Sofia Orellana is a senior at Glendale High School. Some of her favorite hobbies include running, doing yoga and reading. She also loves cooking, and some of her favorite dishes are vodka pasta and steak. She enjoys doing all of these hobbies because they allow her to be lost in her thoughts, almost like “free therapy.”
Sofia is currently involved in over a dozen different extracurricular activities. In school, she is our ASB Vice President and our head varsity cheer captain. She is also president of the Model UN Club, and she recently founded a new club called Saints in Action. She is also part of CFS, NHS, and Nitro Crew. Meanwhile, outside of school, she is an ambassador at her church, she is part of the YMCA Youth and Government program, as well as the California Deploy Program, which is stopping the spread of illegal drug sales.
Through these extracurriculars, Sofia has been able to stay calm in difficult situations. She takes her day one step at a time, allowing her to balance sports, school and her personal life.
Initially, Sofia was never planning to try out for the cheer team. She never believed she was the type of person who would put herself out there, but her friends wanted to try out, and they begged her to try out as well. Ironically, when she went to try out for the team, her friends decided not to go.
That summer, Sofia made the JV cheer squad, and she was thrilled. She has a love for the sport, because it is very uplifting, compared to any other type of physical activity. She said that to be on the cheer team, “you just have to have motivation and dedication.”
During her freshman year, Sofia was selected to be the JV captain, and then in her sophomore year, she joined the varsity team. That year, she became the co-captain of the squad, and it was an exciting time for her because she really felt seen by her coaches. Then, during her senior year, she was chosen to be the varsity captain.
Some of the responsibilities of being a cheer captain include ensuring that everyone on the team is physically and mentally well. Sofia wants to connect with everyone on the team and also to be an important role model for the other girls. Sofia said that she is “like the coach’s right hand,” and whenever the coach is not there, she is the person in charge.
During a typical practice, the team members warm up by doing jumps, simply stretching and doing their stunts. They also work on their competition routines, and they figure out if they have to work on an event that is coming up.
Sofia is currently not planning on continuing with cheerleading in the future, but she would love to, if given the opportunity. She also mentioned how college cheerleading teams have a lot of requirements to join, and since she is not the most flexible person, it will make it quite difficult for her. Following graduation, she plans on studying to be either an immigration lawyer, an international relations specialist or a political scientist.
Sofia is an inspiring and dedicated team member. She is an important asset to her team, and the program will not be the same without her. Being the captain of the cheer squad was not initially in Sofia’s plans, but it was really just meant to be.
