Hair drips of water, dripping down to the wet slippery floor, the scent of chlorine as she walks by. Her sweatpants are full of chlorine water.
Zuzanna Karyta, known most by Zuzia with her friends, is a Junior, AP student, Varsity swim, And is East Leydens student board member. Zuzanna is very swamped with her extracurriculars, she expresses that a great mindset is needed.“Being an athlete like, you know, practices end late, AP classes, takes a lot of time on your schedule. Like, tests are really hard for those classes, but I feel like if you put your mind to what you want to do, you can do anything. You can manage”
Zuzanna mentions how she came upon the student board in the first place, by a great peer/mentor of hers.“my global studies and AP year teacher, Mr. Tazik, he recommended me to, like this interview process with the principal at East Leiden, Dr Lim and Miss meglio. And basically I went through like a series of questions and from like 20 different students. I believe I got chosen. So Mr. Tazik saw something in me. Dr lamb saw something in me, and they chose me to do it.”Says Zuzanna, her face lit up with a smile.“So I couldn’t be happier. But it was just like spontaneous. And one thing I could say I gained out of it is just being more confident in myself and like not being shy, like being better in public speaking and stuff like”
Zuzanna vividly expresses the pressures of having to be a role model for the school.
“ It’s a lot of pressure, because you have to be a role model to everyone. But I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, because I enjoy that, but it’s a lot of pressure on just yourself when it comes to being a role model, making sure you’re always doing good things and stuff like that.”Even with Zuzanna’s busy schedule she never thought about quitting.“ I never thought of quitting. I think this is, like an amazing opportunity. I would never quit, but like, maybe one time that I thought it was too much was when I had a board meeting. I had two tests from AP classes the next day, and I had conference for swimming the next day. “
Time management and being organized is essential for Zuzanna’s busy schedule.
“ If I don’t go straight home and do my homework after practice, and then I have a board meeting or something like that. It’s just everything can pile up, and it could be too much, but just making sure I have my schedule, like organized, time management on point, then everything is okay.”
Zuzanna life is very complex to most people. But the way she carries herself gets her through it all, yes there’s some struggle too but with her confidence she can get through anything.
