2024 senior Rhetta Cummings has been involved in many activities, in and out of the school, and has been helping keep Cascade High School going from behind the scenes. Hardworking, dedicated, kind, and selfless, Rhetta is known for her reliability and positive attitude.
Rhetta and Scott have been friends since freshman year when they met “in freshman science together on Zoom. [My] favorite memory of Rhetta would be sophomore year. She would always bring those Mickey Mouse apple and cheese snacks up to our flex class and we would just chat in flex,” said Lindsay.
Rhetta was born in Leavenworth and states, “I lived in Leavenworth until I was three, and then moved to Plain and lived there ever since.” She has attended the Cascade School District her entire life, apart from a short time doing HomeLink. Throughout her high school career, she has been very involved in dance, soccer, Leadership, helping plan events for ASB, and being a 30-Minute-To-Win-It leader for the first time this year.
“I’ve been doing dance since 3rd grade, so 10 years. I do ballet and my favorite part is getting ready for competitions and learning new dances, and the family that I have made there,” said Rhetta.
One of Rhetta’s best friends, Scott Lindsay (12), described her as “kind, observant, and hardworking.” They have been friends since freshman year when they met “in freshman science together on Zoom. [My] favorite memory of Rhetta would be sophomore year. She would always bring those Mickey Mouse apple and cheese snacks up to our flex class and we would just chat in flex,” said Lindsay.
Inside the classroom, Rhetta takes on many leadership roles, including head PR officer for ASB/Leadership. Ms. Robison has been one of her long-time teachers in ASB and Publications and has had Rhetta in six semesters of classes. “Rhetta is the kind of person who does a lot of work and expects very little thanks. I don’t know how many students actually know how much she does behind the scenes of the school to keep it running smoothly. She has a true servant's heart. She is a rare person who doesn’t have a lot of ego, she wants to serve, and it matters to her to make a positive difference in the world, and she has a really strong character,” explained Robison.
Some of Rhetta’s favorite classes at the high school have been “Personal Finance this year with Mr. Sunitsch. Its really interesting and Mr. Sunitsch makes it fun,” stated Rhetta. Next semester she plans on taking EWU psychology, CWCW, Leadership and Pub, and Career connections with Mrs. Rieke.
Outside of school, Rhetta is still very involved in the community. “I work at Plain Hardware. I’ve been working there since freshman year. I make coffees and ring up people,” said Rhetta. Even outside of school Rhetta shows her characteristic optimism and work ethic. “Rhetta is an amazing worker! She is so kind and supportive with everything that needs to be done. She is a hard worker and values her job and responsibilities. I think that one of my favorite memories would be just the amount of times that we spilled coffee on each other and all the super fun art things that we would do!” said longtime friend and former co-worker Serenity Saugen (11).
After high school, Rhetta states, “I plan on going to college, not sure where. I want to do something with media marketing and the fun side of business, like making things look pretty. Possibly a wedding planner.” Wherever Rhetta ends up, she will be a gift to the people around her and will make Cascade proud.