showing a strong ability to grasp the concepts quickly and to retain and use the knowledge moving forward. Her questions in office hours were direct, based on specific problems she experienced while attempting the homework or lab materials. Makenna’s strong preparations outside of lecture allowed us to move very quickly in answering her questions in office hours. Her work had so little to correct that she simply didn’t have much to inquire with me regarding corrections on her work. She showed good skills in navigating interactions with strong personalities that often dominated both lecture and office hours, and an ability to collaborate with a diverse group of students of all ages and to contribute her voice and ideas to the conversation in a very positive, constructive, and helpful manner.” -Dr. Jason Camara, Ph.D. Laura Renz, Marine Biology and Ocean Literature teacher: “I would like to give Makenna Damhorst a glowing review as a student who is thoughtful, hardworking, efficient, focused and did excellent work. Makenna also participated and asked questions beyond her years. She is an amazing artist, a wonderful writer and very detailed in all she does. She was one of our middle school students in a high school level class. Makenna has a gentle, kind and hardworking personality and gets along with everyone. She is self-motivated and is looking to do her best in everything she does. Makenna was a joy to have in class and was friends with all our students and teachers. She has a sense of grace and confidence that serves her and those around her. She is also a leader in the most gentle way.” Nancy Stucker, MA, Cabrillo Spanish 1 & 2: “Makenna Damhorst was an engaged, hard-working, extremely responsible student who participated actively in every class and whose effort was reflected in her achievement in Spanish 1 & 2. She is an outstanding student, and it was a pleasure to have her in my classes.” Bryn Kanar, Philosophy: Power tools for the Brain: “Makenna was a great student. She participated in discussions and wrote very thoughtful papers.” Rosario Lionudakis, MFA, African-American literature and “isms in Contemporary Literature “Makenna Damhorst is an exceptional student. As a student-athlete, she seamlessly balances her work in both disciplines with integrity and excellence. She was a student in two of my literature classes, one focusing on African-American literature and another focusing on Contemporary issues in society. Makenna is such an inspiring student, that I created the segment of class based on environmental issues with her in mind. She is a fierce activist in the discussion of climate change, and I was excited to hopefully enhance her knowledge on the subject. Her desire for a harmonious world extends to the classroom and learning environment. Makenna’s thoughtfulness and empathy creates a safe space for her peers. I personally witnessed her approaching all of her peers with an open-heart. She does not judge people and she is continually kind to all, even choosing to befriend the most challenged of students. She is simultaneously able to be a role model and also a peer. I am in continual awe of this student.” Name: Makenna Damhorst
Birthday: July 15, 2005
Grad Year: 2023
Hometown: Scotts Valley, CA Parents: Kris and Darla Damhorst
Gym: East Bay Gymnastics, Concord, CA
Coach: Lisa Terry
 Academics Makenna is currently enrolled at UCLA 4.0 GPA at UCLA 5.0 GPA in high school President of the Junior State of America (JSA) Chapter at her school for two years Co-founder of Planet Action Now, a podcast focused on climate solutions College Classes Taken: Spanish 1, 2, 3 & 4 U.S. History Biology Inorganic Chemistry English (College Composition) Precalculus, Algebra/Trigonometry Calculus Drawing and Composition World Music Professor Comments: Dr. Michael Mangin, Ph.D. -U.S. History at Cabrillo College "Makenna Damhorst is one of the best students I have ever had. She is bright, responsible, curious, and extremely articulate. She consistently turned in the best work of any student I had last semester. She is extremely responsible and very much a self-starter. I always looked forward to her journals and responses because they were full of her observations about the irony in history and the foibles of human beings. She earned a strong “A” grade for the class, of course. In addition to her intellectual gifts, Makenna brings a humane and tolerant attitude to everything she does. She is one of the best writers I have ever taught." Joanne Brown, M.S. Consultant Teacher (5yrs) and several class at AFE “I had the pleasure of being Makenna’s academic advisor and classroom teacher at Alternative Family Education. Makenna is enthusiastic, hardworking and enjoys challenging herself academically. I especially appreciate her positive attitude and her ability to work well with her classmates. She has great leadership skills