Being the youngest of four alums, Owen Chiou had always planned on attending Covenant High School. Coming from a small eighth grade class, Covenant provided a larger environment than Owen was accustomed to, and, as an extrovert, he enjoyed the opportunity to get to know more people.

“English has always been really fun,” said Owen. He recalls freshman year when they read Lord of the Flies together and a friend was asked to play a lead character. “[Mrs. Tamminga] does really well implementing life into her teaching so it’s not just English,” Owen said. “The lessons for how to live life and everything is really cool and there’s a lot to learn from her.”

As someone who finds problem-solving satisfying, Owen has always enjoyed math, but AP Calculus has been a lesson in hard work.

“That’s definitely been the class that has taught me how to work hard, more than any other class in school,” said Owen.

As he reflects on his past four years, Owen sees someone who has grown socially, academically, and spiritually.

“I’ve definitely grown with interacting with people,” said Owen. “Now that I am the older class, it’s really fun to interact with anybody that comes by me.” He has also learned to manage his time wisely, prioritize projects, and learn from others and their advice.

When reflecting on how Covenant has shaped his faith, “every part of [Covenant] helps with it,” Owen said. “…Every teacher, every second of every class, is geared towards God and helping us grow in it.” He also commented on the companionship you can find with other students who are growing in their faith as well. “Pretty much all the community [at Covenant] is just geared towards growing in your faith.”

Owen has fond memories with Covenant’s tight-knit Christian community including the choir trip through Oregon, Harvest Parties, Spring Swing, and other Student Council events. He remembers the annual overnight field trips, including the freshman vs. sophomore boys football game – an unofficial tradition.

“I’ll always remember that,” Owen said. “That freshman year we were all expecting to win but then we ended up not so that was a big disappointment,” he laughed.

“Our whole senior class has gotten really close this year,” he said. “We were all just really into making the school a better place and it was fun doing that together.” For example, on Valentine’s day, the senior boys made breakfast for all the girls in their class. “It was an absolute party in the kitchen,” he said. “This is probably one of my best memories.”

During his years at Covenant, Owen has been on Student Council, Honor Society, and served as House Council. Outside of school, he was on the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Racing Team for eight years. He went to Nationals five times and, as a team, won several times.

He looks back on his past four years and how he has overall learned to become more and more adaptable. A big part of that transformation was through YXL, which stands for Youth eXcelling in Leadership. Owen spent a week with other youth, growing, hearing different topics, and learning how to see God as a constant in his life.

“It just taught me about trying to live for God and everything,” he said. “That’s the biggest thing in my life pretty much.”

After graduation, Owen plans to attend Clover Park’s Professional Pilot Program in Puyallup.