Crenshaw senior Taren Harper enjoys connecting with people and serving others. She also enjoys physical activity, competing in flag football, cheerleading, and track and field. Time management helps her commit to all her obligations.
“I’ve been good with my time since a young age because I always like to be active,” Harper said. “Outside of school, I always need something to do to keep me occupied.”
In flag football, Harper made 15 carries for 155 yards and one touchdown this season. On defense, she made three interceptions with 47 interception return yards. Harper also defensed 14 passes.
“I always wanted to play football, I grew up with all brothers,” she said. “Playing football with my brothers was a thing growing up, and then it feels good to actually be playing out there now.”
In track and field, Harper does the 100m and 200m along with the long jump, high jump, and triple jump. She noted how squatting, deadlifting, and conditioning drills helped her train.
“That’s my favorite part of track, the field events,” Harper said.
While she initially struggled to learn the techniques of the triple jump, she excelled and earned a scholarship to Arizona State University.
Harper also enjoys tumbling and flips when cheerleading. She is also a junior coach for a Pop Warner cheerleading team. After flag football and cheerleading practice, Harper teaches routines to the young cheerleaders.
“They’re babies … it helps me with my patience,” she said. “When it hits six o’clock, the minis will be already warming up and I’ll leave the school at eight, nine o’clock.”
For Harper, being a student athlete means being proficient in time management and having a strong knowledge of the sport.
“Grades first, that’s what it means to me, forget the athlete part,” Harper said. “It’s always grades before anything.”
Advanced Placement government is the class Harper enjoys the most. The passion and skills that her teacher possesses are what Harper likes about the class.
“Even though her work is hard and challenging, she explains it,” Harper said. “She will walk around, help you and she would read over your stuff.”
Harper is the commissioner of technology and historian for ASB. The position allows her to showcase her photography skills.
“I run yearbook, I run the ASB page,” Harper said. “I love taking pictures, videos, everything and I get to edit a lot of things.”
In the future, Harper wants to be either a certified nephrology nurse or a registered nurse.
“All my family, they’re nurses: my great grandmother, my grandmother, my mom. So it has to be me next,” Harper said. “I feel like it’s good to save people’s lives because what if that was you? I want them to save my life.”
