Kiannah Louie
Coeur d’Alene High School
Coeur d’Alene High School sophomore Kiannah Louie loves to dance. It is something that is not only enjoyable but provides an outlet for her as well.
“One of the things I love most is how fun it is. I love learning new choreography, and it’s a great way to express myself,” said Kiannah. “No matter whatever I’m worried about with the rest of my life, dance is always there.”
A dancer for the last 12 years, Kiannah is in her second year on the dance team and is the team captain. She also sees success in the classroom.
“School has always been very important to me. This semester I got a 4.25 GPA, and I’ve won artist of the month two times. I’m also a student mentor,” said Kiannah, who volunteers for Idaho Drug Free Youth on a weekly basis.
Although she still has time to make a decision, Kiannah said she would like to attend college either in New York or San Francisco and hopes to be able to dance for a college team.
She shared that she plans to study fashion merchandising. “I’ve always really enjoyed fashion and beauty, but I’m also a logical-based thinker. Fashion merchandising seems like the perfect combination of my two strengths.”
Dancing has taught Kiannah the important lesson of being accountable.
“Whatever I do affects everyone else on my team,” she said. “This has helped me learn accountability, but it has also taught me to be reliant on my teammates. We all have to trust each other in order to do the best we can do when we compete.”
Kyle Manzardo
Lake City High School
A senior at Lake City High School, Kyle Manzardo has had an amazing high school athletic career, and it has not gone unnoticed. Washington State University has offered him both baseball and academic scholarships; something Kyle considers an “amazing opportunity.”
With a GPA of 3.612, Kyle has earned many accolades in both baseball and basketball, some of which include having been selected in 2017 to the Arizona Diamondback Fall Prospect Team, and he also represented the Northwest Region at the USA Baseball National Teams Identification Series at the National Training Center in Cary, North Carolina. In 2017, Kyle led the state 5A classification in hitting for Idaho with an average of 471.
But his success is not only on the ball field. Kyle was also selected this year to play at the 15th Annual Idaho Statewide Basketball High School All-Star Basketball Game at North Idaho College.
Although he has yet to make a final decision, Kyle is leaning toward a career in business. “I have not ruled out education and coaching either, but unsure at this time,” he said.
Kyle said one thing he enjoys most about being involved in sports is spending time with friends and building lifelong friendships. “I am very grateful for that.”
When it comes to his coach, he teaches him more than just baseball. He teaches him lifelong lessons as well.
“My coach, who happens to be my dad, has always said, ‘He who hesitates is lost’ and to ‘Play hard and compete no matter what the score.’ I have learned many life lessons, but these words always stick in my mind,” said Kyle. “I will carry these sayings with me in both future sports and any challenging situations.”