If you’re thinking about joining a sport or club, first consider this. Being involved in a club or on a team has numerous benefits that will contribute to your character and your overall well being.
Jacob Baker, a junior, and a cross country athlete of three years has an interesting story. He moved here from Lakewood freshman year; he didn’t really have any friends. His Mom wanted him to join cross country because his sister did it. Hesitantly, he joined and he “fell in love with it by the end of the year.”
Baker loves the community aspect of the team. “It’s like a family. It’s like a 70 person family.”
Baker is now focused on improving and working towards trying to move from the JV team to the Varsity team.
Brooke Henkin, a junior, and another cross country athlete of three years, says running helped her relieve stress. “It made me feel better”.
It’s hard work, lots of long workouts, and running on your own time; but, it definitely pays off once you cross the finish line. Henkin enjoys the competition, the racing, and showing off the work she has put towards it. She definitely wants to continue running in the future.
According to atyourownrisk.org “Participation in team sports results in a higher GPA for both high school boy and girl athletes. Physically active children are 15% more likely to attend college. Former student athletes tend to earn significantly higher incomes than those who did not play sports.”
Kathleen Azpiri is a senior, the President of AHS Key Club, and the Lieutenant Governor of Pacific Northwest Division 22/24 Key Club. Azpiri has her eye on helping the community, with all sorts of service projects and volunteering. And she definitely has her plate full too, because she is also on the Student Advisory Council, Arlington Youth Council, the DCET board, and in the National Honors Society. Azpiri finds that a planner, google calendar, and physically writing down her tasks helps her prioritize.
By being in Key Club Azpiri was able to meet tons of new people from Key Clubs all across the Pacific Northwest. She says this definitely helped her character grow, because she was able to step out of her comfort zone, and it’s helped her leadership skills grow too.
Azpiri invites you to come to a meeting.“[It’s] so much fun, you can bring a friend, and you’ll probably end up loving it. Because it’s just so amazing to … help other people and have an impact in your community.”
