Senior year is known for its various leadership opportunities; a lot of the time, it extends beyond just leadership opportunities. Stacy Vang, a senior, is more than familiar with leadership opportunities. Vang is a co-editor for Yearbook and was the Soccer Captain. Vang tore her ACL during a soccer game the week before school started, which had been a few weeks into her full-time PSEO status at the University of Minnesota.

Aside from Vang’s extracurricular activities, Vang has two busy parents and a new baby sibling that she helps take care of. Vang’s classes at the University of Minnesota worked well with her babysitting schedule in combination with her essential attendance to yearbook gatherings and soccer practices and games, but now that Vang will need to undergo surgery soon, Vang has made adjustments and made sacrifices. 

One of the most common knee injuries among soccer players is a torn ACL, especially women soccer players due to different knee structures. Having a torn ACL can restrict Vang from performing well and could possibly worsen it or become very uncomfortable if she played. As a result, Vang will need to step aside from soccer and undergo surgery.

As a junior, Vang did part-time PSEO at Century College and loved her time that it resulted in broadening her PSEO experience to full-time at the University of Minnesota. Due to her torn ACL, upcoming surgery, and recovery, Vang wouldn’t be able to commute to the U of M as she regularly did by herself for a good month, which would negatively impact her attendance. Vang and her parents both believed it’d be better if Vang didn’t miss a month of her classes at the U of M therefore she decided it was best to return to North for her senior year.

Vang reflects on all that’s happened, “It actually kind of sucks because I was captain this year, but I still go to every practice and every game because I love the sport and the team so much… I’d rather be playing on the field with the team because I know I’d have something to contribute to our year with a losing streak.” As the new soccer manager, Vang will continue on to support and cheer on her team through both the rainiest of days and the brightest of days just as the captain inside her would’ve on the field.