Riley Swanson, a senior at Arvada West High School, has had a strenuous yet exciting high school career. From furthering his passion for tennis to showing his impressive academic prowess all the way to graduation, Swanson has worked hard throughout high school to gain the recognition he so rightfully deserves. 

Throughout his time at A-West, Swanson has been involved in many extracurricular activities such as Varsity Tennis for 4 years and track during his freshman and sophomore years. As for the academic side of the school, Swanson has been lucky enough to be a part of NHS (National Honors Society) for 3 years. Swanson was a part of the journalism team throughout his time at Awest, even becoming the editor-in-chief during his last year in the class. Swanson also participated in the Spanish Honors Society in his junior year.

 Swanson talks about the most impactful activity he was a part of, sharing, “The most impactful was probably tennis because of the relationships I was able to build with the team and my coach before his passing.”  Tennis was a huge part of Swanson’s high school career because it taught him to face adversity and gave him a competitive mindset which helped him grow as a person on and off the court. Swanson also adds “Tennis just taught me a lot about myself and not just the sport but the people I met along the way.” 

Swanson’s many involvements at A-West included NHS (National Honors Society)  Swanson says “ NHS really helped my compassion and helped me look at the world from a different perspective”. 

Swanson, while participating in NHS, volunteered at the Colorado Action Center, which is a non-profit devoted to donating and helping people facing homelessness or other situations related to homelessness. This company supplies food as well as builds shelters for people along the Colfax area in order to supply people in need with a safe place to stay. Swanson says, “Even though they are homeless or on drugs these people still deserve compassion and care no matter what they are going through.” Swanson’s compassion for the community and his school can be attributed to the incredible opportunities that NHS has to offer. 

When asked who has pushed Swanson to become the person he is today, he spoke about his English teachers, saying, “Thanks to them I’ve been able to improve my writing skills and stamina which has helped me get academic scholarships which open new doors for me.”  Swanson is lucky enough to attend Coe College in Iowa and later grad school at the University of Arizona. These doors opened mainly thanks to Swanson’s English teachers. Friends were also a big plus from Swanson academically, as he shares “My friends would always push me to become more than just B’s making, sure I set expectations for myself as did they.”

Swanson contributed to A-West more than most. He cares for the people that helped him along the way, and as Swanson’s time at A-west comes to an end, he has some parting words he would like to share, “A-west will always be like a home and like a second family, and I hope that it will stay that way for everyone as long as it’s here.”