and is always willing to contribute to class discussions. Makenna successfully completed several courses with me, including Art of Native North America, Ecology and Creative Writing. She exceeded expectations in each of these classes, often choosing to research related topics on her own. As her consultant teacher, I had the opportunity to meet with her monthly and I was always impressed by the variety of subjects that she chose to explore, including rocketry, current events, politics, photography, drawing, cooking and many more. Makenna’s natural curiosity and passion for learning will serve her well in any endeavors she chooses to undertake.” Rena Dubin- Dramatic Literature 2020: "Makenna’s work was outstanding, displaying a true grasp of the complexities across the body of Shakespeare's work. A+ level work throughout the course. Makenna consistently impresses with her mature understanding of the material and her creative responses to the intricacies of the plays. Her responses showed a thoughtfulness and dedication to the subject, more representative of college-level than high school expectations." Ruthie Yarme, MBA- Economic and Life Skills: “Makenna is an exceptional student and human. She comes to class exquisitely prepared, is always thoughtful, and is dedicated to deeply understanding the course material. She is a clear thinker who finds meaning in her studies and is able to share that meaning with her fellow students. The classes that I taught at AFE were 9-12 grade courses. Makenna was among the youngest students in the class- and always among the strongest! A class full of Makennas would be a teacher’s dream.” Ayala Younger, MA- Health and English: Listen up! Critique and creation of Podcasting. “Makenna is an active and engaged learner in her classes. She participates respectfully, sharing ideas about her deep and reflective thinking, while also being open to new ideas. Every class, she comes prepared, having read and prepared the materials so she is able to participate fully. Her written work is well-constructed (she is a very capable and articulate writer). She also takes risks with her learning, tackling and persisting through challenges, learning from mistakes, and always seeking to improve and to expand her knowledge. Makenna is a student who makes connections, asks insightful questions, and clearly wants to learn for the pure joy of learning.” Leisl Ludington: -Government, Econ, Life Skills, and Show Tunes Choir: “It was my pleasure to have Makenna Damhorst in several of the classes I taught at AFE. She was always prepared and contributed thoughtfully to class discussions. I appreciated her active engagement and focused attention during lectures. She brought a positive attitude and willingness to collaborate to each class. Outside of the classroom, I witnessed her inclusivity and generosity. It was refreshing to see her exuberance for life and clever sense of humor as she interacted with both students and staff. I am grateful to have had her as a student.” Stacey Saady, MA-World History through monotheistic World religions: “Makenna Damhorst was a student in my Spring 2021 World History class, during the height of Covid. This course was held entirely on zoom, and students were required to submit rigorous weekly projects. Makenna’s work was always, every week, in the top 5% of the assignments. Additionally, even though we were on a platform that many students tend to “go quiet on,” Makenna was an active and enthusiastic participant during our meetings who contributed thoughtful questions and insightful comments to the dialogue. I know Makenna is a truly astounding competitive gymnast because I asked her once – after she took time out of one of the competitions she had traveled to to join us on Zoom – if she would send me a video. To say I was impressed is an understatement. Her ability to compete at such a level and manage her time so effectively that she still attended all of our meetings and turned all of her A level work in on time tells me she will have no trouble balancing and meeting the demands of college work. Add her conversation skills and academic work effort, and you’ve got an excellent addition to your program. Nancy Alysworth, Dramatic Literature 2022: “Makenna is a dedicated student who clearly loves to learn. She was very engaged in the material and thorough in completing her assignments. Her homework assignments were always a pleasure to read as her responses demonstrated close reads and her ability for in-depth reflections and ability to make connections between literary pieces as well as the literature we were studying and contemporary issues. She wrote more than most of the students on all of her weekly assignments too. In our Dramatic Literature class, she could be counted on to work with any combination of students and in any role. She is kind to and respectful of all of her