(SHERWOOD) — She may not crave the spotlight, but Sherwood High’s Sophia Burt shines when serving her community.

Born in New York City but having moved to the Portland area at an early age, Burt has enmeshed herself in Sherwood since her youth.

As a senior now staring down graduation, she’s become involved with a little bit of everything. The school has a leadership class, and some have joked that she might live there after observing how much time she spends helping with events.

One she’s particularly proud of is Sherwood High School’s food donation endeavors.

“It made me really appreciate the things I’ve had, and I do enjoy helping those who can’t necessarily help themselves sometimes,” she said.

While Sherwood High is known for an annual food drive, Burt took it to the next level this year. After strengthening the connection between the school and Sherwood’s Helping Hands food pantry earlier in the school year, the nonprofit asked if the schools could gather items in the fall.

“Through that, it’s actually been really cool and I’ve learned a lot about Sherwood and the donations we need,” Burt said. “Sherwood is actually a very privileged community, but there is a large population that’s not privileged and gets overlooked. That education was really cool and made me want to do more than just one (food drive).”

So, she did. The high school recently finished the third food drive for the year, a count higher than any other year she can recall, at least during her time there.

“For me, especially being a senior, I really enjoy being able to put time and effort and hard work into something and actually see an impact that’s positive and has a positive impact on everybody around me,” Burt said.

Her prominent role in the food drives stemmed from her involvement as the senior class’ activities coordinator on the student council. She was on the committee to lead the food drive and other committees for community events like homecoming for the school and the Bowmen pageant, which raises money for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital.

With her outstanding effort to assist those in need in her community, others took notice. She walked into one of her teachers ’ rooms earlier this year to hear she’d been nominated for an award through the Sherwood Chamber of Commerce.

Then, the email came that she was invited to the celebration. After some coaxing, she arrived at the luncheon and was honored to be part of the community honoring her.

“Once I got there, I realized this was cool and there were so many different parts of the community I didn’t realize,” she said.

In the free time she can muster, Burt works at Al’s Garden Center, reads historical fiction and mystery novels, and spends time outside or at concert venues across Portland, listening to small-name bands.

Burt will attend the University of Montana in the fall to study forestry, though that plan may change to major in business management with a minor in environmental studies.

What will she miss most? Her family, friends and community immediately come to mind, but so does her dog, Cannon (named after Cannon Beach), an Aussie doodle. And she’s most excited about experiencing all four seasons. Yes, even the snow in winter.

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