"I think I can do anything"

Hillary Liebman | Monroe High School

Hillary Liebman considers herself an activist.

Whether she's wrestling boys as the only girl on Monroe High School's wrestling team or reviving the school's Gay Straight Alliance, Liebman enjoys challenging the status quo.

Her adviser describes her as someone who likes to "ask the hard questions."

Her high-school career tells the story of someone who believes in diversity and fighting for the rights of all students.

"I think I can do anything," said Liebman, who describes herself as a stubborn advo-

cate for social change.

Some of her other activities include serving as vice president of the school's French Club and co-founding a campus literary-arts magazine.

In one of her most memorable high-school moments, Liebman, as a co-president of the Gay Straight Alliance, delivered a speech at her school's Martin Luther King Jr. Day assembly calling for equal rights for all people, regardless of nationality, race, gender or sexual orientation.

The community erupted in criticism, Liebman said. For weeks, the school received phone calls and letters from members of the community angered by her mention of gay rights, she said.

In her sixth year of being the only female wrestler in Monroe, the 18-year-old conceded that at first she hated to wrestle and did it only to prove that a girl could. In the beginning, the boys wrote her off, she said.

"Every time I walked in, it was a challenge," said Liebman.

By her fourth year, she had gained the respect and acceptance of teammates.

"That experience shaped me as a person," she said.

"I've always been made to think," said Liebman, who often looks at people's roles and asks whether they are affecting society in a good or bad way.

"Some kids hate me," Liebman said of classmates who have disagreed with her actions.

In high school, Liebman found support from her wrestling coach, her teachers and her family.

"Teachers were my safety net," said Liebman, who credits her success in dealing with criticism to teachers who stood by her when classmates didn't. Her parents, Mark and Kathy Liebman, have always encouraged her, she said.

She's set on earning a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in college while making friends and "learning about people."

Liebman has already begun calling the women's department at Seattle University, the school she will attend in the fall. A feminist, Liebman hopes to see the department grow during her time there as a student.

"I want to leave Seattle University knowing I made a difference," she said.

Yamiche Léone Alcindor: 425-745-7812 or yalcindor@seattletimes.com