Sophia Genovese tells us how life as a student athlete has influenced her lifestyle and responsibilities.

Senior Sophia Genovese shows off her great balance.

   Ever since the age of three, Sophia Genovese has been involved in the popular extra-curricular of dance. Now a senior in high school, dance still has a major influence on Genovese’s life. Dance has given her the opportunity of self-expression and through the activity, she has gained other interests–her favorite being theater.

    Theater has not only livened her passion of dance but has sparked interest in acting and singing. However, dance will always be Genovese’s main passion as she is the choreographer of her theater class, obtaining this role as a junior. According to Genovese, “the [position] of choreographer usually goes to a senior,” so when her teacher asked her to be the choreographer, she was delighted and also nervous. “The idea of bossing around people who are older than me was scary” but she had to overcome that fear. Her choreography is vital for the school plays to be fulfilled as the plays themselves are subject to spectacular stunts and “not your ordinary school play.”

    Along with the stress of dance, Genovese has to tackle both her academic and yearbook tasks. She takes many Advanced Placement courses and is challenged with the yearbook position of Social Media Editor, yet nonetheless, makes time for her passion of theater and dance. With the multitude of responsibilities, Sophia has found herself in the position where time management is crucial, making her ultimately more well-rounded and responsible. Even though she may be a “social butterfly,” she has put her work and tasks before social gatherings, making time for fun on the weekends, ultimately ensuring that she finishes her work first.

    Though academics may be priority, her passion is ultimately dance. Through the emersion in her theater career, she has found a new love for choreographing and theater itself. She takes pride in not only her choreography, but the theatricality of her school’s performances. Genovese’s school is known for their outrageous performances, using tools such as bubble and fog machines and even wires to enhance their theatrical performance, making them different from the rest. Their last performance was The Little Mermaid and the school used wires to hoist the cast members above stage, mimicking the idea of swimming. Among these certain cast members, Sophia was one of them, remembering her experience as “horrifying but pretty cool.”

    Genovese understands the importance of academics and plans to go to school for psychology, specializing in a career dealing with children who have mental illnesses. However, dance and theater play a large part of her life and she plans to enjoy the end of her high school career participating in both.