Lani Penner

A little about me:

•Corvallis has been my home since the day I was born.

•All my siblings have graduated from Corvallis High School.

•I have participated in swimming, tennis, and wrestling through CHS. I enjoy dancing a lot. Because of this, I started my own hip hop dance club at CHS.

•I like to volunteer, which is why I’ve been a part of a leadership group through the Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis since my freshman year and am a part of the Benton County Youth Commission. I am also a part of the National Honor Society.

•I plan to attend Oregon State University this coming fall. A majority of my family has graduated from this university; this includes my father, two brothers, and a sister. My third brother is currently a student at OSU.

•At OSU, I plan on majoring in Biology, which I then will use to help me in becoming a doctor of some sort, possibly an Internal Medicine Physician.

•I have a brother who is currently a specialist in Pediatric Dentistry and another who is in the process of applying to medical school. This encourages me to follow in their footsteps.

•I can stir up a mighty fine bowl of cereal. The trick is to get the perfect milk to cereal ratio.

•I sometimes dream about being a ninja.

•And I think the best super power someone could have is super speed.

My interest in Mr. Spartan started when I was very little, when I was about 4 years old and I was the kid in my brother’s Mr. Spartan kid section. Because I was so young, all I thought of this pageant was how awesome it was and how cool it would be to participate in. But as I got older and another brother of mine became a contestant in Mr. Spartan, my interest increased and I learned more about it. I saw all the benefits coming from Mr. Spartan, which made me want to be a part of it even more. I felt that it was meant to be, knowing that two of my older brothers have been a part of this.

For this year’s Mr. Spartan, my partner (NOT assistant) is Leilani Penner. She’s a really cool girl! She plays sports all year round and can read lightning fast. We run events, make videos, and have plain fun together. This year, we are donating the money we raise to the Mario Pastega House and the Cancer Research Center. We chose to donate to these places because they both certainly make differences in people’s lives.

Edward Pham

    Hey! My name is Leilani Penner and I am Edward Pham’s partner. I first decided that I wanted to be a part of Mr. Spartan my freshman year. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing what previous Mr. Spartan participants have done in the past few years. I think Mr. Spartan is a great way to give back to our Corvallis Community and have fun at the same time. This year Edward and I are working with Sean and Danelle to plan the Mr. Spartan Garage Sale. In addition to that, I’m making the 2010-2011 Mr. Spartan Calendar with Marisa Hendrickson.

    I love playing sports. Soccer is my favorite but I also enjoy playing and watching basketball, football, and golf. My life always seems busy and I think I do best when I have lots on my agenda.  One of my favorite things to do is to be outside on a nice hot summer day and go swimming! Over the summer I worked as a lifeguard at the Corvallis Country Club and I really enjoyed doing that.  I’m a hard worker but I do, of course, have my lazy days. As for school, I’m not sure what I will be doing next year; I hope to be going to school somewhere in Washington and if not that, then at Oregon State.