Scholar Athlete: Sydney Holmes, Harlan High School

SAN ANTONIO – Meet Instant Replay’s newest Scholar Athlete of the Week, Sydney Holmes of Harlan High School.

Sydney is the team captain of the varsity cross country team. She’s also a member of the varsity soccer team. She’s been named First-Team All-District as a defender, First-Team Academic All-District in both sports all four years of high school and was named First-Team Academic All-State two years in a row. Sydney is the Co-President of the Math Honor Society, a member of the National Honor Society, the English Honor Society and the National Broadcom Science Fair. Sydney is ranked seventh in her class and maintains a 102.21 grade point average. Sydney plans to play collegiate soccer for Multnomah University where she will major in Biology and become an Orthopedic Surgeon.

WHAT MEMORIES DO YOU TAKE AWAY WITH YOU AS YOU LEAVE HIGH SCHOOL?

“This year, being back on the field. I came back from an ACL tear last year and when you have to wait an entire year to have the opportunity to play with your teammates and represent your school, it’s a really difficult moment in time to come back from. Just being able to have that experience my senior year with my girls and my coaches and presenting my school in the best way has been a dream come true.”

WHAT WAS IT LIKE GOING THROUGH HIGH SCHOOL DURING THE PANDEMIC?

“I think this group of high schoolers has had such a unique experience. I think in the long run, it will pay well for the commitments we make later in life and the achievements we are going to have. Not many people can say they had the experiences that we did. We’ve learned a lot and I think in the end we’ll come back from it stronger and there will be a beautiful new class of people who will continue to attribute so many successes to the generations coming after us.”

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FELLOW STUDENTS?

“Most of all, I think it’s important to figure out your priorities early on. Figuring out where you want to go and sometimes it’s okay to be undecided and unsure the exact career path you want to take. If you want to be good at academics, you have to commit early on. If you want to pursue athletics collegiately, you have to be ready to put everything in. If you are hesitant in the decisions that you make, you will suffer the consequences of it. Be sure of what you want to do but don’t forget to have fun. The pressure of being a student athlete is a lot but you lose all the best parts if you worry about the success and not the moments.”

Daniel P. Villanueva has worked with KSAT 12 for over 18 years and is an award-winning producer. To submit story ideas, email dvillanueva@ksat.com