The finish line of high school is just ahead for Vandalia senior Dalaney Patterson, and it’s bringing with it a mix of excitement and reflection. Her schedule is loaded with challenge: English 101, Anatomy and Physiology, AP Chemistry, AP Psychology, and AP U.S. History. “Bittersweet,” is how she describes the feeling of being nearly done. The classes push her, but they also prepare her for what she hopes will come next: studying political science and sociology on the way to law school.

College applications are already in motion. She toured campuses this summer and sent applications to Iowa, Iowa State, Oklahoma State, and Ole Miss. Wrestling programs at Iowa and Oklahoma drew her attention, since wrestling runs deep in her family. Her younger brother is already a state champion at the junior high school level, and Dalaney helps as the high school team’s stat keeper. Wrestling has become part of her identity, a tie that connects her family, her school, and her own sense of belonging.

While sports have shaped her family life, academics have shaped her ambitions. Dalaney admits math isn’t her strongest suit, but English, writing, and history have always felt like home. Her love of research papers and analysis set her apart, and she lights up when describing Mr. Redden’s English classes. “We’re reading Beowulf right now, which isn’t easy, but he makes it interesting and connects it to the world today. That’s what I think English is about—knowing how to read the past, write your thoughts, and maybe change something about the world.” She even convinced him to add Frankenstein to this year’s reading list.

That appreciation for language and ideas ties directly to her career goals. “I’ve always been into law and true crime,” she says. Detective work or even forensics appeal to her, but so does the path toward advocacy as an attorney. Her stack of AP classes—Psychology, Chemistry, Anatomy—reflects her willingness to keep doors open, even as she leans toward law school.

Beyond the classroom, Dalaney stays active on the tennis team, a sport she joined as a freshman and quickly fell in love with. “It’s a sport for life,” she says. She also works summers at Shelly’s downtown, a place where her grandmother Nori, is well known for her pies and baking. Family roots run deep here. Her grandfather once taught building trades at Vandalia, her mother is the school nurse, and her father modeled the work ethic she now tries to live out every day.

That heritage of hard work has been a guidepost, even when the demands of classes and sports feel heavy. It was in talking with her counselor that she learned to give herself grace. “I always shoot for above and beyond. But these classes are harder, and I had to learn that a B is okay,” she says. It’s advice she’d pass along to her younger self—and perhaps to her younger siblings as well.

In the end, what stands out most is Dalaney’s balance of ambition and perspective. She aims high—law school, leadership, a career of impact—but she also knows success isn’t just about grades or accolades. It’s about carrying forward her family’s legacy of community, discipline, and kindness. For Vandalia, that’s a story worth celebrating.