Photos by Lila-Renaé McAuley

Sydney Sammons standing outside of class and joking with friends. Sammons represents the high school experience and what it means to be young and creative in school studies.

Athens Drive High School is full of young, creative minds. The visionary seeds planted in this generation of students will be the roots of generations to come. A form of creative expression many Athens students gravitate towards is the school’s theater course. The amount of love and dedication put into making the class a bright, shining experience is amazing to watch. One of these young aspiring actresses is Sydney Sammons, a sophomore who’s shown great progress in the class.

Sammons had a hard time finding where she fit in at Athens Drive. Her reserved nature and lack of interest in art courses during her freshman year held her back from her true potential. Only after seeing the Fall theater performance did she find her motivation to get up onstage.

“As soon as I heard that there was going to be a musical, I knew I wanted to be in it. I auditioned and I was so nervous, but Mr. Santangelo, Mrs. Hayes and Mr. Bunch were so nice and welcoming,” Sammons said.

She recalled her first performance as initially nerve wracking. Seeing her cast mates act, dance and sing before her helped to make her feel better about the musical. Sammons improved her own skills in singing and dancing, and she credits part of her progress to those who gave her tips along the way.

“I am so proud of myself. Last year, school was really hard for me, and I wasn’t involved or interested in anything. I definitely have come out of my shell a lot,” said Sammons.

Progress can be difficult for some to make in fields that are new to them. However, Sydney counts on her persistent nature and dedication to push forward. Her charismatic personality and strong resolve add to her hardworking nature. These qualities are motivation not only to herself, but those around her too. When a project in Spanish needed an extra pair of hands, she volunteered to get it done. 

“…My optimism. I’m always looking at the good things instead of the bad.” she says, in response to her favorite traits about herself.

Beside expression in the arts, academic performance is important to her as well. Juggling between tough required courses and extracurriculars can be a struggle. From Civics to Spanish, Sydney has quite a heavy workload. It’s her boundless optimism that keeps her on top of her studies. In Spanish, the assignments have proven to be challenging to non-native speakers. Sammons doesn’t let the language barrier stop her from continuing to succeed. Her resilience has helped her in other areas in the past as well. Math is a hard subject and Sammons admits to not liking it before her high school career. With hard work and supportive teachers, she was able to overcome this hurdle. She’s a quick learner, and an outstanding worker in the fields she puts her mind into.

To Sydney, the greatest thing she can do is leave a positive impact on her underclassmen. To others, she’s a wonderful friend, and the dedication in her work is nothing less than inspiring.

“The goal isn’t to live forever,” said Sammons,“but to create something that will.”