Trinity Schmidtknecht: “Seriously Studious”

For Cotter student Trinity Schmidtknecht, weekends used to be associated with a break. However, with her junior year of high school in full swing, Trinity finds herself spending her once “free time” doing homework, homework, and… more homework. Crediting this year as her most rigorous academic experience yet, Trinity finds the load of work from AP classes, the high emphasis on writing, and the difficult material on tests to be the most stressful (and time-consuming) parts of her year. She believes the classes and workload will prepare her well for college and beyond, but that knowledge doesn’t help the fact that she has less time to do the activities she loves, like talking to friends, watching movies, and shopping. The greatest sacrifice Trinity has made this year is trading family time for study time, a situation made even more difficult as family is a key to who Trinity is. Her average of three hours of homework a night has made typical Schmidtknecht family activities (watching movies, going out to eat, and baking) extremely scarce. However, that scarcity only makes Trinity’s free time that much sweeter, with both family and individual time gaining a special meaning. Though difficult, Trinity’s dedication to her studies appears to be paying off, indicated by her stellar grades. “I want to be prepared for college,” said Trinity. Believe me, Trinity – with a work ethic like yours, you will be!