High-achieving student has found her home at Central

Central Washington University student Diana Schneider has always been on the fast track, and she has no plans of slowing down anytime soon.

At just 19 years old, she already holds an associate degree from Pierce College, and she’s well on her way to earning two bachelor’s degrees at CWU by the time she turns 21.

Schneider also works part time in the Financial Aid Office, serves as president of the CWU Wadaiko Club (Japanese drumming), and recently joined the Ellensburg Police Department as a student intern.

As if that weren’t impressive enough, she only began speaking English 13 years ago when she and her mother immigrated to the United States.

“My mom is from Germany, and she decided that she wanted to get out and explore the world,” said Schneider, a double major in psychology and behavioral health who formalized her U.S. citizenship last May. “We ended up in Washington, and that’s when I started learning how to speak English.”

By the time she reached high school, Schneider decided that she needed more of a challenge and applied for the Running Start program at Pierce College in Lakewood, also home to the CWU-Pierce University Center.

That’s where she found out about the many opportunities that could be awaiting her in Ellensburg.

“My first experience talking to someone at Central was at the CWU-Pierce office,” Schneider said. “I said I was interested in studying psychology and they told me about all of the other programs that were available. I really wanted to go away to college, and CWU ended up being the perfect opportunity.”

Schneider explained that, even though she had an offer to remain close to home in Tacoma, her mother encouraged her to branch out and build her own foundation.

“I had a scholarship offer from PLU (Pacific Lutheran University), but my mom wanted me to go outside of my comfort zone,” Schneider said. “I never thought I would move away from home, but she saw it as a growing opportunity for me, and I’m really glad I listened.”

The tipping point came when she attended a New Student Orientation event in the spring of 2024. After talking about her financial situation with Financial Aid Director Kelsey Haney, Schneider received some unexpected good news.

“I told Kelsey about the challenges I was facing, and she awarded me the Wildcat Promise scholarship right then and there,” she said, explaining that she was eligible because of her 3.8 GPA and her CWU Housing enrollment for fall 2024. “That scholarship gave me $5,000 per year to go toward tuition and housing, and it was a huge incentive for me to come here.”

Schneider’s interaction with Haney also opened up the possibility for on-campus employment. After returning home from the orientation, she saw that Financial Aid was hiring student staff, so she decided to apply.

“They emailed me the next day, and it wasn’t long before I got hired,” she said.

After working in the Financial Aid Office for the past year and a half, Schneider has risen to a lead peer counselor role, allowing her to offer Wildcat Promise scholarships to students based on their high school transcripts and CWU Housing applications.

“As the lead, I have access to more information than some of my co-workers, which allows me to re-offer loans and award scholarships,” she said. “I never really saw myself doing this kind of work, but I really enjoy it because I get to work closely with other students.”

Working in the Financial Aid Office has also helped Schneider feel more connected to what’s going on across campus. She has grown to love the friendly, welcoming culture at CWU, and she can’t imagine a better situation for her college experience.

“I love the close-knit community that Central has,” Schneider said. “It’s so nice to be in a place where all of your professors and fellow students want to get to know you. That’s probably my favorite thing about it. Everyone is here to help.”

When Schneider isn’t studying or working in the Financial Aid Office in Bouillon Hall, she stays busy with the CWU Wadaiko Club, coordinating meetings, rehearsals, and performances. She picked up the Japanese drumming hobby at Pierce College and was happy to continue pursuing her musical creativity in Ellensburg.

It helped that her friend Daniel Watson, the club’s vice president and a fellow transfer student, helped her run the Wadaiko club at Pierce.

“The club is a great way to make connections with other students,” Schneider said. “A lot of our members started out not knowing what Wadaiko is, but they wanted to get involved in something and decided to give it a try. They have gained new cultural knowledge and made new friends, which is what we’re all about.”

Adding to her busy schedule, Schneider joined the Ellensburg Police Department last fall as a student intern through the highly selective CHASE program. As a Law and Justice minor, it only made sense for Schneider to pursue another growth opportunity outside of her studies.

“We get to shadow the officers, do ride-alongs, visit the jail, and more,” she said. “So far, it’s been really interesting. After I get done this year, there may be an opportunity to continue as a student mentor, and I think I will probably pursue that, too.”

After Schneider has come this far, why would she stop now?