MILLBURY — Allyssa Wagenknecht has only been a Lake Flyer for one year — but she soared as a senior.
She said she owes it all to her fellow students and the staff.
“The people at Lake, they kind of embrace who you are,” Wagenknecht said. “Before I came to Lake, I kept
my voice kind of quiet.
“The faculty, staff and students push you to do what’s best for you.”
Wagenknecht came to Lake at the end of her junior year. She had been attending a private school in
Toledo, where she lives with her parents, Benjamin and Elizabeth, two brothers and two sisters.
She was welcomed with “open arms.”
“It made me not afraid to be who I am,” Wagenknecht said. “I had been going through a lot at that time. I
felt like I needed a change, a new start.”
She gave back everything that she got.
At Lake, Wagenknecht was involved in soccer and Parea, a lunchtime group that welcomes students to share
their problems, worries and concerns.
“Parea was one of the first things I jumped into, with its goal to bring everyone together — not just the
school — but the community.”
She was also part of the homecoming court.
Raising money is something Wagenknecht excelled at — her fundraisers for Hurricane Dorian and another for
a teacher who has cancer and was undergoing chemo treatments raised hundreds of dollars.
The latter one came up short when coronavirus shut down the school year in March.
“The day school got canceled, I was going to do this fundraiser, like ‘American Ninja Warrior,’”
Wagenknecht said. “I was going to have a whole assembly with an obstacle course and stuff.”
She’s used the down time of the pandemic to write and reflect.
“Mainly I do school work. I do a lot of arts and crafts. I love to write,” she said, adding that she
hasn’t been able to work her job at the Huntington Center in Toledo.
She’s been seeing her friends through a parked car. They all sit on their vehicles — to socially distance
— and talk.
“Honestly, I was really excited for the end-of-school experience,” Wagenknecht said. “I was really
excited to do prom. I didn’t get to go my junior year because I had a soccer tournament.”
COVID-19 will be a part her senior class — and probably the rest of her life, she believes.
“We’re living in history,” Wagenknecht said. “We are living in a time that is unknowable and the future
could be pain for a lifetime. Whenever someone coughs or sneezes, everybody’s going to have that thought
in your head — you’re going to need to take step back.”
If there’s been any positive from the virus, she said it has realigned priorities.
“Family dinners are coming back and the homeless are being housed and we’re not based off the worth of
our economy — it’s all about the perspective.”
One of her favorite teachers at Lake High School was Marissa Glenn.
“She helped me rediscover my passion for art again. It had died out. Just being in her class and taking a
creative spin, made my passion come out again,” Wagenknecht said. “It also led me to what I want to do
in life, which is art therapy.”
She plans to get her college started at Owens Community College, majoring in psychology and taking art
classes. Wagenknecht wants to complete her bachelor’s degree at Coastal Carolina University in Conway,
South Carolina.
Glenn said Wagenknecht made an impression on her.
“Allyssa is one of the most kind-hearted, hard-working, outgoing kids that I have had the pleasure of
teaching. Allyssa is driven. When she completes a project or an assignment early, she comes up with
another to get started on or helps other students who are struggling. She never has to be asked to do
these things, she just does them,” Glenn said.
Wagenknecht has very clear goals for her life and makes daily decisions that align with those goals, she
said.
“Allyssa came to Lake late in her junior year, but because of her outgoing personality and drive to do
better and be better, she made a quick and heavy impact on our Flyer community. She is loved by both the
students and staff for her determination and kindness towards others,” Glenn said.
“Teachers are lucky because not only do we get a chance to teach amazing kids like Allyssa, but we also
get to learn from them. Allyssa has taught me giving and selflessness on a new level. Alyssa would eat
lunch in my room quite often, so we would talk a lot. She has let her life experiences form her into the
beautiful soul that she is today. She will undoubtedly be a most amazing art therapist.”
Wagenknecht said she plans to use her experiences to help people.
“My own personal life has come from a lot of struggles,” she said. “It has caused a lot of turmoil and
hardships that I’ve had to work through.”
But Wagenknecht got through those struggles and she wants to pass that determination on.
“I want to be a blessing to others because I’ve been blessed.”
