Soccer is a fast-moving sport. Unlike other sports where athletes rest after every down or every inning, soccer requires constant movement. Players must have stamina; they have to work as hard as they can to keep up with the game. They are so busy working toward the goal that they have no time to rest.

This soccer game, last year, was no exception. All the players were giving 110 percent effort, but one stood out. Five foot two inch center-mid, Martha Valencia was dodging and weaving her way around the field with skill that was rare for a freshman. The score was 1-1, and as the clock counted down, a tie seemed imminent, but Valencia was determined. She wanted to win, and she would do whatever it took to achieve that goal. With one minute left the ball was passed to her. Despite being almost 40 yards away from the goal, she launched the ball toward the net. At first the ball looked to her like it would hurdle over the metal frame, but with joy Valencia watched it sink just enough to fly right over the goalie’s hands and into the goal. The game was won, but Valencia’s struggles were far from over.

Almost a year later, Valencia is the captain of the JV girl’s soccer team and is on her way to being a sophomore on the varsity team. But now, she is focused on a larger and much more difficult goal than leading her team to victory. Valencia wants to go to college and not just any college, but a four–year university like Stanford. To get into the college of her dreams, she has to be the ideal student, and so far she is doing fantastically.

Deborah Berg, Valencia’s French teacher, describes her as “very gifted.”

“She is curious about cultures and just excited about learning,” said Berg.

Along with doing excellently in her classes (she had a 4.5 GPA in the first semester of this year), Valencia takes part in six clubs including MESA and AVID, is a PLUS leader, and is now not only hitting the ball with her feet, but with a golf club. “I like gold because it challenges you,” she said. “I guess I like a challenge.”

Thursday during finals week was a great illustration of how dedicated Valencia is. After a long day of tests and reviews, she attended the MESA Club meeting. After this, despite wanting to get her many assignments and studying over with, she had soccer practice until six.

Finally able to go home after soccer, she settled her tired muscles in a chair and worked on homework for almost three hours. Then, at nine, wanting nothing more than to sleep until the weekend, she forced her tired eyes open and studied until three in the morning for her three finals the next day.

Whether it’s staying up until 3 a.m. studying for finals after a long day of soccer practice,  or gathering up as much community service as she can while striving for straight A’s, Valencia is definitely keeping herself challenged. “I wanted to get a lot out of this education wise,” she said.

Despite her admirable participation in extracurricular activities and great GPA, Valencia still has room for improvement. “I could do way better in geometry,” she said.

Valencia is constantly trying to improve. She is always working her way up the field, striving to score a goal.