Got a club or extracurricular in mind? Senior Kayla Marie Apostol has most likely participated in it. From volleyball to DECA and more, Apostol has ventured into just about everything, exploring the depths of what MTHS has to offer. In her four years at Terrace, she showed nothing but immense school spirit and love, going from an unfamiliar face, not knowing where she belonged in school, to a well-known, funny, and lovable person.
From freshman to senior year, she played volleyball and tennis, but in her sophomore year, she decided to join more clubs, involving herself in Key Club, the Asian Student Union (ASU), and the Distributive Education Clubs of America (DECA). She joined the Sports Medicine Club and Connect Leadership in her junior year. She soon became the secretary of DECA. In her senior year, she became one of the co-presidents of Connect Leadership.
“I mostly did it to be with friends and meeting new people,” she said. With all these extracurriculars, her name and face followed people wherever they went, and she became well-known throughout the school.
Apostol made unforgettable memories she’ll cherish forever during her four years here, taking advantage of the activities MTHS offered and excelling. Her participation and contagious enthusiasm drew people closer to her and many of Apostol’s favorite memories at MTHS are from the clubs and sports she participated in. One of her favorite memories was in Sports Medicine, of which she’s the vice president.
“Sports Medicine was a really big core memory for me. I went to the state Sports Medicine trip twice, and it was really fun. It made our class bond really well and we got along with each other,” she said.
As a part of the Sports Medicine Club, it should come as no surprise that Apostol is a student-athlete. Through volleyball and tennis, she deepened her connections to other students and MTHS sports, sharing love among everyone on the teams through a common passion for either sport.
“Volleyball really turned into a family, and it was perfect for me… because it was not only something we loved doing but it had a lot of bonding that turned into a family,” she said.
Girls’ tennis presented some challenges to bond in because of the structure of the game, but Kayla and her team persevered and formed a bond that made them stick together like glue.
“Girls’ tennis is hard to actually bond in, but I feel like we did more bonding experiences in it,” she said. “When you play tennis, of course, you’re either by yourself or with a partner, and I played by myself almost all through my high school experience. Throughout that, we all came together to express our feelings because it is a hard sport when you’re by yourself, struggling, not having anyone to look out for you. But in reality, your teammates are right behind you, cheering you on.”
Dedicated to helping others, Apostol joined the Key Club. Although it was intimidating due to its massive size, it gave Apostol another opportunity to build strong bonds and make new families. She fully connected with her friends and the community they were helping, strengthening her love for volunteering and giving time to others.
“Because Key Club is a really big club and there’s so many people, we would all just really bond in our combined friend groups. The activities we would do would make it really fun, and those are the reasons people would go.”
ASU helped Apostol forge connections with those with similar backgrounds to her. Not only did she connect with people, but she connected with her own culture and heritage. Apostol will continue exploring her culture in college with similar clubs they offer.
“[ASU] was fun and I did connect with my culture and different cultures,” she said.
Connect leadership helped Apostol become an important authority figure for underclassmen at MTHS. This was one of the reasons why she was well known at the school, for her caring and helpful attitude towards helping underclassmen allowed them to be comfortable with the school. Apostol’s guidance with the new incoming high schoolers showed them that high school isn’t bad when guided by the right people.
“I joined Connect junior year because you can only join your junior or senior year and I wanted to become a part of leadership,” she said.
Apostol’s involvement in Connect might’ve given her experience in leadership but DECA helped her gain experience as a leader, holding the position of secretary in the club, and she also found a deep love and passion for business marketing. This passion was so deep that it helped her decide on her future career and showed her that she wanted to go into business. Sports Medicine also helped her decide what she specifically wanted to major in, deciding on sports marketing.
“Sports medicine showed me that I really loved sports, but not [the medical part of sports, such as taking care of wounds, injuries, etc.] so the two in one really mixed together,” Apostol said.
All of these extracurriculars would be hard for the average person to manage, but Apostol’s transition from middle to high school was a tough one, and COVID was a huge additional factor. COVID made it harder for her to manage her classes and extracurriculars while finding her way in a new environment.
“I feel like [managing extracurriculars] takes a lot of balance, especially because of COVID affected a lot of it,” she said. “I went through a whole stage of online and in-person, and it was a lot of transition. Now, for a lot of other people, it would be easier, but for me, it was a bit of a big transition.”
Despite the struggles of the pandemic, Apostol was still successful throughout her high school career. She managed to maintain a job and hobbies outside of school, such as reading at the beach and spending time with her friends and family. Next year, she will be advancing her studies at St. Martin’s University in Lacey, Washington, majoring in marketing and going to grad school afterward in sports marketing, while also considering a minor in exercise science. She plans to continue her heavy involvement in extracurricular activities at university, planning to join the cheer team, the Filipino Club, and the Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Club.
“[AAPI] is basically all of the cultures into one, showing our different sides of who we are,” Apostol said, showing how much she enjoys connecting with her Filipino heritage.
Even with big plans ahead in Apostol’s future, she still appreciates her time at MTHS and all of the experiences she had along the way. Her memories and experiences at MTHS shaped her into the person she is today.
“My four years here were a very exciting time. They were very interesting, I learned a lot, and I made a lot of fond memories that I would cherish,” she said.
As she plans to depart from MTHS, Apostol wants to leave a message to any current students having doubts about spreading their wings and joining new clubs.
“Try new things. Any opportunities that come up to you, just try it. It’s not gonna hurt,” Apostol said. “Anything I found interesting, I did it and eventually loved some of it. Some of it, I just didn’t start liking anymore so I just quit or dropped out of it. But, I feel like whatever comes up to you that you might think is a sign, just take advantage of it because you’ll never know what would happen if you didn’t.”
