A test looms on the horizon as you count the minutes until your sixth period math class. When you need a last-minute study session, the person to look to is Sara Yoshikawa (’26), who will go out of her way to make sure you understand a topic or assignment.
Despite her busy schedule, Yoshikawa never hesitates to lend a hand or offer support to others. Even though she plans to go into art, she fully commits herself in all classes and dives into subjects others struggle with so that she can assist when needed.
“I know my academic skills are pretty good, so while I might not use them in the future, I can use them now to help people who might be struggling in their classes,” Yoshikawa said.
Yoshikawa doesn’t necessarily try to stay busy, she simply has an abundance of activities she cares about. As an artist, she often does extracurriculars in that realm, such as dance, color guard and digital art.
“For fun, I like to dance,” Yoshikawa said. “If I want to share it with other people, I can. If it’s my own thing, I can keep it to myself. It’s something I can see my progress on.”
When faced with a full or overbooked day, Yoshikawa manages her schedule by blocking out slots for everything she needs to complete. She calculates how much time she needs to sleep, which then gives her the number of hours she has after school and extracurriculars.
“It usually ends up that I have a really ambitious plan for the day, and I only get half of it done,” Yoshikawa said. “But that’s better than getting none of it done, and sometimes, I’m stressed, [which gives me] the motivation. Sometimes, I’m not as motivated.”
Unlike many students, Yoshikawa rarely rests on weekends. She has color guard practice and performances most of the day on Saturdays, often having to wake up at 5:00 a.m. to get ready for competitions and still have time to help teammates with their hair and makeup. On Sundays, she devotes her time to church, family and completing schoolwork.
“I feel like sometimes I’m sacrificing time with friends because there have been times that I prioritize school over hanging out with people,” Yoshikawa said.
It was even more of a struggle to balance time with loved ones in the fall as Yoshikawa faced college applications for the first time. She applied to 13 schools, including reputable art schools, as well as both private and public universities. She hopes to go into digital art and become a video game designer. Though applications took up lots of time, Yoshikawa always made time to support friends and classmates. This helpful, kind and generous nature is what sets Yoshikawa apart. One of the biggest ways she supports others is through tutoring, which she does regularly.
“She’s a Math Honor Society student who is assigned to me, and she’s so helpful,” math teacher Molly Jepsen said. “She tutors my students, explains concepts to them and helps them review for assessments. She makes a huge difference–both my students and I appreciate her help.”
Outside of academics, Yoshikawa assists teammates with learning movement and equipment work at practices. She supports friends and their endeavors and even helps others with art, whether it be making paper cranes in origami club or giving advice on an art piece.
“I feel happy that I might’ve helped someone improve or understand something better, and that sometimes feels more fulfilling than getting good test scores,” Yoshikawa said. “It’s definitely a challenge to manage my time around keeping my grades up and helping others, and sometimes it’s hard to explain older concepts that I’ve forgotten or more basic concepts that are hard to explain.”
