It all started in elementary school when she realized she was much faster than all the other kids in her class.

Tierra Wilson, 18, is a graduating senior at Tahoma High School. She was an all-star at track with her two younger sisters.

But Wilson isn’t your typical young athlete. During her four years in high school, she did more than bring her track team to state. She was also in DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America, honors society, participated in community service and the most outstanding thing she did was start up her own nonprofit.

Her favorite teacher, Mike Jackson, said she always saw a goal and could achieve that goal.

“The term ‘I will try’ is not in her vocabulary,” Jackson said. “She uses ‘I will do it.’”

This nonprofit aims to inspire youth through education. The goal is to work local in the United States, but also internationally.

In fact, one of the bigger projects she and other members of her nonprofit started working on is to build a school in Haiti and construction for that school begins next month.

“I think my greatest accomplishment was starting my nonprofit,” Wilson said. “I feel like I’ve been able to take a step towards my future.”

Wilson said she is excited to graduate high school and start the next chapter of her life. She is going to attend University of Southern California this coming fall. This is a private school with an acceptance rate of only 16.5 percent, as of 2016. She will be going to USC on a full-ride scholarship due to her academics.

She said she will be majoring in business, which means she will be going to the Marshall School of Business. According to US News, this school ranked 24 in best business schools in the nation.

“I love California and the sun and when I visited the campus, it’s super cheesy, but I felt like I belonged there,” Wilson said.

Wilson said she is very grateful for all of the support that she has gotten from her teachers and the Tahoma School District.

“I really liked my teachers and being able to be inspired by them,” she said.