Focused and determined: Erin Brophy ’14 concentrates during soccer practice. She plays the midfield position.

Erin Brophy ’14 with a bow and violin means mellifluous sounds that fill your ear. Brophy with a soccer ball means domination on the field. Brophy with running shoes means zooming past the finish line.

Most students are whole-heartedly involved in one extracurricular activity, whether it’s academic, musical or athletic. It is an arduous task for many students to tackle all three, but Erin Brophy ’14 proves that it can be done.

Though Brophy plays a crucial role on the Girls’ Varsity soccer team today, soccer wasn’t the perfect match for her when she started playing at the age of four.

“I started it [soccer] and I played it for one season. I absolutely hated it. I tried gymnastics instead, but that was a disaster, because I’m not flexible at all. So then,  I went back to soccer and I kept doing soccer and I have ever since,” said Brophy.

Being on varsity is a significant achievement for anyone in a high school sport, but being a captain of a team is a whole different privilege.

“I really like being captain because I feel like I get to bring everyone together. The second thing I try to do as a captain is to be a role model to my teammates,” she said.

From soccer in the fall, Brophy gets her running shoes on for the track team in the spring. Her main events are the eight hundred, four hundred, and sixteen hundred meter.

Not only does she have an athletic background, but a musical one as well. Brophy is a skilled violinist. She has been with the school orchestra since fourth grade and has been part of the Wabash Valley Youth Symphony since she was in eighth grade.

“Erin is a great role model overall. An excellent student. Very diligent in her work. As a violinist, she is extremely competent and plays beautifully and is an extremely good leader,”said  Orchestra Director Carol Letcher, a long-time mentor of Brophy.

Even with the extracurricular activities and the work of getting ready for college, Brophy doesn’t stop there. She is the president of a well-known club at West Side: WLDM.

“I think it’s fun, because there so many people on the executive board, so I don’t feel like there so much pressure on me so I think it’s more fun than work,” she said.

As with any senior, Brophy also has her hands full with college applications. She plans on attending either Kalamazoo College, Washington University or Hope College. She plans to play soccer in whichever school she ends up going to and study kinesiology or exercise science. She says she would eventually like to go into physical therapy.

With the weight of the future upon the shoulders of seniors, it can be hard to keep up with the social aspects of high school life. According to Jade Doty ’14, even with all the practices and meetings, Brophy still has time to be “a little goofy at times, like talking in accents and stuff”. Her busy schedule doesn’t seem to prevent her from having fun and caring for others.

“She’s been my best friends since fifth grade because she puts others first, always. Best of all, she is so bright and funny. She can keep things lighthearted and always interesting. Her smile is contagious to anyone who is around her,” said Shelby Mann ’14.

Favorites:

Soccer player: Andrea Pirlo

Food: Mint Chocolate/Chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream

Animal: Cow

Cereal brand: Quaker Oatmeal Squares

TV Show: Bones

Class: Bio AP