There’s a multitude of exemplary students at Camas High School (CHS), and a large number of those students are of the graduating class of 2024. One in particular is senior Sophia Wade, who has a variety of impressive achievements that she has accomplished throughout her life.
Wade is currently the president of the CHS Black Student Union (BSU), the president of Key Club, and the girls’ swim team captain.
In regards to the BSU, Wade considers it to be her passion project and one of the things she is most interested in since she wants to bring together the black community at CHS.
Through Key Club Wade brings service to the school since she believes that it is important to volunteer and help others.
“It’s important for everyone (volunteers) to give back to the community and (improve) themselves as a person,” Wade said.
Wade is also involved in DECA, where she works to improve her public speaking skills to help her with future projects or events that require her to use those speaking skills.
One of the things that Wade considers to be the most fun in her high school career is the swim team, where she enjoys the team spirit and brings positive energy to swim to make it a comfortable and enjoyable experience for everyone involved.
Outside of school, Wade helps to design elementary school curriculums with the school district in a program called “The Labels we Carry”. Wade and other members of this program go into 5th-grade classes and teach the students about equity.
Wade is also in “Jack and Jill of America”, a national organization that is made up of service and the initiative of creating a stronger black community within Portland, Oregon, and other chapters of the organization.
“Through that (Jack and Jill) I’ve been president for two years and foundation chair, and I work to create a stronger community and I represent (the organization) at a regional conference where I compete in an oral competition,” Wade said.
Wade strives to be a leader to help those in her community grow and thrive. She has unlocked this leadership nature within her years at CHS.
Recently, Wade received the Marshall Youth Leadership scholarship, which she was nominated for. After going through the interview process, she was accepted for the scholarship and will receive $3,500.
The scholarship was created on behalf of General George Marshall, the creator of the Marshall Plan (which worked to provide economic assistance to European nations), and the scholarship is given to someone who embodies his leadership qualities.
Her various accomplishments make her a strong and successful person as well as someone who is kind and thoughtful. She will be attending college at Spellman College, an all-women’s historically black college (HBCU) in Atlanta, Georgia. There, she plans to major in political science and possibly minor in African diaspora studies on a pre-law track since she wants to go to law school after college.
