The Knightly News

            In a place like WW-P, achieving a healthy balance between academics, extracurriculars, and social life is difficult, but for senior Emily Schmid, it seems effortlessly natural.  Scouted to George Washington University for soccer her sophomore year, she’s worked hard for what she has and isn’t letting the senioritis kick in just yet.

Starting from her humble roots of backyard soccer games with her brother, Schmid has grown to become the phenomenal athlete that she is today.  Upon entering high school, she was faced with the difficult decision of choosing between her two favorite sports—soccer and basketball.  “If I wanted to play basketball, I would have to compromise my time playing soccer, and I didn’t want to do that,” Schmid said.  She now plays defense and midfield on her club team and forward in high school.

Schmid, captain of North’s soccer team, has fellow captains and teammates inspired by her dedication to soccer.  “Watching her is just amazing because she’s so comfortable with the ball, and that’s where you see all the hours she’s spent practicing really come together,” said fellow senior captain Claudia Bianchine.

Schmid’s personality is reflected in not only her work ethic, but also the way she treats others on the team.  “She genuinely cares about everyone…she’s so hardworking both on and off the field….if something’s not right, she’s usually one of the first to step up and fix it, which is a brave thing to do; I admire her courage,” Bianchine said.  She helps create a welcoming atmosphere for her teammates and serves as a role model in the way that she tackles problems head-on and keeps her word.

“Hardworking” is the word that friends most use to describe Schmid, treasurer of NHS and percussion player in band.  With very little free time, especially in the winter when she has pit orchestra after school and club soccer at night, she is doing what she loves and loving what she is doing despite the busy schedule.  “I’ve learned that, in a game or in practice, the only thing that you can control is yourself and your work ethic and your emotions.  You can’t control the other team, you can’t control the ref, you can’t control your teammates, but you can control your attitude,” Schmid said.  Her positive perspective on life is displayed not only in her extracurriculars, but also in her day-to-day interactions with her close friends.  “Just hanging out in our room during Washington Seminar was awesome because she’s always so happy and fun,” said senior Chrissy DiCindio.

But her success and conviction doesn’t mean that Schmid had never doubted the path she was pursuing.  “Sometimes I questioned: ‘oh, why do I do this and not spend extra time studying or something?’” Schmid said.  Her commitment to George Washington University was just the confirmation that she needed.  “It showed that ‘your work paid off and you are prepared to do this’…it showed validity to everything I was doing.”

Looking forward, Schmid hopes to maintain a balance between her academic interests—business and math—with her love for soccer.  This won’t be too difficult because, for Schmid, soccer and academics are so closely intertwined.  “I want to apply what I know from soccer to my academics, and I want to apply what I learn from academics to soccer, because they kind of bounce off each other,” Schmid said.  Though she doesn’t intend to pursue professional soccer, she is infinitely grateful for her experience playing soccer, explaining that it has helped her with time management and working with a team.

Schmid is going to go far with her infectiously positive attitude and relentless drive.  We can expect to see this bright businesswoman, mathematician, soccer player finish anything she sets her mind on.