Indoor track. Outdoor track. Swimming. DECA. Hawk Headlines. Best Buddies. Woodland Worldwide. Class Council. A strong asset to the Woodland community, Ava Muharem, involves herself in anything that she believes will benefit her and the people around her. She also has high hopes to get into her dream college, New York University.

“I know you need a lot of extracurricular activities to get into [NYU]. Sometimes grades are not enough,” said Muharem.

Getting into her dream college is important for Muharem because she wants to be a journalist in New York City. Following her heart and the dream to become a journalist seems like a crazy, unconventional life, but one she strives for.

“The campus is beautiful and I just think I would be really happy there,” said Muharem.

To help track everything, Muharem makes sure to check Schoology for her calendar, keep mental notes, and make lists because everything she does can become overlapped and hard to manage.

Outside of school, Muharem works at Hometown Pizza in Prospect. She makes sure her schedule does not overlap with the commitments she makes to other programs. At Hometown Pizza, Muharem works as a “phone girl.” She takes customers orders and adds them to the system.

With a reputation of always being busy, Muharem also shocked peers when she joined the Woodland track teams and shined brightly in her events. Muharem runs the 300 hurdles and the 100 hurdles for outdoor track, as well as the 55 hurdles and 4 by 200 for indoor track.

“My favorite part of track is definitely hurdles,” said Muharem. “Running gives me serotonin and when I jump over the hurdles, even though I fall sometimes, it is so fun.”

Track is difficult at times, but it is unlike anything Muharem has done before. Track is a fun feeling for her.

One memory that Muharem distinctly remembers is falling three times her first meet.

“It was embarrassing,” said Muharem. “My track team was really nice about it. They were all coming out to me and asked me if I was okay.”

Muharem’s track team made her feel better about herself. She learned how to fix her form and work to make herself better.

A strong mentor for Muharem is Isabela Mejias, Woodland track team member. Mejias single handedly taught Muharem how to hurdle because Woodland does not have a hurdle coach. Mejias focused on Muharem’s jumps and her form.

Coach Ferrare, the Woodland sprint coach, also helped Muharem throughout the season.

Muharem worked hard to accomplish her track goals with the help of her peers and coaches.

“My best friend, Kate Cicchetti, is a very successful cross country runner,” said Muharem. “She is the one who introduced me to running.”

Not only being involved with the Woodland community to get into college, but also to keep Muharem on her toes. She loves the adrenaline of being busy and having something to do. The club and sports she is a part of give her a sense of purpose.

“I do not want to get bored for life,” said Muharem. “To quote Rachel Berry, from Glee, ‘being a part of something special makes you special.’”