Paying Attention.
That’s what freshman Hope Tanzambi would want a book about her life to be titled. “It’d be called ‘Paying Attention’ because my attention span has gotten pretty big over the years,” she said.
Tanzambi describes herself as someone who is antisocial and not very talkative, but she hasn’t always been this way. “Back in middle school, elementary school, I would talk more and pay attention less,” she said. “But over the years, I’ve started paying attention to more things and it’s helped me a lot and it’s a very big part of my life, to pay attention to things.”
Another big part of Tanzambi’s life is soccer. She plays for La Salle’s varsity team as a striker and center forward, and she plays for a club team outside of school. Over the summer, she spent most of her time playing in soccer tournaments. Her team advanced to the regional level, playing West Regionals in Idaho. Unfortunately, they “lost in the quarters to Hawaii,” she said.
When she wasn’t out on the pitch, Tanzambi was cooking.
“Over the summer, I would cook a lot to do other stuff that wasn’t on my phone,” Tanzambi said. “Because when I’m not doing soccer tournaments or practice, there’s not much to do at home.” Her favorite thing to cook is pancakes, although it’s taking some time to perfect them. “I can never get it right, so I just keep cooking it,” she said.
In her quiet time, Tanzambi is rarely found listening to music. “I don’t really listen to music,” she said. “I don’t really like music that much.” Instead, she prefers listening to audiobooks. Her favorite books she’s listened to are “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “Great Expectations”.
Now that school has started, Tanzambi has found that her time is much more limited and dominated by her academic and athletic responsibilities. “I have to use my time wisely so that I can get all my stuff done,” she said. “That’s something I’m pretty nervous about.”
High school, for most students, is a big change from middle school socially and academically. That sentiment is true for Tanzambi. She attended Centennial Middle School and noted that while she was there, teachers didn’t have the expectation that students would be doing their academics and athletics at the same time. But in high school, the opposite is true. Aside from the higher expectations, Tanzambi feels that the homework is more intense.
Although the school year is just off to a start, Tanzambi has already pinpointed her favorite class: math. She is currently taking Geometry with Mr. Dave Frank. While Tanzambi is straightforward in her love for math, she has mixed feelings for one of her other classes. “I don’t really like World History, but the teacher — he really makes World History interesting,” she said.
On Friday, Sept. 8, Tanzambi, like most La Salle students, signed up to join clubs and immersion opportunities at the Club Fair. This year, Tanzambi is “joining CommuniCare, going to do Women’s Health and Fitness, and joining BSU (Black Student Union),” she said.
Aside from clubs, Tanzambi is also looking forward to the possibility of a trip to France with the French class. At home, her parents speak French occasionally, so Tanzambi has some familiarity with the language. Her goal by the end of her senior year is to “finally fully learn French,” she said.
Becoming fluent in French is just one of Tanzambi’s many goals for her time here at La Salle. A hope that she has is that, “I would win, maybe state, and a couple of awards for academics,” she said. “I hope that I would find a college by that time.” Her last goal: “Hopefully I would grow taller,” she said.
Tanzambi certainly has great expectations for this school year and is excited to get more involved and familiar with the La Salle community, especially through her love for soccer.
