When junior Sophia Hauer looks back on her year thus far, she said that it has been pretty stressful but also noted that it has been a time for forming memories with classmates.

Hauer said that some of her favorite memories of high school so far have come from “sports, with all the friends I have made,” as well as, “the classes that you wouldn’t think that you would like, but then they ended up to be kind of fun,” said Hauer. 

Junior year can be demanding, especially when taking AP tests, and completing the infamous junior research paper. Managing homework and tests, especially for AP classes, can be difficult. When preparing for a big test, “I pretty much study as much as I can handle,” Hauer said. “And then I pray.”

On top of regular school work, Hauer plays both soccer and tennis for La Salle, which can only add to the stress of school at times, “We’ve done pretty well in tennis, so [the stress] was intense,” Hauer said. “and state is coming up [too].”

Despite the stress of school, Hauer’s favorite class this year has been U.S. History. “Mr. Shelton is my teacher, and he’s made the class really fun and enjoyable,” Hauer said. She added that the best parts are “the class structure and the people in it.”

Hauer’s advice to underclassmen and incoming freshmen when picking classes would be not to, “always go for the most impressive ones,” she said. “Just do what you can handle.”

Throughout her time here at La Salle so far, Hauer has made plenty of accomplishments, both in her academic classes and in extracurriculars.

“I’m most proud of making varsity for tennis the first time I learned how to play,” she said. “I’m sure it’s partially because there weren’t a ton of people, but I feel like I picked it up really quickly, and it’s just kind of turned into my sport.”

Other achievements that Hauer said she is proud of include some essays she has written and art projects that she has completed.

Hauer said that she gets some of her motivation from her mom. “She’s very insistent on doing what you can and being okay with your work, [and] going easy on yourself,” she said. “Because the fact that you finished it is sometimes enough.”