Dakota Tyler '25 -- Leading with Heart
Sacred Heart Academy senior Dakota Tyler ’25 hit the ground running on her ambitious future. A standout SHA track team member, Dakota has loved the sport since third grade and hopes to be a collegiate runner as she plans to pursue a degree as a nurse anesthetist. As a transfer student her sophomore year from Whitefield Academy, entering SHA was an exciting challenge.
“So many pieces played a part in coming to SHA,” she explains, “I shadowed, and my experience was nothing short of perfect! I bonded with so many students, teachers, and coaches. I loved the energy that Sacred Heart brought, whether in school or during extracurricular activities like sports and clubs.”
Dakota proudly serves as the president of SHA’s Black Student Union (BSU) with Heart and focuses her leadership on empowering her peers to carry strong leadership skills into their futures. “I strive to protect our culture, lead our future, and inform others about the history of black culture,” Dakota says, adding, “Sacred Heart has opened so many doors I would have never thought possible, and I am ecstatic that I am allowed to have a voice in this amazing societal change.”
As the president of BSU with Heart, Dakota focuses on community and bringing students of all levels together as one. “I treat every fellow student as someone with a voice,” she says. “Everyone deserves respect, to be heard, and to feel seen and appreciated. I have done so much to make sure that the girls in BSU with Heart feel all those loving characteristics during my time here. I tie both reverence and community into leadership, and I feel we need to lead by example.”
“I have a heartfelt longing to guide young women throughout this life that contains many obstacles that could stem from simply the color of their skin,” she adds. “Through Sacred Heart, I have taken many courses and electives to further the dreams I have, and if it weren't for this school, I likely would have had to give up my hopes and aspirations.”
Dakota wraps her busy life around schoolwork, leadership opportunities, and sport and is grateful for the teachers and friends she has made during her time at SHA. “I feel we come through these doors every day knowing we will feel loved by our peers,” Dakota says, “With so many clubs, sports, and internships that Sacred Heart promotes, there is never a day where someone can say, "I can't." Because here at SHA, there are nothing but opportunities. This leaves so much room for the imagination to roam and flourish beyond belief!”
