[slideshow_deploy id=’12436′]

Daniel Saunders, a junior at Fossil Ridge High School, is a member of the school’s marching band.  As a member of the band, Saunders puts a lot of commitment into each practice during school and after school.  “Being around a huge group of people who all enjoy the same things is my favorite part of band. It is pretty cool to see how 200 people can bring a marching band show together and be competitive at State for the last 4 years.” said Saunders.   

Swimming is also one of Saunders passions.   Saunders has been swimming since he was six years old and he uses his many years of swimming as an advantage to compete and be a part of the FRHS swim team.  “Sports have been my favorite part of high school. The swim team has been great and we have an amazing time together” said Saunders.  

Saunders is involved in a lot of clubs and honor societies at the school.  These include: National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, National Technical Honor Society, and Key Club.  Each of these organizations require a lot of time commitment.  Saunders must log hours and times for each of the events he goes to.  

At home, Saunders lives with his mom, dad and four brothers.  As a family, the Saunders are very active and passionate about the outdoors.  “Some of my favorite things to do are wakeboarding, skiing, mountain biking, stand-up jet skiing, and camping.  I love to do all of these with my family.  If I’m with my family, we can make anything fun.”  said Saunders.      

After high school, Saunders wants to go on a mission for his church and then go to college to study engineering.  “I have always been good with building things and  working with my hands. I am also good at math so it fits together”  said Saunders.  Some of his top college choices are: Utah State, BYU, and Colorado School of Mines.  Of these choices, he said, “Right now, my top is Utah State because it has a very good Aerospace Engineering program”

Throughout high school Saunders has learned a lot about making priorities when it comes to balancing his schedule.  Out of all the advice Saunders has, the most important to him is that, “you shouldn’t put off school work. Getting A’s as a freshman adds up, and gives you a better chance of keeping your GPA up when the AP and other hard classes come up. I would also say to enjoy school. If it’s a drag to come to school everyday, then you won’t get as much out of it” said Saunders.