“I like to take any chance I can at getting involved in the community and getting a greater education since not everyone is fortunate enough to have these opportunities and I don’t want to take it for granted,” said Jr. Giovanni Salinas.
School, work, sports, clubs, extracurriculars: how could someone involved in all of these make time for everything? Jr. Giovanni Salinas does. Salinas is involved in five International Baccalaureate classes, two sports, five clubs and extracurriculars, and has a job. And he does all of these things without sacrificing one thing for another. He makes time for everything.
Not only does Salinas balance everything he already has going on, he always is up for trying new things. He has done track since his eighth grade year. But, at the beginning of his junior year, Salinas took on something new.
“Junior year was my first time playing tennis,” said Salinas. Although scary to try something new, tennis turned out to be a positive experience.
“My favorite thing has to be the community. It’s a great way to make friends and just get more involved. Both teams for each sport have been very supporting in progress and always have advice to improve physical and mental health on the track/court and off it,”
And community is something Salinas finds in more places than just sports. Salinas is the Junior Class President on Student Senate at West Ottawa, is part of the LEGO club and runs the Instagram account, plays viola Symphony Orchestra, and is involved in LAUP (Latin Americans United for Progress).
“What I like about them is that I get to meet so many people from different backgrounds which allows me to be socially and culturally aware. It gives me a sense of identity to be able to be a part of something bigger than myself,” said Salinas.
Although everything Salinas is involved in brings him joy and are positive things in his life, doing all of them is not always easy.
“What can be hard is that some events or meetings from each of these extracurriculars can overlap and I kind of have to prioritize and really plan out my week. There’s always something on my plate, so it can be a little difficult trying to find time for myself. It definitely adds a great amount of stress to my life,” said Salinas.
And even though Salinas has academics, sports, extracurriculars, and clubs that take up most of his time, he still has a job. He has worked at Jimmy John’s since the summer of 2022.
Even a couple, or even one of these things would be enough to keep a person busy. But Salinas does it all. So this raises the question, why does he stay in everything?
“I like to stay in everything because it is the best feeling to be involved and knowing I’m making an impact, even if it’s not directly visible or seen. I love to make sure people feel included and welcomed in any activity or class that they might not be totally comfortable in. It’s important to me to stay in everything as it will create healthy habits in the future.”
