For many seniors, second semester is  a time of pure bliss. Free time abounds, pressure dissolves and college applications are a distant memory. However, some seniors continue to make a productive use of their time by seeking outside opportunities  before heading off to college in the  fall.

Senior Shaya Nikfar is one such example. For her last semester in high school, she decided to take up a job helping at varsity tennis coach Florin Marica’s private clinics, which take place at the school’s tennis courts and where she herself had been a student previously. She wanted a way to continue participating in the sport, which has been a  comforting constant in her life for the past 12 years, while balancing it with the other commitments. She also doubted that she would get to play tennis at the college level, after  talking to alumni tennis players.

“The summer before my senior year, I had to decide if I truly wanted to pursue tennis on a higher level,” Nikfar said. “But many of the college curriculum and academics that I am applying to will take up a majority of my time in college and not allow me to play a sport.”

Still, wanting to continue her passion, she took on the job after hearing Marica’s announcement about it at the varsity tennis team’s year-end banquet.

For two hours every other day, Nikfar drills young tennis players on movements, conditioning and coordination. Nikfar feels that it was only because she is a second-semester senior that she was able to accept the job. Without the stresses of college applications and school, Nikfar is happy to get paid for an activity that she loves.

So far, Nikfar has found the tennis job to be very rewarding and a fun opportunity to share her passion.

“My favorite part is when I show the kids what  their tennis movements should be like, and they look toward my actions as their inspiration,” Nikfar said.  

Whereas Nikfar has found her second-semester footing in a sport, senior Yu Karen Asai is seeking to allot her extra time to  her academics by taking classes outside of school

In December, Asai was accepted Early Decision to California Polytechnic University in San Luis Obispo. Asai saw which specific General Education courses she would have to complete to major in Biology  and  decided to get a head start on these requirements by taking English 1A at West Valley College  each Tuesday night.

“I think that it is always best to know the teacher face to face, so I choose in-person classes over online classes,” Asai said. “The college class is longer than high school classes but it is only one time a week!”

With her extra academic pursuits, Asai hopes to use this class to skip GE requirements at Cal Poly and become more focused on studying biology.

“It was really nice to keep in mind what school I was going to in the back of my mind for second semester. This way, I can use the extra free time wisely,” Asai said.