Along with all of the other freshmen, Taylor Van Brocklin just made the transition from middle to high school, and her first day at Sunlake was nothing short of exciting. Just as many others, Taylor was nervous on the bright and early morning of the first day of school, but as soon as she stepped into Sunlake’s welcoming environment, the nerves went away. As she traveled through her classes throughout the day, one thing Taylor picked up on was the variety of students. “I love that you have new groups of people in every class which makes it easier to branch out and meet new people.”
Regardless of being a freshman, Taylor is already extremely involved at Sunlake, as she is the President of the Sunlake class of 2029, and plans to be apart of the Sunlake Girl’s basketball team later this fall. One of the highlights of her first day was sitting at lunch with one of her best friends on her basketball team, and another one of her teammates, who is a junior. As far as her goals for the class of 2029, this year, she is planning to make this year fun and exciting by making everything inclusive. Her job is to make all events, fun activities, and fundraisers. Along with this she says, “Whether that be making fun roles in the skit or throwing fundraisers for different groups of students, the main goal is to up the level of student involvement and making everyone feel welcome!”
Taylor’s older sister, Reese Van Brocklin is a senior at Sunlake, and she has been a role model for Taylor in many aspects of her life. “She is super smart and has taught me the value of hard work and dedication. She has always been a hard worker and excels in almost everything she does. Because of her, I am reminded of all the greatness I can put in the world.” Taylor shares. Although this is the first and last year that they will share together at Sunlake, Taylor is excited to make many memories with her this year and see all of the things that they get to do together throughout the year. Taylor has many mixed emotions towards her sister being a senior, and especially with college around the corner. “As sad as this makes me, I try to see the positives in it. Reese has always been my person whenever I need advice. I’m going to miss her a lot. I’m excited for her because she has such amazing things ahead of her.” Even though the topic of college is bittersweet, Taylor being able to experience her first day of high school alongside Reese on her last first day of school will be something that Taylor will never forget.
Although this is the beginning of high school for Taylor, she has so much to look forward to in the near future, and it is already clear that her freshman year will be one to remember!
