By Megan Saul and Kloe Adams

Freshman Arianna Papageorge is making leaps and bounds in her high school career, demonstrating a vast aptitude for field hockey, lacrosse, and leadership. Whether on the field or coordinating school events, Papageorge is a force to be reckoned with.

Papageorge began preparing to join the LGHS field hockey team before she came to the high school, participating in the winter camps during her eighth-grade year. Although the sport was new, Papageorge “just kept doing it,” remarking that “it was so fun.” Working her way up to tryouts in the fall semester, Papageorge made the JV team as a midfielder. At the start of the year, Papageorge noted the difficulty of balancing classes and running leadership events on top of being involved in a sport; however, the hard work paid off. Papageorge’s biggest lesson learned? “It is always good to be early.” Currently, Papageorge participates in the off-season practices, where she continues to enhance and improve her skills.

Unsure if she would play a spring sport, Papageorge went to lacrosse preseason practice on a whim and never looked back. Papageorge’s friends urged her to attend a preseason practice just to try it out, even though Papageorge had never touched a stick before: “My friend gave me her stick, and it was so much fun. I look forward to going to practice every day now.” Despite lacking experience, Papageorge quickly picked up new skills and progressed quickly alongside her teammates. Through field hockey and lacrosse, Papageorge has met many new people, helping her acclimate to the high school environment. “I felt way more comfortable, especially during the first couple of months. The upperclassmen ensured that I belonged despite being a new addition to the teams,” she explained.

When she is not on the lower field practicing her skills, Papageorge is rocking it in her classes. She says her favorite classes are English 9 Honors and Leadership. Papageorge remarked that in Tonya McQuade’s English class, Papageorge is very knowledgeable on the topics taught and can be extremely creative with projects. Her creativity extends to Leadership. As a freshman in this class, Papageorge participates in a job rotation system where the newcomers try out the different positions within the leadership class. She is currently the class president. So far, her favorite parts of Leadership have been organizing the freshman fall spirit hallway and becoming friends with students of all grades. She said, “It’s really fun to be involved with everything and always doing stuff for the school.” Next year, she hopes to be a spirit representative. 

Although balancing the workload that comes with freshman year along with two sports is a challenge, Papageorge has gracefully adapted toit, even making time for various other activities. She often spends time with friends, going to the beach, and talking to her older brothers, who have helped her adjust to high school. The next time you see this exuberant and spirited freshman around school, don’t hesitate to say hi, as she will surely say hi back.