Senior Matteo Simamora has always wanted to challenge himself. This year, he has to balance his club soccer practices and games, his duties as the Ski Club president and his studies for multiple AP courses. This isn’t his first time having a busy schedule, but how does he manage to keep up with everything?

Simamora not only represents our school as a part of the varsity soccer team, he’s also the starting center back for his club team, Laurel Lions. Simamora started playing soccer at a young age, and it is something he has been passionate about ever since. He practices with his team three times a week, and has a game during most weekends with occasional tournaments. The Lions are part of the Elite Development Program, a top-tier competitive league for club soccer in Maryland. During varsity season, Simamora practiced with the team every weekday while temporarily putting aside his club team duties, and played one to two games per week depending on his school schedule.

Something he values in his soccer community is the friendships with his teammates of both his club and school teams. “It feels like playing with a bunch of friends because of team bonding exercises like team dinners,” Simamora said.

Other than soccer, Simamora has emerged as a leader in the Ski Club. He has attended the club ever since his sophomore year, and now is the club’s president. Like with other clubs, the presidential role comes with great responsibility, something that must be embraced and cherished by a leader. With the club forced to go virtual, it has become a challenge for Simamora, along with the help of club sponsor Amy Buckingham, to replicate the club’s meeting before the start of COVID-19. Despite this time of adversity, the club will more than likely still be able to go to the resorts. Simamora and Buckingham, along with the rest of the club’s leadership team, will look to hit the slopes this winter season, and since the resorts will stay open under limited capacity, he will look to strike another deal to make the pricing cheaper.

Above everything, Simamora has always valued academics in school. Since freshman year, he has taken six AP courses, three of which he takes currently: AP Psychology, AP Biology and AP BC Calculus. Being a senior, Simamora has to think about what path he wants to take in college. His area of interest is biomedical engineering, with his top school choices being University of North Carolina (UNC) and Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey. His dream job is becoming a doctor, and more specifically a surgeon.

Like his fellow classmates, Simamora has entered uncharted territory in terms of applying to college under this virus, which only makes the navigation process harder. However, he has been able to stay on top of his applications, having already finished all of them. “Matteo’s determination will make him stand out in the future,” senior and soccer teammate Matias Llontop said.