Olivia is a senior at Jim Thorpe Area High School, as she is a part of the Class of 2024. A few of Olivia’s academic accomplishments include: being in the top ten percent of her class, being chosen for both HOBY leadership and the Dwight Eisenhower award, being a selected Rotarian, and being an active member of many of our school’s clubs and sports.
Some of the clubs that Olivia partakes in include: History Club, Art Club, Spanish Club, Mock Trial, Prom Committee, Spanish National Honors Society, and National Honors Society where she was awarded the national scholarship.
Olivia is also a part of many other clubs outside of school, some being Girl Scouts, Youth Group, Hunter's Hope Leadership, Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (candidate). On top of these activities she also works three jobs.
Olivia is also an incredible athlete as she is a part of Jim Thorpe’s Track and Field, basketball, and soccer teams. Some of her soccer achievements include breaking the high school shout-out record with fifteen shoutouts, breaking the schools record for least goals allowed in a season, that being three, becoming Times News’ Athlete of the Week, being the first team goalkeeper to get an honorable mention for striker, and becoming the first Jim Thorpe Women’s soccer athlete to receive the All Star State Award.
Which school tradition are you most proud of?
I would say the most proud scholl tradition is maybe the volleyball tournament. I feel like that is a lot of fun!
Which event did you most look forward to this year/ are most looking forward to?
Graduation. Everyone says “senioritis ” is a thing, and you don’t think it is until you're a senior. Graduation is exciting because it feels like these four years you kinda worked up to something and now it’s like you're accomplishing it
What is your most memorable school sport memory?
Soccer honestly is my favorite sport, and I got All State last year, so that was probably my biggest accomplishment.
Favorite school memories?
I would say one of my favorites is prom last year, it’s very different from homecoming. Prom was really fun though because you get to stand on the deck and there’s an ice cream bar and you get to talk with your friends, so probably prom.
Favorite teacher?
I think this school has a lot of good teachers, Mrs. Nelson, Mrs. Milkowich, Mrs. Vanbritsom, Mrs. Butcho, those are all great ones. Señor obviously, everyone loves Mr. Getz and Ms. Frey. They’re all such amazing people so I can’t really pick one honestly.
Plans for after high school?
I am hoping to go to a four year school. I'm not committed to one yet, but probably somewhere where there is a lot of stuff to do. I like to keep myself busy, and do soccer, and probably do biological science.
Which subject do you think prepares you most for life after high school? Why?
Personally I think science, because science is everything from chemistry to physics and will actually prepare you for life problems.
What about high school challenged you the most?
AP chem. Haha, but in all honesty, probably Learning to study. Middle school was super easy for me, I just breezed by it. Even the first two years of high school were fairly easy. Then once you get into more challenging, more weighted classes , like Spanish four and five, you actually learn how to read in Spanish which is difficult, and I’d say learning to study and finding the proper techniques that work for you can be very challenging.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years?
Hopefully semi pro in soccer. Honestly I really wanna hopefully go into semi professional soccer. I am hoping to also have a degree in biological sciences. I want to teach environmental science and animal science and help spread the word about how pollination is important and how we’re kinda the earth.
What motivates you?
Family and friends for sure, just working hard to accomplish my goals. You’re never gonna be given anything unless you have to work for it.
Advice for freshman/other high school students?
I mean this is so cliché but time really goes by so fast. My freshman year, I was talking to Lydia Wallace and she’s like “yeah you know it goes by so fast. Make sure you don’t take it for granted” we were just sat like by this fire for soccer . The four years really goes so fast, it’s like a blink of the eye and it’s gone. So really do everything. Go to all the events and everything, even if it’s something you don’t think you’re gonna enjoy, you might actually end up really liking it. At the end of the year last year they did that flag football game for the girls, and I was like “there’s no way I’m gonna like this,” and it was so much fun. I got so much turf burn from it though haha, but it was worth it. Another piece of advice for freshmen is to join clubs, meet new people, and make memories.
How have your hobbies/ extra curricular activities influenced your future plans?
I am in Girl Scouts, mock trial, history club, and art club. I’m also in the Spanish club, National Honors Society, Spanish Nationals Honors Society, and then two soccer teams, track and field , basketball, youth group, and a bunch of other stuff. I really dedicated myself to all of it, and I was trying my best to show up at everything as much as I could. I’m at the history club as much as I can, but that’s like the one thing that I can’t be at all the time because of track. Track and history club really collide.
What will you miss most about high school?
The teachers and the people around you, and overall the environment. Football games on Friday nights and soccer games every two or three days and I already miss that. The teams that you join and the bonds that you make with people because you’re really like in the moment, like “wow this is everything.” Winning Leagues last year, it felt like you’re winning the national championship, even though it was just leagues you know, but it’s the little things that make for such important memories.
What are you most proud of accomplishing in high school?
