2025 Students of Distinction

Joncee Lenker: Finding strength through struggle and storytelling

Gig Harbor Now is posting profiles featuring the Students of Distinction being honored by the Greater Gig Harbor Foundation. Peers, teachers or parents nominate students, who must be a graduating senior at a Peninsula School District school. A panel of community leaders selects students to be honored in one of seven categories: academics; athletics; career and technical excellence; community service; music, arts and drama; overcoming adversity; and science and technology.

These students will be celebrated during a banquet from 6 to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at Ocean5, 5268 Point Fosdick Dr.

School: Gig Harbor High School

Category: Overcoming Adversity

For Joncee Lenker, adversity arrived early, and often. Diagnosed with bilateral retinoblastoma as a baby, he battled childhood cancer not once, but three times, including a later diagnosis of Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML). The treatments were aggressive and unforgiving, resulting in the loss of one eye, hearing damage from chemotherapy, and a long list of surgeries. And yet, through every surgery, hospital stay, and recovery, Joncee held onto something few his age could fully grasp: a quiet, resilient determination to move forward.

Even when cancer robbed him of depth perception and forced him to adapt to daily tasks many take for granted – like reading music, playing sports, or driving – Joncee didn’t retreat. He adjusted. He found new ways to participate, learned to use blind spot mirrors behind the wheel, and always positioned himself near the front of the classroom to make learning more accessible. “I’ve learned that perseverance and purpose can transform even the hardest trials into opportunities,” he reflects.

Joncee Lenker

A gifted writer and deep thinker, Joncee discovered his passion for storytelling through journalism. He writes for the school newspaper and dreams of becoming a sportswriter – sharing not only stats and scores but the human moments behind the game. He’s also drawn to faith-based storytelling, particularly highlighting the strength of people living in underserved parts of the world. Whether he’s capturing an athlete’s comeback or a community’s resilience, Joncee wants to shine light on the moments that matter.

Throughout high school, he has maintained a 3.8 GPA while taking rigorous courses, including AP and University of Washington classes. He also earned a varsity letter in community service and uses his introverted nature to remain grounded and steady in moments of uncertainty. Teachers like Mrs. Floyd have played an important role in his growth, encouraging him to push past his comfort zone and express his perspective through writing and presentations.

What Joncee has overcome is staggering. But more remarkable still is how he’s used those experiences not to close himself off from the world, but to open a window into it – for himself and others. His story is one of quiet strength, deep gratitude, and a belief that we are shaped, not defined, by what we’ve had to face. Through his writing, Joncee is already proving that some of the most powerful voices come from those who have learned to endure, and then share what they’ve learned along the way.