You may have seen her starring in Seton’s Hello, Dolly! as a tearful teenage girl, or perhaps leading the fan club in chants at basketball games as a member of the Varsity Cheer team. One thing cannot be denied: Sarah Fiacco is one busy student who always has things to do and places to be!

Sarah is a 10th grader here at SCC and participates in a remarkable amount of extracurricular activities both inside and outside of school. She is a Jazz Band soloist, a member of the SCC Swing Choir and Varsity Cheer team, and participates in shows put on by the theater department. Sarah also plays piano, tutors elementary school children at St. John the Evangelist School, is a competitive skater, and coaches young children in skating.

Just like many other students, Sarah wakes up in the morning, gets ready, and heads to school for a day of work and learning. But when that 3 pm bell rings to signify the end of the school day, Sarah’s day is just getting started. Depending on the day of the week, she heads to St. John School to tutor young children in subjects such as math, science, and English Language Arts, and attends cheer practice every weeknight (and on some nights, goes to tumbling practice after cheer). Sarah attends skate practice on various nights of the week and usually ends up getting home around 9 o’clock to eat dinner, do homework and get ready for bed. Although it is the latest, skating is the activity Sarah is the most passionate about: “Skating is the one thing I do that only depends on myself. I am the person who determines if I will pass my test, or win my competition… I feel powerful in myself. It’s sometimes quite a struggle, but when you are able to overcome your mental blocks, it’s a phenomenal feeling, and sometimes you just can’t get that when you’re working with a big team.”

With all of Sarah’s extracurricular activities also comes the stress of maintaining such a busy schedule, and trying to balance that schedule with a home and social life in a healthy way. She uses her own system to help cope with this stress and bustling agenda: “I really like writing things down. Whenever I’m feeling overwhelmed, the first thing I do is take out my planner. I write down my goals, homework, and chores and form a little organized plan, then just go at that plan. In between my work, I throw in things that I enjoy like taking showers or face-timing a friend just to space out using all that mental power.” With this system, Sarah is able to be very efficient, getting all her work done, eating, doing something she enjoys, and maintaining her health.

In addition to her work, sports, and hobbies, Sarah also has responsibilities towards schoolwork like every other student. However, she finds that the workload she receives from school isn’t very intrusive on her life outside of school: “Talking with my friends from other schools, I do sometimes realize that our teachers are effective in their lessons without having to give out tons of homework.”

Nonetheless, there are still times when Sarah’s schoolwork may bring stress and become overwhelming: “What really gets me is the instances where a test, a project, or a lab is given to you and is due the next day. You can’t do much about it other than stress or cram. I will say that has become more common as I’ve gone through Seton; the older I get and the harder classes I take, the more spontaneous tests and projects with harder rubrics and less time to complete there are.” She feels that teachers could help their students in situations like these: “I know that a lot of students deal with anxiety and stress and mental blocks and sometimes, they just need a night off.”  She feels that with assignments such as projects, teachers should consider how much time they are giving students to complete the project and ensure that the amount of time is fair.

Sarah has been a member of the CSBC family since elementary school and feels very supported by this community. “Our school is so small, every single one of our teachers knows us, and you gain a lot of support when your teacher actually knows your name and your work ethic. Your teachers know you, they’re here to support you and care a lot.” She believes that this small environment creates a feeling of comfort in which students can feel free to participate in class and ask questions when they don’t understand the material, as well as feel at ease knowing that they are being provided with what they need. The only disadvantage Sarah finds of being in such a small environment is that with its size, people tend to know much about you (whether you want them to or not), and there is not really a place where you can go to truly have a moment alone.

With all of the things Sarah participates in, she is a dynamic person and an active member of her community. She has a piece of advice for those who want to become more involved in their school and the local community. “Go for the sport or club you want. If you’re feeling timid to start a big activity, go for something small first, like tutoring. Talk to a teacher or adult you are close with and ask them if there is a way you could help out more. You can even do that around your community; tell a parent or pastor you’d like to help out. If you do good work and work hard, people will know you, and you will earn a well-respected reputation. This can help build your confidence to say ‘I can do this, I can join this team or club. Start small, work hard and it will all pay off.”