By Michael Moroney ’13 and Brian D. Brannon ’11
THE ROUNDUP

Nick Giancola ’12

Brophy student Nick Giancola ’12 is one of the busiest kids on this campus.

He is involved in an assortment of in and out of school activities along with taking multiple honors and AP classes.

As a person with things to do at every moment of every day, Giancola said it is important to find a balance because stress greatly affects him.

“Stress is inevitable in high school, and dealing with it is an integral part being a student at Brophy,” Giancola said.  At Brophy especially, stress cannot be stopped but merely balanced with relaxing activities, he added.

For Giancola, the stress mainly comes from swimming, his most time-consuming activity with practices all year round with Phoenix Swim Club and the Brophy team, and his AP U.S. History class that is notorious around campus for its lengthy note taking.

Alleviating the stress is important over the course of a long school week. Giancola takes refuge in soothing activities like reading, listening to music and taking naps.

He added that it is important for him to find a balance so that he can stay mentally and psychologically in check.

Christopher  Herbst

Christopher Herbst ’11 is like most other students at Brophy: he does his homework, studies for tests and works hard to maintain good grades.

Throughout his high school career Herbst has been involved in Calc Club, Choir and other extracurricular activities in addition to his regular academic career, but he said he believes stress does not play an important role in his life.

“Do what your supposed do and you’ll have no problem,” Herbst said.

Herbst went on to say that as long as you manage your time and keep up on school work, the stress and workload will dissipate.

Herbst’s attitude towards school stress is reminder of the British paratrooper’s motto, “Keep calm and carry on,” and this continues to guide him through the rest of his senior year.

Kyle Chalmers

Kyle Chalmers ’13 is a representation of a student with the graduate at graduation qualities.

He has involved himself in many Brophy clubs, sports and other activities in the past two years.

Often, the great responsibility is accompanied by stress.

Chalmers’ overwhelming tennis schedule along with Student Council duties and a couple AP and honors classes lead to late nights and little time to relax.

“I try not to take on too much at a time, but when I do feel stressed out I just relax for 15 minutes or so and rationalize with myself, making my workload seem less,” Chalmers said.

He continued to say that he tries to fill his weekend with fun activities that take his mind off responsibility.

His most time-consuming activity is definitely tennis with practices five times a week. Coming home at night with tons of looming AP European History notes,

Chalmers has to find an outlet for the pressure.

Sometimes though, he has to sacrifice time for school, like pulling an all-nighter earlier this year.

Chalmers finds refuge in hanging out with friends and attending Brophy trips, like the Ignation Family Teach-In, and he plans visit the Kino Border Initiative.

Jack Sperco

Jack Sperco ’11 is a man of many talents: sports, photography and intelligence.

On a scale of one to 10 Sperco rated his high school career thus far an eight due to his demanding academic curriculum and extra-curricular activities such as immersion trips, retreats and intramurals.

During his time at Brophy Sperco has been faced with many stressful moments but has found easy ways to cope with them.

“Stop procrastinating and stay off the computer as much as possible,” he said.