La Reina student represents best qualities of the private school
By Nancy Needham nancy@theacorn.com

Wendy Cook University of Am

Among the 99 La Reina High School graduates who wore white gowns as they received their diplomas on Saturday was Wendy Cook.

She wasn't the valedictorian and could be mistaken as just one among the many. Quiet, reserved, Cook was voted "Most Friendly" two years in a row by her class because of her genuine concern for others, said Dana Coppa, senior class moderator assistant.

She has had many medical issues, but is one very determined individual, her father, Mike Cook, said.

"She's giving, caring, understanding, grounded, hardworking and focused on her goals," he said.

Each student at La Reina is required to do at least 20 hours of charitable Christian service a year. Wendy spent more than 150 hours each year volunteering.

She not only volunteered, she made My Stuff Bags Foundation in Westlake Village a second home, her dad said.

"Volunteering is her passion in life," he said.

The organization, with the motto "Giving children separated from all they know something to hold on to," is located near the home she shares with her father, Wendy said.

The group collects blankets, stuffed animals, clothes, school supplies and other items children need and puts them in bags. The bags are then sent to crisis centers and orphanages across the United States and given to children in need.

Some may not have anything else of their own when they get the bag, Wendy explained.

When she began at La Reina as an eighth-grader, she recalled realizing volunteering was the best thing she had to give to the world.

Wendy had a stroke when she was born, followed by three heart attacks. She was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and that affects the entire left side of her body, she said.

She's had two surgeries on her left arm so that she could have better use of it. She's grateful for the surgeries because now she can button her own jacket and cut her food, she said. She wore a leg brace until she was 12.

Her medical challenges have helped define her life because it was uncertain for much of her life how much she could do and even if she was going to survive to see graduation day, she said.

So she's taken each day as it came and has tried to do her best to live it and make a difference in the world.

"I'm a good student, but I knew I was not going to be a great athlete," Wendy said.

"It has been a privilege to me to be able to volunteer, and it has helped me be grateful for what I have in my life."

In August she'll begin at Soka University of America in Orange County with 400 other students, half of whom are international. She hopes to be a translator for Spanish, English and French, she said.

"I want to have a positive impact on the world," she said.