Nothing less than success

In water and on land: Worley’s busy and impressive schedule

School can be difficult and the added abundance of extracurricular activities, AP classes and dual enrollment can make it so much tougher to balance and succeed at the same time. Isabella Worley, an all AP class student, manages to also participate and play on the Sanger High swim team and the Academic Decathlon. Worley grew up just out of Sanger, living with her parents.
“I live outside of Sanger, though I lived near the Sanger area my whole life. I live with my parents and my brother, who is a Sophomore that goes to Sanger High,” said Worley.
Before COVID-19, Worley enrolled in jiu jitsu with her brother, wanting to learn self-defense.
“I have learned a lot from Jiu Jitsu such as self-discipline. Unfortunately, I have not continued with Jiu Jitsu since COVID started because the place I went to shut down,” said Worley.
With so much on her plate what does she do on her off time?
“On weekends I love to take that time to catch up on schoolwork but also to see friends. I love spending time with my family, we typically like watching movies together,” said Worley.
Academic decathlon coach and world language teacher Angelique Duvet-Tovar says Worley is an amazing member of academic decathlon.
“She has been amazing member of the Acadec team over the last two years, representing our honors team and helping the team qualify for the State Competition last year. She is an excellent student, in the AP Capstone program, and plays water polo and competes in swimming. She is an overall well-rounded individual,” said Tovar.
Worley says she has grown to love academic decathlon.
“I am the team’s Treasurer and our big competition is coming up at the end of this month. Starting Academic Decathlon last year, I was worried about studying and mastering 10 different subjects that include Math, Music, Speech, Literature and more. However, I have learned so much from this club from improving studying habits, presenting skills, and learning so many different facts.” said Worley.
She also challenges herself in the classroom as well.
“I have taken 5 AP tests Freshman-Junior year and I worked hard to pass all of them. I am taking 4 more AP classes this Senior year including AP Bio, AP Microeconomics, AP Macroeconomics, and AP Statistics.” said Worley.
Tovar believes Worley is a hardworking individual.
“She is successful because things don’t always come easily to her. She has had to work really hard to get to where she is now. She puts in the time and the effort to constantly be improving herself and her grades. She refuses to settle for mediocre and knows that if she puts in the hard work that she can reach her goals,” said Tovar.
In addition, Phoebe Rex, a senior and also a good friend of Worley’s since 6th grade, thinks of Worley as ambitious.
“I think Isabella is one of those people that will be successful in whatever they decide to pursue,” said Rex.
Worley knows how to work and persevere through diffcult tasks.
“One of the hardest classes I have taken is AP Research where I had to write a 5,000 word research paper and present my findings. It was very difficult taking a class with very little teacher involvement and writing a college-level paper on an experiment that I had to design and analyze myself. This class was stressful and took a lot of work but I worked hard to earn a 5 on the AP test,” said Worley.
On top of academics Worley also finds joy in the sport of swimming.
“I love the sport of swimming because it’s where I can push myself and work hard to improve. I especially enjoy swimming for Sanger High School because I have a very supportive team and good coaches by my side. My team is absolutely amazing, swimming is usually a very individual sport but this year’s team is so close. We always cheer each other on and wish each other good luck. There is sometimes a huge group of Sanger teammates huddling around your small lane as you are swimming and the energy and adrenaline you feel as you feel your team is screaming and cheering for you is another feeling,” said Worley.
Managing time could be difficult with so much responsibility.
“I would sometimes come to school at 6:00am to go to morning practice and then leave school at 7:45pm for afternoon practice and in between I would be studying or going to Academic Decathlon study sessions. I am grateful that I got to do all these things. However, to keep up in some of my harder classes like my AP classes, I would sometimes do homework at swim meets and I would start studying immediately as I got home from practice,” said Worley.
Tovar wants to tell Worley,
“She is an amazing human being and she doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. She can keep pushing herself but it should be because she wants to not because of outside pressures,” said Tovar.
Worley has made strides not only in academics, but in her personal relationships.
“Isabella is the type of friend who is always smiling. Even when she is having a bad day, she’ll never bring negativity to our group when we get together at break or lunch. She’s loyal, and always has your back to support you,” continues Rex.
“Isabella has been an amazing friend to me, and I hope that we can continue to be friends even after we graduate high school,” said Rex.
Worley hopes to enroll in a good college and get a job in the medical field in the future.