Sarah Archuleta golfs her way to college scholarship

Nicole Joerger
October 22, 2013

“Golf is a game that teaches you a lot of lessons. You learn how to be mentally strong, how to make comebacks, and how to compete in different situations.” Sarah Archuleta, senior, said. Archuleta earned a golf scholarship to Colorado State University and is eager to attend the institution.

In addition to golfing, Archuleta also enjoys photography, horseback riding and numerous other outdoor activities such as wakeboarding and hiking.

“Photography is a big hobby of mine. I enjoy shooting with my DSLR canon (t3i Rebel), Archuleta said. She enjoys photographing people especially kids. For her AP Photo portfolio, Archuleta is exploring vintage photography in which she photographs “mostly people with a mixture of antique objects.” Then to make the photographs look even older Archuleta uses Photoshop. “Photography is like therapy for me,” Archuleta said.

Archuleta is also an avid babysitter. She excels in golfing as well as school; she is currently taking honors law, AP Biology and AP Photography.

“She is one of the most enthusiastic learners I know,” Ann Breyne, photography teacher said.

Her dad, Jeff Archuleta, started her in golf and she considers him her role model.

“He taught me to love the game from the start and is the one who travels with me to tournaments,” Archuleta said. “From before I could remember, I had a golf club in hand and he was right by my side.”

Archuleta qualified for the Junior America’s Cup representing Oregon. She advanced it to the USGA Girls Championship in Indiana, and has played some other big tournaments as well. “Making it to these places made me realize that I have a chance to win NCAAs in the future,” Archuleta said.

Archuleta had an opportunity to visit CSU and her “visit there was great! I got to spend time with the team and my coach, which was so much fun.” Archuleta said “I played one of their courses and loved it.” Archuleta said. “I can definitely see myself living there and can’t wait to be a Ram athlete.”

With her positive outlook, Archuleta is excited about her future. “I feel blessed to have made it this far and am grateful to all the people who have believed in me,” Archuleta said.

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About the Contributor

Nicole Joerger, Co-Editor-in-Chief

If you asked Nicole Joerger, senior, what her greatest passion in life was a few months ago, the answer might have been simpler. For Joerger, dance was her life -- often practicing more than five hours every day, barely finding time to squeeze in homework, friends and journalism. However this year, she is taking a break from dance and looking at life through a new perspective. “My parents told me that if I didn’t dance this year they would pay for my car insurance,” Joerger said. “So that was a way for me to save money. Also I’m taking AP classes, plus Amplifier, so I thought it would be good to have more free time.” Finding just what to do with that free time is proving a little more difficult. Coming home without a full schedule is a foreign feeling for Joerger. “It’s definitely strange to be able to sit down and just chill after school.” That doesn’t mean she plans on relaxing her senior year away. As Co-editor-in-chief of the Amplifier, her plate is still full. Joerger has a long list of improvements and plans for the publication that she hopes to implement this year. “I’ve learned a lot, and I want to put my ideas into place. I definitely want to be stricter with deadlines this year and stay organized,” she said. Last year, Joerger unofficially took on a leadership position in the class, and discovered she enjoyed it. Over the summer, Joerger spent hours creating spreadsheets, plans and story ideas for the Amplifier to use in the fall. “It just kind of happened naturally,” Joerger said. “I wanted to have better organization so I sort of took the issue into my own hands, and I found I really liked having a bigger role in class.” Maybe that’s because it reminds Joerger of her future career aspirations as a teacher. Spending time with her little niece and nephew reinforces how much she wants to teach elementary school. “They have such positive outlooks on life. They’re always smiling and are never stressed, which is a quality I admire,” she said. No matter her focus in life, Joerger makes it seem easy. Even without ballet, leading a class, while keeping focused on the future, is no easy task. But after eleven years of dancing, Joerger has learned to balance her responsibilities with grace.