Aaliyah Land: Tell me a little bit about your background. 

Shanon Pampo Sanchez: I’m in the dual program. I do a lot of sports, you could say. I did volleyball for 2 years, water polo and swimming. I’m also thinking of joining another sport. I work at the student store and I do work in the Cardinal City Shirt-makers. I mostly focus on bordering, but I can do almost everything with the shirts.

AL: Why did you decide to compete in Miss Cardinal?

SPS: I decided to compete because I thought it would be a unique experience. I thought that it would be a great opportunity for me to actually get out there, and be more comfortable and confident in presenting myself. 

AL: What makes you the best candidate to win? 

SPS: I think I will be the best candidate to win Miss Cardinal because of the impact that I will get to make. I would really promote the event, like with sponsoring, or just meeting new people. Even after it’s over, I would probably still find a way to help. 

AL: What exactly do you do in Spanish Honor Society?

SPS: I don’t have an actual position, but I mostly help with the artwork and planning for the society. For example: I help with the events, if we need posters, or if we need to set dates. I also have contacts with the other people that are working there, so I can make sure that we have the space.

AL: What makes your water polo team special to you? Do you have a standout memory from your time with the team?

SPS: Well, I haven’t been on the polo team yet, but I’ve been on the swim team. One of my favorite memories has been where it was four people racing against each other and it was my turn, and coming back from one of the laps, a person on the team went into a pool before me, so they almost fell out. It was kind of scary, but it was also funny because we got disqualified from the race, just because of that.

AL: Based on that, do you think swimming is stressful? Do you feel as if it’s hard to compete or just something that comes easy to you?

SPS: I think it’s something that comes easy to me. I’ve always been someone that’s been very connected to the water, so I’ve been swimming for a long time. But, yeah, I think it is something that comes natural to me. 

AL: What strategies do you use in a match?

SPS: Well, I mostly do freestyle and I do backstroke. 

AL: Can you tell me how it works? 

SPS: Freestyle is straightforward, but backstroke is a very different way of swimming. And it’s also kind of harder because you don’t really know where you’re going. So, sometimes you can be disqualified if you touch the lane. But even by accident, if it looks like you push yourself in a different lane, you can get disqualified just by that. Then you don’t really know where the wall is, so they have flags for us at the top. We have to pay attention to where the flag is, so we can calculate when we have to turn.

AL: How do you balance all of your programs and sports while keeping things fun? 

SPS: Well, I feel like sports aren’t really taking much of my time. Right now, I’m currently not doing sports, but I am helping with the boys water polo team. I still feel like I have plenty of time to do my work and assignments. And with my other activities, they are mostly during school, so they don’t take the time from outside. 

AL:  I’ve heard that you crochet. What inspired you to do it? Do you have favorite items that you’ve made so far?

SPS: What inspired me to crochet was that I wanted to make a gift. It was first something that I saw on Tiktok, and then I got into it because I found some tutorials. I remember some beautiful flowers. I knew that it was very pretty, and I wanted to make it. Then I really got into it, like started making clothes, and other things that are much more complicated. My favorite things that I’ve made are some bucket hats that I’ve been working on. They’re like this puffy yarn that is just so comfortable.

AL: Would you start a business out of it?

SPS: I’m currently trying to start a business. I’m making flower key chains and pins. I’m also trying to incorporate little foods or other items, like car wheels, for those car guys.

AL: Where do you hope to be in five years?

SPS: I hope to have already started my own business and have settled it. I would’ve, probably, by that time, already finished or started college. I would probably have a degree in business, particularly entrepreneurship mostly because I want to have my own business and want to manage it myself.

AL: For what in your life do you feel most grateful? 

SPS: I feel the most grateful for my grandparents and my little sister. My grandpa kind of lived something similar to what I’m living through. Like, having to move to a new place and learning new languages and all that. I really enjoy the stories that they have of him. It’s kind of the same from both sides of my family: moving somewhere where they didn’t really know what it was, but they just wanted to have a better life. 

AL:  What’s your earliest childhood memory?

SPS: Camping at the beach. We used to go every year with both sides of my family, probably three times a year. I will go once with my mom’s side of the family, and then once with my dad’s side of the family. We’ve always enjoyed the beach so much. It was always so fun just staying there for a couple days and enjoying the time and freedom. 

AL: Describe yourself in three words.

SPS: Passionate because once I start something, I really go above and beyond with it. I’d say that I’m independent too since I like to do things mostly by myself. I do have a lot of trouble with letting others help me because of how I just know how to work with myself. I’m also open minded. I don’t like to criticize other people that much or have preferences or anything. It’s just you do you. 

AL: What is a weakness you feel you have?

SPS: A big weakness I feel I have is my leadership. I’m always telling people what to do but I think it’s ‘cause I’m passionate about whatever it is. It’s not in a bossy way, though. I think it comes from me liking to take care of people also. I feel like I move too fast for their liking sometimes, but it’s probably because I’m just used to working on my own.

AL: What’s something most people don’t know about you? 

SPS: Well, it’s very easy to know that I speak Spanish, because I have a very pronounced accent. But very few people know that I’m from Mexico. They know that I’m Mexican, but they don’t know that I was actually born in Mexico. I moved to the U.S when I was around nine-ish, probably fifth grade.

AL: Did you notice a difference from here to Mexico, culturally wise? 

SPS: Not only culture wise, because I knew that it was going to be very different, but just in the way the school system works overall. The way that they would teach here, to the way they were teaching there was so different. When I was in Mexico, the classes were more advanced than when I started here. 

AL: Which school system do you prefer: Mexico or the U.S.?

SPS: Now, I would prefer the school life here because I feel like I have more opportunities than in Mexico. My mom had to sacrifice so many things, like when she was in school. So, I do have an opportunity in school here rather than over there.

AL: Are you proud of yourself?

SPS: Yeah, I’m proud of myself, especially with everything I’ve been through. If I had to, I’d go through it all again, but I would change a few things.