Santa Clara "Super Students" Balance Work and Fun

By Feliz Moreno

I like to consider myself a busy person. Since starting college though, I have met people who make my definition of busy seem like an understatement. While these "super students" may be involved in too many activities to count on one hand, they also find the time to attend class and maintain fairly high GPAs.

Besides the always brisk walk across campus, and the constant checking of the time, one of the key indicators that someone is a "super student" is his or her planner.

"I cannot live without this planner," said senior Tiffany Liou, as she pulls her red, notebook sized planner from her backpack to show me her plans for the week, "everything is planned out by the 15 minutes." And with good reason — between a 15 unit course load here at Santa Clara, classes at Ohlone Community College, being employed by five different companies at a time, her boyfriend, and a "butts and guts" exercise class, a planner is absolutely necessary.

Liou isn't alone. Sophomore Arienne Calingo somehow manages to balance her time between RLCA, five classes, an internship and practicing violin and ballet. Not to mention her GPA stands at a 3.98. While she may only get 4 hours of sleep every night, she has not considered giving anything up because they are all very important to her. "I enjoy the activities I'm involved in," Calingo said.

Passion seemed to be a recurring theme for these "super students." As junior Leandra Ebreo pointed out, "I wouldn't be taking five classes this quarter — I wouldn't do any of the things I'm doing unless I really cared about it."

Not only is she trying to graduate this spring, she is also associate director of the Multicultural Center on campus, an active member of AKPsi and the Filipino culture club, holds two on campus jobs and has a boyfriend. I get tired just listening to her tell me about her day.

Being a "super student" requires a lot of sacrifice to maximize the use of your time. Food, free time and sleep all fall victim to efficiency.

My friends joke around with me when I'm trying to set a time to hang out with them," says Liou, "they say ‘are you gonna write me into your planner?' "

When I ask how much sleep they get per night, every single one of these students looked at me like just thinking about their lack of sleep would make them fatigued. "I typically get about five hours of sleep per night," said Ebreo, "which is actually not bad. If I don't get at least five hours I get cranky."

Former NFL coach Vince Lombardi reportedly said once that, "fatigue makes cowards and fools of us all and more often than not results in mediocrity."

He obviously never met a Santa Clara "super student."

Al Gini, author of "The Importance of Being Lazy" argues that, while our culture does tend to praise and reward those who work too much, it is not healthy or physically sustainable. His book conveys the increased risk of health issues in people who over-work themselves, and he says making time for play and leisure are not enough of a priority.

"‘Lose not a minute' is the motto of the age. We are always making haste. Multitasking isn't an option, it's a way of life. Hyperactivity is the norm," Gini writes. "Here's the problem. When life becomes an Olympic endurance event... when the stopwatch is always ticking, when are we supposed to have fun? When will there be time to be human?"

The "super student" has a simple solution: make time.

"There are times when I know I need to relax so I'll make time for that," said Ebreo. "Know when you need a break and take 40 minutes to watch some stupid, ‘kitchen-nightmare' show on Hulu like I did last night. I needed to do something relaxing and brainless," she laughed.

That is what being a student is all about. It is a balancing act of work, fun and self-reflection. I have no qualms with people committing to a lot of different activities on and off campus — as long as he or she can handle it. Just remember to take a time-out if needed and have fun once in a while. Do it as a favor to yourself, you deserve it.

Feliz Moreno is a sophomore English major and editor of the Opinion section.