Meet Senior Lily Peters, an involved and well-rounded student-athlete at Sanford High
*With Fall sports coming to an end, the Spartan Times is interviewing SHS athletes completing their Senior season. We kicked it off with the girls varsity soccer captain.
By: Grace Eaton
How should a teen spend their high school years? For each person, the answer is different, but according to Sanford Senior Lily Peters, school is her “biggest priority,” and she believes you should learn to balance it with other things, like sports, work, and friends. She says one of the hardest parts is “knowing what’s most important”, and sometimes you have to remind yourself that school does come first and just “get it done”.
Peters is an all-around focused student; she is not only one of the top students in her class, but also a captain of the girls’ soccer team and an accomplished track runner and jumper for both indoor and outdoor. Peters is also a member of NHS and has been a peer helper throughout her high school career. Peters says that by doing so many different activities, she feels like she “gets to be friends with all different kinds of people,” and says it has “really characterized my high school experience.”
Peters wants to go to a four-year university and study dental hygiene; she then plans to attend school again and become a certified dentist and a doctor of medicine. In college, she says, “I would like to pursue track … education is the biggest priority, and so track would just be a bonus for me.” Peters has been a track captain for the past 2 seasons and is looking forward to her senior season. Peters says that one goal she has before graduating is “to make it on the podium at track states for both indoor and outdoor.”
One of the biggest responsibilities of being a leader in any situation, Peters says, is “setting a good example for not only, like, those around me, but also setting a good example to inspire more people to set a good example.” Peters is a leader, whether it’s athletics, academics, or something completely outside of both. To be a leader, you have to have good supporters and people around you. When asked about who she thinks has helped her with her success, Peters said her mom was her “biggest supporter.” She described her as her “hype woman,” saying she does all the things a mom should do and more.
Who inspires the student athlete? She said Michelle Obama, saying, “I’ve always looked up to female politicians just because they’re in such a male-dominated field.” Obviously, politics isn’t the only male-dominated field. Peters also said that anyone in “medicine, law, … and so any woman that is in a field where they’re the minority” she has always looked up to, “because that is just so inspirational to take on something where you’re disadvantaged.”
Lastly, she left us with “Sports has always been where I’ve faced my adversity as someone who’s very privileged.” It’s the one place where she always had to really fight for what she wanted. She has learned that “things are not always going to be handed to you” and that you have to be the “hardest worker” to get the results you want, which Peters has definitely done throughout her years at Sanford High.
In honor of seniors ending their fall seasons, we want to celebrate Peters and all her hard work, now and in the future.
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