Danielle Whitcher, English
“I started running in high school when I realized I wasn’t coordinated and couldn’t do anything related to a ball. I really enjoyed running because I liked how it helped me mentally and I liked that the harder you worked at it, you generally saw improvement and could kind of control your efforts. I had some combination of good and also not so great coaches growing up. I wanted to make sure I could be a foundational coach especially for young women as they saw running fit into their lives. Personally I’ve got lots of memorable races. I love running marathons and they’ve all been special or heartbreaking for numerous reasons. As a coach the most memorable moment was when we qualified for State as a team. It was unreal to do that for the first time in 24 years.”
More to Discover
![“All-Suburban [choir] was really fun because I got to work with a lot of people from other schools that I didn't know and I got to make friends. We got to learn fun but challenging music and perform for my parents so that was really fun. But the audition process was really stressful, because over 600 people auditioned but only around 150 actually made it into the choir so that was really intimidating for me. I was one out of three girls in my class who made it so that made me feel really special and I was really grateful to have this opportunity.”](https://psouthtreaty.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Image_20260523_140845_694.jpeg)
![“I never really played sports prior to 7th grade. My older brother [Zach] played football and It was always awesome watching him go to practices and play at games. I started playing in 7th grade, and when I did all my friends did too, so it worked out. Having an older brother really helped me to get my name out there, especially because he was a good linebacker. Playing football and balancing school was hard because we had 3 practices every day, and I had work, but I made it work. If I could give advice to my little siblings it would be to play sports, but school always comes before athletics.” --Tyler Evers, freshman.](https://psouthtreaty.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DSC_6355-1200x810.jpg)
![“Switching to PGA had its challenges. The first semester was the biggest struggle since the program was still fresh. On top of that, [I was] trying to figure out the new schedule plan, and the students in general. Though as the semester went on the entire change had become a routine, ultimately changing my perspective on school, let alone the world. We always try to include as many different cultures, traditions, field trips, hands-on projects as possible. Teaching many subjects or linking them into one can be tough for some teachers to adapt to, but I've seen the positive outcome it's had on many PGA students here at South.”
--PGA math teacher Rodney Holtmeyer](https://psouthtreaty.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/DSC_5788-1200x800.jpg)
