Every year we have an award that is given to two students who have exceeded in their activities called The Triple A award. This is an award that is given to students who excel in academics, sports, and arts. Emma Thomley and Bjorn Pearson both received the Triple A award this year. For sports, Bjorn is in basketball, Emma is in track, and both were on the cross country team. Both of these students are involved in many different AP classes, and have performed well in them.

They’re also involved in many different clubs and arts such as choir and band. Both of them are also in speech, in which their team won sections. Bjorn also shared with me that this past summer he went to an aerospace engineering camp and a two week backpacking trip with the boy scouts, which he’s also involved in. “One of my hobbies is being busy… I always have something going on. I put a lot of my time into different activities,” was Bjorn’s comment about him having so many activities. He also added that he spends some of his time applying for scholarships, “because college is expensive.” When I asked Emma how she handles her time, her response was “Sometimes I don’t very well, it’s tough to juggle a ton of different activities. In the end if you can plan really well, then you’ll be fine with the activities.” She also added that sometimes you just need to prioritize the ones you care more about and put those first. When asked how being a triple A student will affect their future they both had a different look on it. Emma thinks that the award itself won’t have a huge affect on her future, and that it’s just a validation of all the hard work she’s put in throughout high school. Bjorn says that “being recognized for being well rounded gives me the confidence to keep doing that.” He also added that in college he’s going to narrow down what he does because it’s hard to be in all those different activities, but still wants to be involved in a handful of different things.

The next step in both Bjorn and Emma’s life is college. Bjorn is not positive where he’s going next year, he’s been accepted into many different colleges including Michigan, where he’s thinking about most likely going. Emma has not yet decided on a major but she is considering either environmental studies or biology. Both of these students are examples of icons at our school, and they’re proof that working hard for things that you care about pays off at the end.