peers with sincere consideration for inclusivity in regards to gender, orientation, ethnicity, race and ability of others. When called on in class, I could count on her fresh and meaningful insights which often served to elevate the group discussion.” Jason Camara, Ph.D. Chem 3 and Chem Lab 3: “The summer 2021 cohort was a strong and invested group of over 60 students. Makenna’s grades in both the lecture (Chem 3) and the lab (Chem 3L) were in the top 5 percent of that cohort. She was a delight to work with, showing a strong ability to grasp the concepts quickly and to retain and use the knowledge moving forward. Her questions in office hours were direct, based on specific problems she experienced while attempting the homework or lab materials. Makenna’s strong preparations outside of lecture allowed us to move very quickly in answering her questions in office hours. Her work had so little to correct that she simply didn’t have much to inquire with me regarding corrections on her work. She showed good skills in navigating interactions with strong personalities that often dominated both lecture and office hours, and an ability to collaborate with a diverse group of students of all ages and to contribute her voice and ideas to the conversation in a very positive, constructive, and helpful manner.” -Dr. Jason Camara, Ph.D. Laura Renz, Marine Biology and Ocean Literature teacher: “I would like to give Makenna Damhorst a glowing review as a student who is thoughtful, hardworking, efficient, focused and did excellent work. Makenna also participated and asked questions beyond her years. She is an amazing artist, a wonderful writer and very detailed in all she does. She was one of our middle school students in a high school level class. Makenna has a gentle, kind and hardworking personality and gets along with everyone. She is self-motivated and is looking to do her best in everything she does. Makenna was a joy to have in class and was friends with all our students and teachers. She has a sense of grace and confidence that serves her and those around her. She is also a leader in the most gentle way.” Nancy Stucker, MA, Cabrillo Spanish 1 & 2: “Makenna Damhorst was an engaged, hard-working, extremely responsible student who participated actively in every class and whose effort was reflected in her achievement in Spanish 1 & 2. She is an outstanding student, and it was a pleasure to have her in my classes.” Bryn Kanar, Philosophy: Power tools for the Brain: “Makenna was a great student. She participated in discussions and wrote very thoughtful papers.” Rosario Lionudakis, MFA, African-American literature and “isms in Contemporary Literature “Makenna Damhorst is an exceptional student. As a student-athlete, she seamlessly balances her work in both disciplines with integrity and excellence. She was a student in two of my literature classes, one focusing on African-American literature and another focusing on Contemporary issues in society. Makenna is such an inspiring student, that I created the segment of class based on environmental issues with her in mind. She is a fierce activist in the discussion of climate change, and I was excited to hopefully enhance her knowledge on the subject. Her desire for a harmonious world extends to the classroom and learning environment. Makenna’s thoughtfulness and empathy creates a safe space for her peers. I personally witnessed her approaching all of her peers with an open-heart. She does not judge people and she is continually kind to all, even choosing to befriend the most challenged of students. She is simultaneously able to be a role model and also a peer. I am in continual awe of this student.” Name: Makenna Damhorst
Birthday: July 15, 2005
Grad Year: 2023
Hometown: Scotts Valley, CA Parents: Kris and Darla Damhorst
Gym: East Bay Gymnastics, Concord, CA
Coach: Lisa Terry
 Academics Makenna is currently enrolled at UCLA 4.0 GPA at UCLA 5.0 GPA in high school President of the Junior State of America (JSA) Chapter at her school for two years Co-founder of Planet Action Now, a podcast focused on climate solutions College Classes Taken: Spanish 1, 2, 3 & 4 U.S. History Biology Inorganic Chemistry English (College Composition) Precalculus, Algebra/Trigonometry Calculus Drawing and Composition World Music Professor Comments: Dr. Michael Mangin, Ph.D. -U.S. History at Cabrillo College "Makenna Damhorst is one of the best students I have ever had. She is bright, responsible, curious, and extremely articulate. She consistently turned in the best work of any student I had last semester. She is extremely responsible and very much a self-starter. I always looked forward to her journals and responses because they were full of her observations about the irony in history and the foibles of human beings. She earned a strong “A” grade for the class, of course. In addition to her intellectual