Despite her busy schedule, Mariah Cook still finds time to relax at her favorite place: Lake Icaria in Corning, IA. Cook has been going there since she was three years old and spends her lake days swimming, camping and hanging out with friends. Cook enjoys waking up early enough to see the beginning of the day while at the lake. “It’s so beautiful, especially in the morning when the sun is rising and you see it reflecting on the water,” Cook said.

In the midst of volleyball, cheer and dance team practice, Cook spends time in the J-Lab working on the yearbook, which is one of her passions. For the 2017-18 school year, Cook is the editor-in-chief of the memory-filled book. She plans on attending South Dakota State University to study journalism. Coming into high school, Cook wanted to take on a career involving children but after being hooked on journalism, she has changed her mind. “After being in the journalism environment and going to camps and meeting different people, it’s kind of shown me journalism is for me, I feel like it’s for me,” Cook said.

Cheer and dance have been a large part of Cook’s life. Cheering during Friday night football games and “getting the crowd pumped and being in the winning environment” are her favorite part of each school year. Although dance team is time-consuming, Cook puts in hours of dedication along with the rest of the team. Before going to the state dance competition last year the team was “bummed” because they didn’t expect to win an award, but they were happily surprised to come home with a plaque and a top 10 rating.