Senior Spotlight: Chrissy Demuth

By Leanndra Martinez

We walk into Simon’s Cups and Cones and she immediately throws the yellow Simon’s hat on her short hair and steps behind the counter to serve ice cream to a waiting customer. As she helps the customer and rings up the ice cream, it’s evident that she enjoys having the freedom to come and go and make her own hours. Of course, she doesn’t abuse her freedom since she loves what she does. “This is just one of the jobs I have,” Chrissy said, “I love working. It’s a lot of fun.” While there are many ways to describe Chrissy, her active lifestyle, and her personality, the only way to truly capture what has allowed her to pursue so many interests is her willingness to work hard to get where she wants.

From her jobs at Simon’s and D’Arte to her love of riding her bike with friends, her life revolves around being active. It’s rare to find Chrissy at home since she is always out “keeping her life exciting”. While most of us were still tucked underneath our blankets trying to sleep to the last possible second, Chrissy was riding her bike by the beach with a friend that morning. “I love chilling with my friends on the swing sets at the park or playing tag. It’s like we’re reverting back to when we were younger. We work hard and we play hard,” she said. While she loves to play and be with friends, there is another side of her that comes out when she wants to do something. After all, when Chrissy sets her mind to something, she works hard and doesn’t let anything come in the way of her goals. This spring, she is going to France with the French club, but it wasn’t without a summer and fall of hard work. “I cleaned Madame’s house, Mr. Hawkesworth’s house, my uncle’s house and I worked around my house to get there. I took all the odd jobs I could get,” she said.

One of the odd jobs she picked up over the summer was her job at Simon’s. “One day Rodan handed me an ice cream scooper and said that if I was going to hang out here so often, I should work,” she said, “Rodan is the coolest boss. She’s our mother hen and we are her little chickies.” And the feelings are similarly returned. Rodan said, “Chrissy is like the daughter I never had and she’s leaving me now. She can never be replaced.” Part of the reason that Chrissy enjoys working at Simon’s is that she’s dealing with food, her specialty.

This fall, Chrissy is going to pack up all her belongings and head to Portland, Oregon to go to culinary school. She will be attending the Western Culinary Institute, Le Cordon Bleu, a sister school to the original culinary school in France. Going to culinary school has been a goal for Chrissy for as long as I can remember and it has helped her to make the right decisions in high school. “Knowing that I’ve had these goals has kept me out of trouble. I can take risks in my life, but not when it comes to my future,” she said. Cooking is something Chrissy has done her entire life. When she was in first grade, her grandma taught her how to make applesauce and has continued to teach her new dishes to cook every time she visits her. “This is just one of my many interests, but it’s the first one I plan on pursuing. I also want to go into photography, psychology, sociology and business. I want to open up a restaurant and travel,” she said.

Chrissy’s love of cooking stems from her motherly attitude. When describing her relationships with her friends, she said, “We’re like a family and I am the mother hen. They call me early in the morning and say that they are buying food for me to cook for breakfast. I clean up after them and help them when they need it. I like caring after people. I’ve been doing it since I was younger,” she said. Chrissy’s friends are also a reflection of her eclectic mix of interests. She has the friend who is her dancing partner, the friend who is her cooking partner, the ones she can trust with her life, and the one she’s going to marry. Although they are the self proclaimed “weird ones”, they are her family. Her circle of friends also extends to the people she has met through the clubs she’s been involved with throughout high school. She’s vice president of the Swing Club, was in Biology Club last year, Ocean Bowl, French club, works backstage on the school plays, and has been involved with Homecoming every year.

What most people don’t know about Chrissy is that there are two sides to her: the tomboy side and the refined side. Since she grew up with her dad and her brothers Stephen and Jeffrey, she was, and still is, a tomboy. She has played soccer nearly all her life, loves to bike ride, and can always be seen walking around town. While the tomboy side is the one that most people see, the refined side also appears often. Her favorite opera is Der Rosen Kavalier, she plays the piano, likes reading poetry and Jane Austen novels, and knows how to waltz and swing dance. “Life would be nothing without music,” she said. This artsy side of her came from her mother. “My mom is the artsy one. She taught me etiquette, how to waltz, swing dance and to love music. My dad established a really good work ethic and taught me to be responsible,” she said. Because Chrissy got the best of both worlds during her childhood, she is very well rounded and has learned that she can do anything she sets her mind to. “I have a bunch of close family up in Big Bear who understand me and I know I can talk to. My Aunt Nancy has had the biggest influence on me. She taught me that I can do what I want to do and be what I want to be,” she said.

It’s not often that you find someone in high school who is completely comfortable with themselves and is not afraid to dress the way they want to, say what they think, and be themselves. Whether it’s serving ice cream or developing pictures in a dark room, Chrissy is the type of person who can be comfortable wherever she is and makes other people feel comfortable with her. This willingness to step out of her comfort zone in order to “keep life exciting” has allowed her to become one of the most well rounded students at our school. After all, how many high school students know how to waltz, frequently attend operas and like to read Jane Austen books in their spare time?