Rachel Sadler plays in her final regionals match. photo by Anja Oss
Junior Rachel Sadler dominates both on the tennis court and in the classroom.
The TJ community includes many amazing athletes and many outstanding students; junior Rachel Sadler happens to be both. On the tennis court, she is a spectacular varsity tennis player, and in the classroom she is a straight-A student. Many Spartans are able to manage a sport along with eligible grades, but Sadler strives to excel with both.
Sadler is a great friend to everyone and considers becoming more outgoing to be a big accomplishment. Although TJ is not her neighborhood school, she was excited to join a few of her friends, in addition to pursuing the CCT program. As she got more involved with the CCT program, she joined SkillsUSA as a sophomore. “Rachel’s been pretty phenomenal with SkillsUSA. She has participated in all of our community events, she has been instrumental in our fundraisers, and has really been helpful as an officer,” SkillsUSA sponsor and teacher Jerry Esparza explained. Sadler’s favorite part about the club is the competitions. She competed in the state competition last year, partnered with junior Morgan VandeRiet for Web Applications and the duo placed second. “This year I am more involved because I am the public relations officer,” Sadler explained. In the beginning of April, she competed in the state competition for Web Applications again this year with junior Asianae Jackson. The pair won first place and will be going to the national competition in Louisville, Kentucky, over the summer.
One of Sadler’s favorite hobbies is playing tennis, which she has been playing for a very long time. “I followed in my dad’s footsteps of playing tennis. He would help me practice and we still play when it is nice outside,” Sadler explained. The sport is definitely important to her and her family, so she aims to do her best in her matches. This being Sadler’s third tennis season at TJ, her skills have improved significantly. She pointed out how she has been able to add more pace to her serve in addition to making more skilled strokes. Sadler further elaborated, “I am hoping to place high at the South Invitational Tournament.” She competed in this tournament the past three years, placing second her sophomore year and placing first this year. Later, she competed in the regionals tournament and she placed third.
While tennis is a prominent part in Sadler’s life, her grades are majorly important to her as well. This past semester, she was one of the 53 Spartans who achieved platinum status on the honor roll. The past few years, she has enjoyed her CCT classes and her math and science classes. “Rachel is very talented; she always maintains a positive attitude and she loves to learn. She’s always interested in learning new things which makes her a great student,” photojournalism teacher Will Forrester said. She aces all of her classes, but physics is her favorite: “The labs and projects are so much fun!” Sadler hopes to continue her love of the subject once she graduates high school in addition to studying engineering and astronomy. She loves the challenges engineering will give her and she enjoys building things. Also, she has always had a love for space and the stars. “It’s thrilling to think of everything that is beyond our Earth and the possibilities the unknown holds,” Sadler elaborated.
When she has free time from studying or playing tennis, Sadler volunteers with the youth group at her church. She is a student leader among other 6th-12th graders. Her church has a cafe that she often helps out in among any other tasks that need to be completed. Sadler also loves animals, and pet-sits quite frequently for her neighbors. Not only that, but being the teenage girl she is, she loves to listen to music, hang out with her friends, and watch TV. “I am currently hooked on the shows Flash, Arrow, and Elementary,” Sadler stated.
Through all of Sadler’s accomplishments in tennis, school, and her various extracurricular activities, she has been able to grow as an individual as well as make the TJ community a much brighter place.
