My name is Filomena Bertucci. I am a rising Senior (class of 2027) from the quite small town of Quilcene, Washington. This PEAK, I am looking forward to tromping through the woods with my lassies while scaring bears and being backcountry princesses, complete with flower crowns.

Favorite Outdoor Trip Memory:

Camping in the Wind River Range this past fall, I woke up in the half dark of the morning staring at ice clinging to the tent fabric inches above my nose. Two hours later, the sun now risen, our group was frolicking through the snow across a mountain pass. We did not have first tracks. A deer and a rabbit had been there before us. Yet the fact that they were the only other living creatures awake only solidified the strangeness and joy of having a snowball fight in the first snow we had seen since April, and that snow was on an 11,000 foot mountain pass, miles and miles from the nearest road, looking out over a vast wilderness of hills and valleys without a single sign of civilization, not even a trail. 

A Favorite Aspect of WCC:

One of my favorite aspects of WCC is the music. You cannot escape it, whether it is the person playing guitar between classes, undauntedly belted sea shanties on the trail, or spontaneous Polyphony parties. My Sophomore Year, the choir took a trip to Washington D.C. for the Blessed Karl of Austria Conference. On the way back, our flights were delayed over and over, so it was 1 AM as we finally got on the shuttle back to our vans. To keep our exhausted spirits up, we began to sing all the most beautiful rounds and chants we knew and, as we sang the solemn tone Salve Regina someone looked over. One of our heroic flight stewardesses, who had been on both delayed flights with us, was in tears. St. Augustine says Cantare amantis est, or, it is only the lover who sings. She showed us that we do indeed become lovers at WCC and of something worth loving.