Brooke Wallasch has been riding bikes for 16 of her 18 years. What started as a family weekend hobby, blossomed into a passion after she joined the Crescenta Valley High School Mountain Biking Team in 2016. This decision completely reconfigured her high school experience for the better, and opened up leadership and community service opportunities, including Girls Riding Together (GRiT), and Teen Trail Corps, both initiatives established by the National Interscholastic Cycling Association to inspire engagement and youth leadership. While juggling school work, training to race varsity in the SoCal Interscholastic Cycling League, and serving as vice president of her team during her junior and senior years, Brooke worked towards her Teen Trail Corps’ Captain award by volunteering with the Mt. Wilson Bicycling Association, educating others about the importance of trail etiquette and respect, and learning to effectively use her voice within her community. Since becoming a Teen Trail Captain at the first and final race of the pandemic shortened SoCal League 2020 season, she has continued to seek opportunities to get more kids on bikes and more volunteers contributing to the stewardship of trails in their communities. She plans to continue racing mountain bikes and volunteering with trail maintenance groups as she moves on to the next phase of her life as a student at California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo.