Gus Leffers, Reporter
Graphic by Anna Fiorito
Though NCHS is known for its courseload and extracurriculars, some students, like Junior Nila Thirumalai, take those commitments to another level. “I’m doing something after school for at least three hours every day,” said Nila, who spends about two of those hours practicing or playing flute and the rest on teaching at the YMCA or working out — and, of course, she has school work on top of it all.
But for Nila, who said she is “pretty happy being busy” in any case, those hours are something to enjoy, not to bemoan. “The more stuff I have in a day, the more efficient I am with the time that I do have,” she said. “At times it is overwhelming, but it isn’t detrimental to my life.”
Sophomore Luca Pisant is in a similar situation to Nila — he participates in the theater program, which has a pretty demanding time commitment. “I’m at school pretty much every single day until 6:00-6:30,” he said. “Depending on what day it is, I really have to plan everything out when it comes to schoolwork.” Structure and planning, therefore, is a big part of dealing with a big workload, along with the motivation to actually do that work.
However, sheer force of will isn’t the only thing keeping students from collapsing; there are plenty of school resources and study strategies that can keep overburdened kids afloat. A strong resource NCHS offers towards that end is the ACES program, taught by Nancy Stevens, which offers both enrollment and drop-in participation. “Students can come in and work on whatever study skills they would like to focus on, or they can drop in if they need specific help on a short term basis,” Ms. Stevens said. Breaks and ‘study spots’ are another help: Nila, for example, goes to the library every day after school to work, and she splits up that time with 30-minute work sessions and 5-minute breaks, helping her stay focused without becoming overwhelmed.
At the end of the day, while it can be demanding for students to take on extracurricular activities, it’s important to remember that they choose to chase those dreams. “I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy it. That’s why I spend so much time on it,” Luca said.