Something I’m most proud of besides All State is probably raising $86,000 for LLS. I was doing bake sales after bake sales, I probably did around 50 bake sales and I was scheduling event after event, but it was all worth it and I am so proud of it.
Who have been the biggest influences in your life during high school? Why?
Honestly, my whole family. My teachers as well. They keep me motivated. My older sister is definitely a big one, she would always check in on me after difficult tests and help me study as well. I have such a close family. We all live together, and there’s seven of us. We always try to make time for each other, whether it be movie nights or getting ice cream after late night soccer games. It’s definitely going to be hard to part with them when I go off to colllege and It’s definitely a top priority of mine to not go too far away.
What are you most looking forward to after graduation?
Honestly, just to see where life takes me. I grew up in a family who doesn’t really like to plan things, we are very spontaneous. We could be like “Alright let’s go to Florida next week!” So I’ve kind of adapted that mindset. I’m excited to see where soccer takes me and to see how I develop as a player and a person. I’m also excited to see where I end up job-wise, like if I end up in a lab setting or teaching little kids science or whatever. I’m a very spontaneous person.
You've achieved so much over your years in high school, how have you handled the stress and the busy schedule of it all?
Soccer. Soccer is my free space. I get stressed out but I feel like no matter what, at the end of the day it’ll be alright, you know? Like the world isn’t going to end if I do bad on a test, I’ll just do good on the next one. Also my family is really supportive. My mom can be tougher on me but she also sees when I get stressed and encourages me to rest, it really helps motivate me to keep up with it all. I also have a lot of self discipline, I know how to recognize when I’m feeling myself get stressed out and allow myself to calm down, whether that be taking a walk at the park or going to practice for an hour or so.
What are your hobbies?
I enjoy painting, I don't paint as much as I wish I did. My grandfather was a really good artist, he could draw anything like it was a picture. My dad, sister and uncles are really good artists as well. So it kind of runs in the family. I feel like it’s very calming in a way, to just blend the colors. I like to sing on occasion as well. I’ve never really been able to sing in front of a whole group though. My sister, well my whole family for that matter, and I used to just dance all the time. So that’s always really fun as well. I also enjoy running, hiking, and camping.
Advice for juniors about senior year?
As a junior, I would definitely prepare yourself a little bit, understand what courses you’re taking. I really stacked my pile this year. I doubled up a lot in my junior year so I didn’t have to go as hard this year, but I did anyway. It all kind of gets overwhelming and packs itself in and pushes you down. So if you’re planning on going all out your senior year in terms of classes, kind of prepare yourself mentally but also prep it out. Study for different subjects on different days, and don't put all your work into one night, every single night. Of course, don’t procrastinate, although we all can be guilty of that.
How did it feel to win the Schuylkill league championship last year?
Sophomore year, I had 50/50 in goal, so it was cool to learn from my other teammates and those older than me as well. Junior year I completely became the goalie, which was a big jump. It was weird to have no more field time, but I was very grateful. It was interesting, though, to go from running the field which is probably like 6 miles a match, to standing in goal. So I needed to make sure to work out more and practice a lot. During the offseason after school everyday I was practicing in the athletic hallway. I would get hundreds of passes and volleys and stuff in. As we went on the season, we only lost one game, which was against Pottsville with 4 seconds left in the game. It was so devastating because it was one of our last games and I felt some responsibility for it, It was one of the worst feelings. So then the season went on and we won pretty much all of our games, I only lead up 3 goals the entire season, which is exciting. I broke the school record for shutouts, which was 15. At our second to last game, we were versing Pottsville again, and we beat them with a millisecond left, and won the whole division with that game. It was really cool. We then ended up playing them again for league championships. It was kind of like a final matchup. We played them and ended up winning, I fixed all of my mistakes from my previous games and It was an amazing feeling and I felt very proud. It was exhilarating, no other feeling like it. It was almost like a redemption feeling.
Do you feel more pressure as a goalie?
There definitely is a lot more pressure as a goalkeeper. You’re the last line of defense on the field so if you make a mistake, it shows up on the scoreboard. Other players can make a mistake because there’s always someone else to back you up, but if the goalie makes a mistake then thats it. So I definitely do feel more pressure. However, I was taught growing up that there’s eleven people on the field, so in order for them to get a goal it has to go through ten other people first. I try to have short memory as a goal keeper.
Have you found it difficult to manage a good social life on top of your busy schedule and responsibilities?
Yes and no, It’s difficult to find time because you’re always doing something. It’s almost like anytime someone asks to hang out you’re like, “Yeah I can hang out, but only from 2-4 on Sunday night!” But you also meet so many people in the activities you’re in that you already have so many different bonds and friendships with people. My teammates are some of the most special types of bonds I’ve made. You can talk to them about everything. Even with non athletic clubs, it’s easy to build those friendships because you spend so much time with each other and get to know each other so well.
-Sadie Strack & Ava Schafer, Writers
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