gifts, Makenna brings a humane and tolerant attitude to everything she does. She is one of the best writers I have ever taught." Joanne Brown, M.S. Consultant Teacher (5yrs) and several class at AFE “I had the pleasure of being Makenna’s academic advisor and classroom teacher at Alternative Family Education. Makenna is enthusiastic, hardworking and enjoys challenging herself academically. I especially appreciate her positive attitude and her ability to work well with her classmates. She has great leadership skills and is always willing to contribute to class discussions. Makenna successfully completed several courses with me, including Art of Native North America, Ecology and Creative Writing. She exceeded expectations in each of these classes, often choosing to research related topics on her own. As her consultant teacher, I had the opportunity to meet with her monthly and I was always impressed by the variety of subjects that she chose to explore, including rocketry, current events, politics, photography, drawing, cooking and many more. Makenna’s natural curiosity and passion for learning will serve her well in any endeavors she chooses to undertake.” Rena Dubin- Dramatic Literature 2020: "Makenna’s work was outstanding, displaying a true grasp of the complexities across the body of Shakespeare's work. A+ level work throughout the course. Makenna consistently impresses with her mature understanding of the material and her creative responses to the intricacies of the plays. Her responses showed a thoughtfulness and dedication to the subject, more representative of college-level than high school expectations." Ruthie Yarme, MBA- Economic and Life Skills: “Makenna is an exceptional student and human. She comes to class exquisitely prepared, is always thoughtful, and is dedicated to deeply understanding the course material. She is a clear thinker who finds meaning in her studies and is able to share that meaning with her fellow students. The classes that I taught at AFE were 9-12 grade courses. Makenna was among the youngest students in the class- and always among the strongest! A class full of Makennas would be a teacher’s dream.” Ayala Younger, MA- Health and English: Listen up! Critique and creation of Podcasting. “Makenna is an active and engaged learner in her classes. She participates respectfully, sharing ideas about her deep and reflective thinking, while also being open to new ideas. Every class, she comes prepared, having read and prepared the materials so she is able to participate fully. Her written work is well-constructed (she is a very capable and articulate writer). She also takes risks with her learning, tackling and persisting through challenges, learning from mistakes, and always seeking to improve and to expand her knowledge. Makenna is a student who makes connections, asks insightful questions, and clearly wants to learn for the pure joy of learning.” Leisl Ludington: -Government, Econ, Life Skills, and Show Tunes Choir: “It was my pleasure to have Makenna Damhorst in several of the classes I taught at AFE. She was always prepared and contributed thoughtfully to class discussions. I appreciated her active engagement and focused attention during lectures. She brought a positive attitude and willingness to collaborate to each class. Outside of the classroom, I witnessed her inclusivity and generosity. It was refreshing to see her exuberance for life and clever sense of humor as she interacted with both students and staff. I am grateful to have had her as a student.” Stacey Saady, MA-World History through monotheistic World religions: “Makenna Damhorst was a student in my Spring 2021 World History class, during the height of Covid. This course was held entirely on zoom, and students were required to submit rigorous weekly projects. Makenna’s work was always, every week, in the top 5% of the assignments. Additionally, even though we were on a platform that many students tend to “go quiet on,” Makenna was an active and enthusiastic participant during our meetings who contributed thoughtful questions and insightful comments to the dialogue. I know Makenna is a truly astounding competitive gymnast because I asked her once – after she took time out of one of the competitions she had traveled to to join us on Zoom – if she would send me a video. To say I was impressed is an understatement. Her ability to compete at such a level and manage her time so effectively that she still attended all of our meetings and turned all of her A level work in on time tells me she will have no trouble balancing and meeting the demands of college work. Add her conversation skills and academic work effort, and you’ve got an excellent addition to your program. Nancy Alysworth, Dramatic Literature 2022: “Makenna is a dedicated student who clearly loves to learn. She was very engaged in the material and thorough in completing her