![With the energy and effort the Bolts were bringing to the game, the Phoenix had to step up and match them to make it through their first game of the season. Many of the girls on the team, including freshman Nazly Rostom, have been playing soccer since their childhood and have grown a love for the sport as a result. “It was fun to see how we actually played in a [real] game,” Rostom said. “Even though the outcome was not what we were hoping for, I’m still happy we got to play together.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/DSC_0154-1200x800.jpg)
![Held up by a group of cheerleaders, flyer sophomore Leyu Yonas poses as part of a stunt, also supported by flyer junior Shayne Mitchell behind her. (Left) Prior to the pink out football game on Oct. 13, the athletes practiced in the aux gym from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (Right) On Oct. 19, the cheerleaders competed in their District Championships at Woodgrove High School. “We definitely put all our effort on the mat [at Districts], and it showed,” Mitchell said. Left: Photo by Nadia Shirr. Right: Photo by Steve Prakope via Victor O’Neill Studios.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/feature-image-1200x823.png)
![Sophomore Xavier Smith (6), the Phoenix quarterback, runs the ball as his teammates help hold up the defense. “My [offensive] line collapses, so I just [have to run], and its a good way to get first downs because [Tuscarora’s] defense was really good,” Smith said.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/IMG_5383-1200x897.jpg)
![As the referee throws the ball up for the tip-off, freshman Simone Diby leaps towards the ball to get it in Phoenix possession. Diby is a new member of the Phoenix girls basketball team, and despite it being a change, she finds it enjoyable. “It’s definitely a different experience if you’ve never played on a team, [but] I think it’s still fun.”](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DSC_0057-1200x662.jpg)
Victoria Zhang Dances with her Busy Schedule
Sophomore Victoria Zhang splits her time between Rock Ridge and AET, completing SAT preparation courses, and participating in extracurriculars such as chorus, dance, track and field, DECA, and debate.
Sophomore Victoria Zhang participates in a plethora of activities outside of school. “I [try] to do all of my activities and I’ll try to do all my homework, but I don’t have much free time,” Zhang said. Even though Zhang manages to keep up with her classes and schoolwork, that often comes at a cost; Zhang says she stays up “really late” sometimes to get all her work done. “I get overwhelmed sometimes, but it’s fine,” Zhang says.
March 25, 2022
Every school day at 8 a.m., Victoria Zhang gets out of bed a mere 10 minutes before her bus leaves. After the school day, Zhang gets home between 6 and 9 p.m., and she usually stays up until 2 a.m. doing homework. She splits her time between attending Rock Ridge on A-days and AET on B-days. The workload, along with participating in numerous clubs, sports, and other extracurricular activities, sometimes takes a toll on her. “I sometimes feel like I’m overloading myself,” Zhang said. “My parents want me to drop [activities], but I [don’t want to].”
Zhang also spends a lot of her time in the dance studio. She started dance classes at four years old and competitive dance at age nine. She attends Weina Dance studio and has been dancing for 11 years. Zhang does a variety of types of dance — ballet, contemporary, folkloric, and lyrical dance — a task that requires three to four hours of practice four times a week. “I do a lot of types of dance — everything except tap and hip-hop,” Zhang said. “It’s fun to perform on stage; the community is fun [because] we’ve all been friends since we were four years old.”
Zhang’s friends believe she is a great dancer and a great person. “Victoria is weird, funny, and unique,” sophomore Alisha Jenkins said.
In 2019, Zhang won first place for her solo at a national competition, and won second place for her advanced teen duet.
In addition to dance, Zhang is an active member of the Debate Team, DECA, chorus, track and field team, and varsity club. Zhang decided to join the track and field team due to a desire to join a school team, as opposed to one outside of school. “I had free time in my schedule,” Zhang said. “I wanted to do a school sport, because it’s different from doing one outside [of school].”
Tapping into her artistic side, Zhang has been singing in chorus since she was in fourth grade. Although she took a two year break to play flute in her middle school band, she returned to chorus for high school “Playing flute wasn’t as interesting [as singing in chorus], and it wasn’t as fun, so I went back to chorus,” Zhang said. Now in her fourth year in choir, Zhang currently is in Vox Femina, the women’s chorus class.
Though Zhang says it can be tiring, she loves all the activities she does. “It’s nerve wracking, [but] it’s a rewarding experience.”
![Standing center stage, senior Ananya Akula conducts the Phoenix Chorale. “[Conducting and teaching] is really fun,” Akula said. “Music education is what I want to do.” On the day of the choir assessment, Akula found out that she received the President’s Music Scholarship – a full ride to the University of Miami Frost School of Music.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ananya-600x400.jpg)
![Senior Fatima Qaderi grew into the person she wanted to become when she was younger and continues to work towards growing more confident in using her voice when it matters. “I didnt get treated the way I wanted to be treated, and I realized that it wasnt just them treating me the wrong way, it was me treating me the wrong way,” Qaderi said. “I forced them to like to look at me in a way where Im someone who needs to be respected; they cant just disregard me, they cant just look over me because I have a different opinion, because Im a woman, because Im Afghan, because Im Muslim, or whatever. It just took going through different experiences to figure out how [I wanted to] be heard.” Photo courtesy of Fatima Qaderi.](https://theblazerrhs.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/IMG_3870-600x471.jpeg)
