CAMANO ISLAND — Anna King, 16, is a Stanwood High School junior who will be starting the Ocean Research College Academy in Everett this fall. She’s lived on Camano Island for three years.
Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I’m from Wisconsin originally. That’s where my family’s from. But I’ve moved around a lot because my mom was in the Navy. She got out a couple of years ago and works at the Everett Clinic now.
Q: What got you interested in the ORCA program?
A: I wanted to get away from Stanwood High School, and I want to get a head start on college so I can get cheaper schooling but more of it. I can get my required credits out of the way first so I can start studying what I want to study.
Q: And what do you want to study?
A: Computer science, engineering and business.
Q: Have you decided where you want to go?
A: (University of Washington) would by my first choice.
Q: How did you get interested in computer science, engineering and business?
A: In seventh grade, we had a club at my school called Girls Coding Club. It was run by my two favorite teachers, my science and math teachers. That was the first school that let me get ahead in my classes, especially math, and I was really looking forward to being around other kids like me, girls especially, who are interested in science and technology.
Q: What’s your career goal?
A: That’s a tricky one. I have three options I’m staring down right now. The first one is probably just going to be a hobby the rest of my life, and that’s writing novels. I got my first publishing deal. It’s a poem in a collection. The other two goals are designing games and technology and, this is a bit of a pipe dream, but creating my own car company that specializes in hybrid cars with classic design and modern engineering. The problem with that is it’s expensive and difficult.
Q: You volunteer at the Camano Library. How’d you get into that?
A: My language arts teacher in eighth grade put up a poster on her board and told us that it would be a great volunteer opportunity if any of us wanted to go into National Honor Society. So I signed up. It was the second time I’d ever been in this library. I’ve loved it.
Q: What do you do here?
A: I’ve helped out with programs. I’ve planned a couple, including Camano-Con, which is one of the biggest teen programs we’ve ever had here. We’re planning it again for November. I’m pretty excited about that. I also just keep things in order and put things away.
Q: Tell me about Camano-Con.
A: It’s a generalized comic and nerd convention that so far has done a little bit of virtual reality, comics and spreading awareness of the media resources that the library has. We’re hoping that it will be even bigger this year. It had three times the amount of attendance that we expected. We were hoping for maybe 20 and ended up with over 70.
Q: Do you have any comics you’re a fan of?
A: Star-Lord, the “Annihilation: Conquest” series that “Guardians of the Galaxy” is based off is one of my favorites. The first comic I ever got was the all-female “X-Men,” which my uncle gave me, so it had a special place in my heart. That book is what got me into comics in the first place.
Q: What other activities are you involved in?
A: I’ve done a lot of different things over the last four years. I was president of the history club at my school this year, and one of the leaders of the Nerds and Geeks Organization. I was in National English Honor Society and in the last month of school was accepted into National Honor Society.
Q: What do you do for fun?
A: I write. That’s a big one. I like to go hiking. I have two dogs, so it’s fun to take them when they’re not being completely obnoxious. My parents and I go on hikes, I hang out with my friends, and manga, comics and anime are a big part of my life, as well.
Q: What are your favorite hikes?
A: I go along the beach on Camano a lot. There’s a path along the bluffs back behind some houses. There’s a clearing where I like to sit for a little while and watch the water. Our beach faces the west, and we’ve got the mountains on a clear day. When the sun sets, it’s beautiful.
Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Anna King, senior at Stanwood, attends Everett Community College and will graduate with her diploma and Associates of Arts Degree. (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
