Rebecca Grosch:

She’s the center of attention as a saber soloist and captain of the high school’s color guard, but off the platform, she’s all about helping others.

This week’s Valley Sun All-Star is La Cañada High School senior Rebecca Grosch.

Grosch was nominated for the honor by Emily Toffelmire, a counselor at La Cañada High School.

Toffelmire said she admires Grosch for her abilities to work with a diverse group of students, with support and patience.

Grosch is the daughter of Ann and Tom Grosch of La Cañada. She was born in Chicago and moved with her family to Racine, Wis., one year later. When she was 5, the family moved to La Canada, where she attended Palm Crest Elementary School for kindergarten through sixth grade. She later attended La Cañada High 7/8.

She has two younger sisters, Elizabeth, 16, a junior at La Cañada High School and Abigail, 14, a freshman at the high school.

She also has three dogs, a golden retriever named Maddy; a Brittany spaniel named Otis; and a Shih tzu-Maltese mix named Chester.

Grosch has been involved in Girl Scouts much of her life. She previously earned Bronze and Silver awards through the organization and is currently working on her Gold Award. For the award, she’s coordinating a project to create memory books — for both photographs and important documents — for children whose families have been displaced and are now at Door of Hope, a transitional shelter in Pasadena.

She devised the project because as a child she moved a few times and can empathize with children and families who have a difficult time holding on to important papers and photos through those moves.

Grosch is accepting donations through Jan. 21 of three-ring binders, divider tabs, stickers for decorations, markers and pens, scrap booking colored paper, glue and scissors for the project. Donations of such items can be dropped off at the La Cañada Public Library.

In addition to Girl Scouts, Grosch enjoys traveling with her family — which goes back to Wisconsin every summer and Lake Tahoe in the winters — and a trip last spring to Spain with the high school band and color guard. She also enjoys snow skiing, water skiing and sailing.

Participating in color guard is her passion, the youth said. “I became interested in color guard when I was in eighth grade. I saw the group perform and I thought, ‘I can do that.’ Later, I realized I could, but it was a lot harder than it looked,” she said, adding, “I like it because I can be the center of attention and perform my heart out.”

She enjoys spinning flags and rifles, but her favorite item to work with is sabers. “They hurt the most if you drop them, or if you catch it wrong, but they are the most fun,” she said.

She also enjoys her leadership role with color guard and helping new members in the group. “You start off really slow, but you get better with enough encouragement,” she said.

After high school Grosch hopes to go to college and veterinary school at University of California, Davis.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO NOMINATE an exceptional young person who lives in La Cañada or is a student here to be a Valley Sun All Star, e-mail us at lnews@valleysun.net.