Courtney Dutton

Peninsula High School senior a star athlete, recognized for many talents, kindness

Courtney Dutton is a star athlete who has excelled in three high school sports and received numerous accolades, including Scholar Athlete awards. She started playing soccer when she was 5, then added basketball and track and field a few years later.

“I like being active, and I like meeting different people through sports,” she said.

Dutton said soccer is her favorite because it mixes individual and team attributes.

“It’s about what you can bring to the team,” she said.

Dutton was selected in her freshman year to play varsity soccer, a rare achievement that she called a special experience.

In addition to being committed to numerous hours of practice, Dutton has maintained an excellent grade-point average while taking several advanced-placement and honors classes.

“Courtney Dutton is an uncommonly gifted student, a school leader, a noteworthy athlete and high accomplished academically,” said Hans Brockhoff, a PHS science and physics teacher. “Dedicated and disciplined to a lifestyle that requires an extraordinary amount of time and effort, Courtney has made countless personal sacrifices in order to become an accomplished athlete and a superlative student.”

Dutton likes to challenge herself and discover her full potential: She said she isn’t as good in biology, so she took AP biology and received As both semesters.

“I dedicated myself to doing well in that class,” she said.

Dutton’s teachers describe her as a self-starter who is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish a task.

“She does not settle for second best,” said Lynda Richards, a PHS English teacher. “Courtney is highly competitive in the classroom and on the athletic field. She works tireless to achieve her best potential.”

Despite a full schedule, Dutton finds time for community service. Among the organizations she’s helped is a nonprofit that rescues horses.

“Those horses are so beautiful, even though there is something technically wrong with them,” she said.

Dutton plans to study computer science and received a four-year scholarship to the University of Washington-Tacoma.

Dutton is considering a career in programming, Web design or a related field. She already got a head start, sitting in a UW classroom and job shadowing a Microsoft employee.

“Courtney’s rock-solid core values of honesty, hard work and perseverance, combined with her kind and gracious personality and exceptional academic ability, make her a very special young woman,” Brockhoff said.

Courtney Dutton

Education: Senior, Peninsula High School

GPA: 3.839

Parents: Phil and Stacy Dutton

Activities/achievements: Soccer varsity letter (four years), team captain, Coaches Award, Second Team All League; basketball letter (one year), Sportsmanship Award; track letter (three years), team captain; several Scholar Athlete awards; two WIAA Outstanding Scholastic awards and five WIAA Distinguished Scholastic awards; Seamount League First Team All League; volunteer at SAVE, Special Olympics, Winterfest and Rescued & Retired; Business Week CEO.

Favorite teacher: Mr. Gillis, because “he is very well-educated and is very helpful with outside of class tutoring,” Dutton said.

Best thing about high school: “The best thing about my high school is how many students participate in something extracurricular, whether it be a sport or a club.”