Sophomore Madison Fahlman-Katler participates in CrossFit and works at the law firm Callahan and Shears, all while maintaining an unweighted 4.02 GPA this semester. Her advanced courses are Honors English 2, Honors Biology, and Honors Algebra 2, and next year she plans on taking AP English 3, Honors Chemistry, and AP U.S. History.

Fahlman-Katler typically spends one to three hours on homework, but she manages it by trying to get most of it done during class, break, and lunch.

She is planning for a possible future in criminal justice. Fahlman-Katler enjoys working at Callahan and Shears and says she has learned a lot about all the different branches of law. She plans on going to “Portland State for undergrad [and possibly] going to Virginia [for graduate school.]” She intends to major in criminology.

Outside of school Fahlman-Katler participates in CrossFit, which is something that she is very passionate about. Fahlman-Katler originally thought that CrossFit was “movements that used momentum instead of actual strength [and] were useless in everyday life and I shouldn’t waste my time.” But a friend of hers encouraged her to try it and now she does CrossFit five to six times a week. “I never felt so good [the first time I tried it] but also so challenged and I wanted to improve,” Fahlman-Katler said.

She also learned that the movements were useful by building strength. CrossFit has also “really helped me center my mind and body,” Fahlman-Katler said. She also says that CrossFit allows her to relax.

Her hardest class this year is Christology because she is not Catholic, but she uses the concepts and teachings that are taught and asks, “How can I apply this to my life?”

Fahlman-Katler’s favorite classes are English and math because English allows her to “talk about my own ideas,” whereas in math, “[there are certain] formulas and equations.”

For her, one of the hardest aspects of school is grades. “My freshman year… I wanted all the stars [on PowerSchool],” she said. However, she has learned to not stress too much when it comes to grades.

She advises other students to “find something that you really enjoy outside of school so you can take your mind off of school.”

Sophomore year has allowed her to “learn more about myself and how I interact with people.” Her advice to freshmen is to “present yourself honestly because you should never change who you are for someone else,” Fahlman-Katler said. “Learn from your mistakes and allow yourself to grow without worrying about trying to please everyone.”