assignments. Her homework assignments were always a pleasure to read as her responses demonstrated close reads and her ability for in-depth reflections and ability to make connections between literary pieces as well as the literature we were studying and contemporary issues. She wrote more than most of the students on all of her weekly assignments too. In our Dramatic Literature class, she could be counted on to work with any combination of students and in any role. She is kind to and respectful of all of her peers with sincere consideration for inclusivity in regards to gender, orientation, ethnicity, race and ability of others. When called on in class, I could count on her fresh and meaningful insights which often served to elevate the group discussion.” Jason Camara, Ph.D. Chem 3 and Chem Lab 3: “The summer 2021 cohort was a strong and invested group of over 60 students. Makenna’s grades in both the lecture (Chem 3) and the lab (Chem 3L) were in the top 5 percent of that cohort. She was a delight to work with, showing a strong ability to grasp the concepts quickly and to retain and use the knowledge moving forward. Her questions in office hours were direct, based on specific problems she experienced while attempting the homework or lab materials. Makenna’s strong preparations outside of lecture allowed us to move very quickly in answering her questions in office hours. Her work had so little to correct that she simply didn’t have much to inquire with me regarding corrections on her work. She showed good skills in navigating interactions with strong personalities that often dominated both lecture and office hours, and an ability to collaborate with a diverse group of students of all ages and to contribute her voice and ideas to the conversation in a very positive, constructive, and helpful manner.” -Dr. Jason Camara, Ph.D. Laura Renz, Marine Biology and Ocean Literature teacher: “I would like to give Makenna Damhorst a glowing review as a student who is thoughtful, hardworking, efficient, focused and did excellent work. Makenna also participated and asked questions beyond her years. She is an amazing artist, a wonderful writer and very detailed in all she does. She was one of our middle school students in a high school level class. Makenna has a gentle, kind and hardworking personality and gets along with everyone. She is self-motivated and is looking to do her best in everything she does. Makenna was a joy to have in class and was friends with all our students and teachers. She has a sense of grace and confidence that serves her and those around her. She is also a leader in the most gentle way.” Nancy Stucker, MA, Cabrillo Spanish 1 & 2: “Makenna Damhorst was an engaged, hard-working, extremely responsible student who participated actively in every class and whose effort was reflected in her achievement in Spanish 1 & 2. She is an outstanding student, and it was a pleasure to have her in my classes.” Bryn Kanar, Philosophy: Power tools for the Brain: “Makenna was a great student. She participated in discussions and wrote very thoughtful papers.” Rosario Lionudakis, MFA, African-American literature and “isms in Contemporary Literature “Makenna Damhorst is an exceptional student. As a student-athlete, she seamlessly balances her work in both disciplines with integrity and excellence. She was a student in two of my literature classes, one focusing on African-American literature and another focusing on Contemporary issues in society. Makenna is such an inspiring student, that I created the segment of class based on environmental issues with her in mind. She is a fierce activist in the discussion of climate change, and I was excited to hopefully enhance her knowledge on the subject. Her desire for a harmonious world extends to the classroom and learning environment. Makenna’s thoughtfulness and empathy creates a safe space for her peers. I personally witnessed her approaching all of her peers with an open-heart. She does not judge people and she is continually kind to all, even choosing to befriend the most challenged of students. She is simultaneously able to be a role model and also a peer. I am in continual awe of this student.” Name: Makenna Damhorst
Birthday: July 15, 2005
Grad Year: 2023
Hometown: Scotts Valley, CA Parents: Kris and Darla Damhorst
Gym: East Bay Gymnastics, Concord, CA
Coach: Lisa Terry
