Karen Fierro is one of eight Sumner High School graduates recognized at the 2013 Senior Showcase, an annual ceremony honoring the outgoing students who most personified school ideals during their high school career. A full diploma International Baccalaureate, avid painter and speaker of three languages, Fierro also founded Orgullo Hispano, a club celebrating Latino culture that became the most popular on campus. She is described by faculty as “soft-spoken,” yet “ambitious” and “driven” — Fierro chose “patience” as the most important quality of a Spartan. She earned a scholarship to Whitworth University, where she plans to take classes in international studies and political science.

When high school senior Fierro set out to found a club connecting students to Latino culture, she may not have realized it would strike a chord with students. But in the nearly two years since it’s founding, Orgullo Hispano became the largest club at Sumner High School.

Then again, Fierro knew Hispanic students were one of the fastest growing populations in her school. And though young Latinos don’t always come to English as a second language, she knew from experience the feeling of separation that can come hand-in-hand with learning the common language when you’re already embedded in the community that speaks it.

“I’ve grown up here,” she said. “This is what I consider my home.

“I do remember kind of being outcast from the rest because we were kind of separated… when we were in kindergarten, first and second grade we were separated from the rest of the class and brought to this little room where we learned English for a couple hours a day. And that was something different, but eventually I incorporated it into what was normal.”

Fierro transitioned out of the English Language Learners program in second grade, fluent in both Spanish and English. By her junior year of high school, she was learning Japanese, a choice inspired by her early teenage love of manga and anime.

She enrolled in the International Baccalaureate program, an advanced and comprehensive high school curriculum that translates into college credit. The requirements of an IB degree extend beyond academics into community service hours and a senior thesis. At a June 3 dinner and award ceremony for senior IB students and their families, a common joke was that a baccalaureate’s mental breakdown was always just around the corner. Fierro was no exception.

“I’ve had a few mental breakdowns,” she said, smiling. “To the point that I’ve had people tell me a few times that I should do less.”

The requirement for community service hours provided the impetus to create Orgullo Hispano. But Fierro’s desire to create the club was a bilingual Latino leadership camp called La Cima, which she attended the summer before her junior year.

“This whole thing started with an idea that I had when I went to Latino leadership camp,” she said. “Which really inspired me to start this kind of collaboration between the Latino community and Sumner.

“They taught us the importance of learning our identity, and putting that focus into the Latino community.”

In the course of forming Orgullo Hispano — which required Fierro to sell the administration and student body on the club’s mission and curriculum — she learned more about working with others and networking with like-minded Hispanic organizations that didn’t have deep contacts with the community in Sumner.

At the peak of its membership, Fierro said the club had up to 30 students in its ranks. At that time, the club hosted a holiday party for students at Daffodil Valley Elementary, complete with traditional Mexican crafts. Fierro lobbied for membership from Sumner High School’s English Language Learning courses, taught by Diana Herrera and Kay Jones.

“There’s a large Hispanic community there, and they’re the ones that don’t usually get the attention that they should deserve,” Fierro said. “I worked with them and I saw they were interested in volunteering and making a difference in the community. It’s been great.”

Jones, who also teaches Japanese, said Fierro’s academic career at Sumner High was a remarkable legacy.

“Karen is very remarkable for a high school student because she’s already bilingual by virtue of her studies,” said Jones, who also teaches Japanese. “She had to start out learning English as a second language. By the time she got to us at high school she had already transitioned out of the ELL program.

“So I think what really stood out for me is that Karen came from a background that her family was working on learning English. She transitioned out of that other program, but then she took on this other academic challenge (in the IB program). And the contribution in my eyes … is that she has shown the way for a lot of (ELL) students. That they can reach anything, because she has has certainly made that stretch. When I met Karen as a freshman, she told me that was one of her goals: to be a Latina IB student.

“The thing is that a lot of ELL students are challenged with financial situations and all kinds of other things they have to face. I think Karen has been such a wonderful trailblazer in showing that anything is possible if you work hard and set those goals for yourself.”

Fierro’s goals for college are to delve into international studies and political science; beyond college, she would like to become a teacher.

“The phrase that I’ve heard a lot is ‘bring the face of the people, to the people,’” she said. “Especially in some urban high schools, we don’t see people of color teaching classes. I want to inspire that and inspire other people to become teachers. Even if it’s just for a couple years of your life, that’s something you should do.”

Fierro credited her personal ambitions to her parents.

“My drive comes from my parents for sure,” she said. “They’ve done so many things to help me succeed. I know when we were younger, my dad would always say ‘We’re here for your education. This is your chance to educate yourself and be someone greater than I am.’ My dad worked in the fields when he first came here. He’s a painter now and he’s learning English, which is wonderful. But he always stressed that education is the key to a good job and a brighter future. Those words have always motivated my passion for education.

“My mom, she was always with me during long nights. I spent two or three weeks where I didn’t go to sleep until 4 a.m., and my mom was always there with a cup of coffee or just to stay up with me and make sure I was okay.”

Fierro will attend Whitworth University in the fall, under an Act Six scholarship.