Waitsburg Senior Portraits

Martin Vasquez

Martin Vasquez's parents are Alisha and Josh Vasquez. Martin started at Waitsburg High School in his sophomore year. He is a full-time WHS student. 

Karen Huwe

Martin Vasquez hopes to be an ER nurse.

Vasquez has volunteered at the Waitsburg Lions Club rib and salmon feeds. In addition, he helped paint the football field for home games and worked at school concessions. In the community, he has raked leaves for elderly residents and assisted with the FFA Festival of Trees fundraiser during Hometown Christmas.

Vasquez's favorite sport is football. He began flag football in kindergarten, then moved on to tackle football throughout high school. By the end of his senior year, Vasquez was named All-League Linebacker, Cardinal of the Year, and Special Teams Player.

Vaquez participated in wrestling his freshman year, track in his freshman and sophomore years, and baseball as a junior. He was selected Student of the Month in October, his senior year.

A favorite memory of Vasquez's is the bus ride home after this season's last football game, when he enjoyed bonding with his teammates on that ride.

Vasquez is currently working on obtaining his Certified Nursing Assistant certificate and completing his clinicals at Dayton General Hospital, with plans to finish in April.

This summer, he will work at Dayton General before attending Walla Walla Community College to earn his registered nursing degree.  He would like to work in the emergency room.

Hope Adkins

Hope Adkins is the daughter of Alicia Adkins. Her sister, Dia, is a WHS alumna, and her younger sister, Dori, attends Waitsburg Elementary.

Karen Huwe

Hope Adkins plans to be an RN.

Adkins enrolled in the Waitsburg School District as a ninth grader. She is a full-time senior at WHS and participated in the Running Start program at Walla Walla Community College during her junior year.

Adkins has been a National Honor Society member since her junior year and served as NHS President in her senior year. She helped organize blood drives at the school with the American Red Cross. She worked on food drives, including the competition between the primary and secondary schools in November 2025.

As a freshman, Atkins was a member of FFA and played the clarinet in the school band. She was named Student of the Month in March of her senior year.

Adkins has volunteered at Waitsburg Parks & Recreation summer camps and at school concessions.

Cheerleading for football and basketball during her sophomore through senior years earned her Scholar-Athlete awards, Most Spirited in football her senior year, and the Coaches Award in basketball her senior year.

In 2022, Adkins served as a Waitsburg Celebration Days Hostess, traveling to area parades and events representing the city. She was a member of the Rocking D Riders 4H Club and shared her love of horsemanship as a hostess.

Adkins’ favorite memory was the high school ski trip to Bluewood during her freshman year.

This summer, Adkins plans to volunteer at St. Mary’s Medical Center in Walla Walla and earn her Certified Nursing Assistant certificate. In the fall, she will attend college to earn a nursing degree, with hopes to work in pediatrics.

Jarod Hankins

Jarod Hankins is the son of Danika Hankins, Rick Dousa, and Shawn Mathews. His younger sister, Cheri, is a WHS sophomore.

Hankins has been a Waitsburg student since preschool. Now, as a senior, he takes three classes at the high school and welding classes at SeaTech in Walla Walla.

Karen Huwe

Jarod Hankins would like to continue wrestling.

In addition to his academic work, Hankins is the senior class representative and is involved in Youth and Government. He was chosen as Student of the Month in February, his senior year.

Athletics have also played a significant role in Hankins' life. He has played football since third grade, basketball from seventh to ninth grade, and baseball from age four until his junior year. As a three-year member of Waitsburg High School’s wrestling team, he is a two-time state qualifier.

Throughout his sports career, Hankins has earned numerous awards. In football, he was named first-team All-League Defensive Lineman his senior year and second-team Defensive Lineman his junior year. Team awards include Lineman of the Year and Defense Player of the Year in his senior year. As a wrestler, he went to State in his junior and senior years, placing 10th in his senior year. Coach’s awards include MVP and Most Coachable in his junior year, and Cardinal of the Year in his senior year.

Hankins also volunteers in the community by helping with parking at Life Church in Walla Walla, assisting with the Lions Club rib and salmon feed set-ups, serving at school concessions, and helping paint the football field.

Of all these experiences, his favorite memory is the meal stops after games.

After working this summer, Hankins hopes to earn a welding certificate and CDL at WWCC or a Virginia trade school. The trade school in Virgiinia is one of few natioanally that offers a wrestling program.