 Academics Makenna is currently enrolled at UCLA 4.0 GPA at UCLA 5.0 GPA in high school President of the Junior State of America (JSA) Chapter at her school for two years Co-founder of Planet Action Now, a podcast focused on climate solutions College Classes Taken: Spanish 1, 2, 3 & 4 U.S. History Biology Inorganic Chemistry English (College Composition) Precalculus, Algebra/Trigonometry Calculus Drawing and Composition World Music Professor Comments: Dr. Michael Mangin, Ph.D. -U.S. History at Cabrillo College "Makenna Damhorst is one of the best students I have ever had. She is bright, responsible, curious, and extremely articulate. She consistently turned in the best work of any student I had last semester. She is extremely responsible and very much a self-starter. I always looked forward to her journals and responses because they were full of her observations about the irony in history and the foibles of human beings. She earned a strong “A” grade for the class, of course. In addition to her intellectual gifts, Makenna brings a humane and tolerant attitude to everything she does. She is one of the best writers I have ever taught." Joanne Brown, M.S. Consultant Teacher (5yrs) and several class at AFE “I had the pleasure of being Makenna’s academic advisor and classroom teacher at Alternative Family Education. Makenna is enthusiastic, hardworking and enjoys challenging herself academically. I especially appreciate her positive attitude and her ability to work well with her classmates. She has great leadership skills and is always willing to contribute to class discussions. Makenna successfully completed several courses with me, including Art of Native North America, Ecology and Creative Writing. She exceeded expectations in each of these classes, often choosing to research related topics on her own. As her consultant teacher, I had the opportunity to meet with her monthly and I was always impressed by the variety of subjects that she chose to explore, including rocketry, current events, politics, photography, drawing, cooking and many more. Makenna’s natural curiosity and passion for learning will serve her well in any endeavors she chooses to undertake.” Rena Dubin- Dramatic Literature 2020: "Makenna’s work was outstanding, displaying a true grasp of the complexities across the body of Shakespeare's work. A+ level work throughout the course. Makenna consistently impresses with her mature understanding of the material and her creative responses to the intricacies of the plays. Her responses showed a thoughtfulness and dedication to the subject, more representative of college-level than high school expectations." Ruthie Yarme, MBA- Economic and Life Skills: “Makenna is an exceptional student and human. She comes to class exquisitely prepared, is always thoughtful, and is dedicated to deeply understanding the course material. She is a clear thinker who finds meaning in her studies and is able to share that meaning with her fellow students. The classes that I taught at AFE were 9-12 grade courses. Makenna was among the youngest students in the class- and always among the strongest! A class full of Makennas would be a teacher’s dream.” Ayala Younger, MA- Health and English: Listen up! Critique and creation of Podcasting. “Makenna is an active and engaged learner in her classes. She participates respectfully, sharing ideas about her deep and reflective thinking, while also being open to new ideas. Every class, she comes prepared, having read and prepared the materials so she is able to participate fully. Her written work is well-constructed (she is a very capable and articulate writer). She also takes risks with her learning, tackling and persisting through challenges, learning from mistakes, and always seeking to improve and to expand her knowledge. Makenna is a student who makes connections, asks insightful questions, and clearly wants to learn for the pure joy of learning.” Leisl Ludington: -Government, Econ, Life Skills, and Show Tunes Choir: “It was my pleasure to have Makenna Damhorst in several of the classes I taught at AFE. She was always prepared and contributed thoughtfully to class discussions. I appreciated her active engagement and focused attention during lectures. She brought a positive attitude and willingness to collaborate to each class. Outside of the classroom, I witnessed her inclusivity and generosity. It was refreshing to see her exuberance for life and clever sense of humor as she interacted with both students and staff. I am grateful to have had her as a student.” Stacey Saady, MA-World History through monotheistic World religions: “Makenna Damhorst was a student in my Spring 2021 World History class, during the height of Covid. This course was held entirely on zoom, and students were required to submit rigorous weekly projects. Makenna’s work was always, every week, in the top 5% of the assignments. Additionally, even though we were on a platform that many students tend to “go quiet on,” Makenna was an active and enthusiastic participant during our meetings who contributed thoughtful questions and insightful comments to the dialogue. I know Makenna is a truly astounding competitive gymnast because I asked her once – after she took time out of one of the competitions she had traveled to to join us on Zoom – if she would send me a video. To say I was impressed is an understatement. Her ability