Sabercat Stories: Alison Shad
Alison Shad (fifth from the right) helps out with FBLA’s miracle minute. Photo Credit: Alison Shad
January 23, 2018
Lover of science, language, technology, and math, junior Alison Shad enjoys exploring her interests at Fossil Ridge High School. Through AP classes such as Calculus, US History, French, Chemistry, and Language, Shad keeps busy along with her participation in clubs.
After not participating in any clubs or extracurricular activities freshman year, Shad decided to become involved in clubs because of friends. The first thing she noticed after joining clubs was her improvement in public speaking and leadership. Although Shad claims she’s still not very good at public speaking, clubs push her to get outside of her comfort zone and practice this skill.
Along with the confidence boost, Shad joins clubs because they show her how school subjects apply to her life, and how they can translate into a career. “I feel like through clubs and all of the things I’m doing outside of school, I really gain that experience. So it’s not just the textbook, the assignment, the lab, the AP test. That’s all great, but you also need the creativity and innovation. All of that comes from volunteering, and experience. It really progresses your knowledge because you’re not just copying from the board or memorizing a formula, you actually see the real world application,” she explains.She is a part of French Club, FBLA, Science Olympiad, FRESH Club, Girls Who Code, multiple Honors Societies, and startup clubs such as German Book Club. It really progresses your knowledge because you’re not just copying from the board or memorizing a formula, you actually see the real world application. — Alison Shad
Since Shad is also involved in a business leadership class, she is able to become much more involved in Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA. She has participated in fundraisers, events, and study sessions. Currently, she is working on organizational leadership and publication design, as well as business achievement and community service awards. In order to win one of these awards, she must complete multiple levels in that category.
Science Olympiad and FRESH Club allow Shad to explore her passion for science. She loves choosing different events to learn more about through Science Olympiad, where she picked chemistry lab, herpetology, experimental design, and mission possible. She is looking forward to the competitions, and hopes her team can make it to nationals. In FRESH Club, Shad is preparing for the Environmental Leadership Summit, an event where people from different schools gather and listen to keynote speakers. It is one of her favorite events. As a board member, she helps organize aspects of this event as well, such as making contacts and organizing flyers.
Shad is a part of National Honors Society, National Science Honors Society, National Math Honors Society, National Language Honors Society, and will be joining National Technical Honors Society and National Business Honors Society in her senior year. They allow her to tutor students in different subjects, a great way to help students and meet new people. She volunteers in Boys and Girls Club, and also mentors Science Olympiad students at Kinard Middle School.
This year, Shad is co-president of French club. She explains, “French Club has really accelerated me a lot. It’s really great because you take all of the things you’ve learned in French so far, and give that knowledge to other students who may not be as advanced. We also help out if they need to learn more cultural stuff, so that when they travel they can better adapt to a french- speaking country.” Shad takes AP French, and has a big interest in language. She doesn’t really know why, but they have always fascinated her. Although schedule conflicts kept her from taking German this year, she is still interested in continuing to learn German and is interested in learning Spanish in the future.
Outside of school, Shad competes with a climbing team from Ascent Studio. She joined recently and practices three days a week. She has played piano since elementary school, and participates in ABRSM. In addition to piano, she picked up the guitar in middle school and continues to enjoy it.
College is definitely a part of Shad’s post graduation plans although she is unsure of what type of career she wants. She wants to possibly have a business or STEM related major. She is also considering a minor in language or computer technology.
As for the rest of the school year, Shad hopes to continue to be involved with school activities and meet new people. She plans on joining the track team for the first time, where she plans to meet her goals and spend time with friends. She continues to look forward to new opportunities to collaborate and swap ideas with peers, adding,“I love how Fossil has different people coming together so they can be creating ideas, and bouncing ideas after each other, and accepting one another, and it just gives you a broader outlook on the world as a whole.”
