Playing piano for the choir, taking five Advanced Placement classes, and being a track star is not easy. But senior Jiye Park sure makes it seem that way. It’s easy for her. She just does it.
When Park moved from Korea to the United States her freshmen year, her entire life was changed. She was offered a variety of opportunities and she took advantage of every one.
And now in her senior year, preparing to go to college, it is no doubt that Park has succeeded past everyone’s expectations.
Park exemplifies the Woodland Way. She’s a star athlete, a star student and it is no wonder that she was just recently named the NVL’s 2013 Female Scholar Athlete. Although managing between her academics and sports can be difficult, she has found ways to overcome these obstacles through past experiences.
Park has always been a student athlete, but it was not until high school when she really began to show her talents in both.
“In Korea, in fourth grade, I was second in nationals for the eighty meter dash,” said Park, “but I had to quit after that because of school, but now I am here and I can do both.”
Park competes in a variety of events in both the indoor and outdoor track seasons. She runs the 100 dash, 4×1 relay, 4×2 relay, long jump, and the triple jump—her personal favorite.
In this year’s Naugatuck Valley League Championship, Park’s relay (4×2) placed first and then she went on to place third in the 55-meter dash.
“I think running is the best way to stay in shape and stay healthy,” said Park, “I feel like running is a sport where you can’t give up and you have to keep pushing yourself and I like that feeling.”
With track practice every day and meets that last nearly all day on Saturday, it is vital that Park manages her time well.
Taking AP Calculus, AP Literature, AP environmental, AP Music Theory, and AP World History, Park added that one of her weaknesses is procrastination.
But unlike most of us, sports help her manage her time rather than get in the way. Park knows that she has to keep up with both in order to continue doing them.
For Park, school is more than just important for her future. She loves these opportunities that are given to her when attending.
“What I like is that I can do what I can,” said Park. “I can play the piano so I play for the choir, I can run and I can run on track for the school team, and I can study and I can do that in school and I can get an education while being in school.”
Although she was introduced to a brand new world just four years ago, Park has surpassed most with her achievements.
As a senior, Park continues to work hard and is looking to decide what college or university she will be attending next year. Studying English literature, Park knows that it will be even harder to keep up with sports and academics. However, she is hopeful that she will be able to both run track and remain the A+ student that she is. When she leaves Woodland it is going to be difficult to find another multi-talented student like Jiye Park.