to compete at such a level and manage her time so effectively that she still attended all of our meetings and turned all of her A level work in on time tells me she will have no trouble balancing and meeting the demands of college work. Add her conversation skills and academic work effort, and you’ve got an excellent addition to your program. Nancy Alysworth, Dramatic Literature 2022: “Makenna is a dedicated student who clearly loves to learn. She was very engaged in the material and thorough in completing her assignments. Her homework assignments were always a pleasure to read as her responses demonstrated close reads and her ability for in-depth reflections and ability to make connections between literary pieces as well as the literature we were studying and contemporary issues. She wrote more than most of the students on all of her weekly assignments too. In our Dramatic Literature class, she could be counted on to work with any combination of students and in any role. She is kind to and respectful of all of her peers with sincere consideration for inclusivity in regards to gender, orientation, ethnicity, race and ability of others. When called on in class, I could count on her fresh and meaningful insights which often served to elevate the group discussion.” Jason Camara, Ph.D. Chem 3 and Chem Lab 3: “The summer 2021 cohort was a strong and invested group of over 60 students. Makenna’s grades in both the lecture (Chem 3) and the lab (Chem 3L) were in the top 5 percent of that cohort. She was a delight to work with, showing a strong ability to grasp the concepts quickly and to retain and use the knowledge moving forward. Her questions in office hours were direct, based on specific problems she experienced while attempting the homework or lab materials. Makenna’s strong preparations outside of lecture allowed us to move very quickly in answering her questions in office hours. Her work had so little to correct that she simply didn’t have much to inquire with me regarding corrections on her work. She showed good skills in navigating interactions with strong personalities that often dominated both lecture and office hours, and an ability to collaborate with a diverse group of students of all ages and to contribute her voice and ideas to the conversation in a very positive, constructive, and helpful manner.” -Dr. Jason Camara, Ph.D. Laura Renz, Marine Biology and Ocean Literature teacher: “I would like to give Makenna Damhorst a glowing review as a student who is thoughtful, hardworking, efficient, focused and did excellent work. Makenna also participated and asked questions beyond her years. She is an amazing artist, a wonderful writer and very detailed in all she does. She was one of our middle school students in a high school level class. Makenna has a gentle, kind and hardworking personality and gets along with everyone. She is self-motivated and is looking to do her best in everything she does. Makenna was a joy to have in class and was friends with all our students and teachers. She has a sense of grace and confidence that serves her and those around her. She is also a leader in the most gentle way.” Nancy Stucker, MA, Cabrillo Spanish 1 & 2: “Makenna Damhorst was an engaged, hard-working, extremely responsible student who participated actively in every class and whose effort was reflected in her achievement in Spanish 1 & 2. She is an outstanding student, and it was a pleasure to have her in my classes.” Bryn Kanar, Philosophy: Power tools for the Brain: “Makenna was a great student. She participated in discussions and wrote very thoughtful papers.” Rosario Lionudakis, MFA, African-American literature and “isms in Contemporary Literature “Makenna Damhorst is an exceptional student. As a student-athlete, she seamlessly balances her work in both disciplines with integrity and excellence. She was a student in two of my literature classes, one focusing on African-American literature and another focusing on Contemporary issues in society. Makenna is such an inspiring student, that I created the segment of class based on environmental issues with her in mind. She is a fierce activist in the discussion of climate change, and I was excited to hopefully enhance her knowledge on the subject. Her desire for a harmonious world extends to the classroom and learning environment. Makenna’s thoughtfulness and empathy creates a safe space for her peers. I personally witnessed her approaching all of her peers with an open-heart. She does not judge people and she is continually kind to all, even choosing to befriend the most challenged of students. She is simultaneously able to be a role model and also a peer. I am in continual awe of this student.” Name: Makenna Damhorst
Birthday: July 15, 2005
Grad Year: 2023
Hometown: Scotts Valley, CA Parents: Kris and Darla Damhorst
Gym: East Bay Gymnastics, Concord, CA
Coach: Lisa Terry