One of many IB freshmen, Vivian Morales is known by many as a star student. Morales is involved in the drama club, botany club, student government, and French club. Outside of school, she participates in gymnastics and additional work on theater. 

Being in the International Baccalaureate (IB) program is no easy feat, and along with the numerous activities Morales puts her time into her schedule is busy. Letting us in on the secret to managing all of these responsibilities, Morales shares some advice.

“Don’t add too much to your schedule. If you want to do something, choose your favorite hobbies and activities. Try not to incorporate too much but just enough so that you’re successful in what you’re doing, but you’re not getting too stressed,” Morales said.

Additionally, Morales is involved in student government representing PHU’s 9th-grade class as secretary. 

“I chose to run for secretary for the 9th grade because I wanted to be a part of something big and have the ability to enforce change being a student leader. Being secretary means to be taking notes during meetings, paying close attention to the discussion, and making sure that all ideas are being considered and accepted throughout the meeting,” Morales said.

Other than school and school-related clubs, Morales spends her time either with her friends or at gymnastics. She’s been doing gymnastics for 9 years and trains at Victory Gymnastics Training Center. Dedicated to the sport, Morales spends 10 and ½ hours each week training.

With most of her schedule filled, Morales still makes sure to take time to hang out with friends. 

“Socializing and being with my friends is a really important part of my life. My favorite thing to do with friends is to go outside and walk around wherever we are, to see the atmosphere around us and just be able to breathe fresh air and have fun,” Morales said.

Theatre is another one of Morales’s passions. You may have seen her at this year’s Lip Sync Show. She is in the drama club here at PHU and participates in theatre outside of school at Tampa Bay Performing Arts. She’s participated in “Frozen” as a townsperson, “A Year With Frog and Toad” as a snail, “Peter Pan” as Smee, “Newsies” as Romeo and Snyder, and  “Willy Wonka” as Willy Wonka.

“I am definitely going to be auditioning for the spring musical and any events that may come up in the future for drama club,” Morales said.

Morales may be inspiring to others herself but when asked she shared who inspires her the most and what keeps her going.

“Definitely my parents but specifically my mom because she’s working a job right now but she’s building her own business and she’s putting on websites and I just find it so inspiring how she’s doing everything. Imagining success is definitely what’s keeping me going,” Morales said. 

If you happen to catch her at the rare moment she’s not working towards her goals, make sure to congratulate Morales on all her hard work.