Balancing school and sports is not always easy, but being a scholar athlete at Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child has been one of the most formative and rewarding experiences of my life. A normal night in-season usually consists of me, scrambling to finish what feels like endless homework and studying for my tests and quizzes the next day, after a 2 ½-hour practice at our field complex in Chatham, New Jersey. By the time it reaches midnight, I’m setting an alarm for 6:30 a.m. to do it all again the next day.

I think the true beauty of an all-girls’ education is how not-so stereotypically beautiful I can look while I’m at school. Yes, there are tons of benefits to a single-sex education — like a community full of female role models and an empowering, comfortable environment — but, in all honesty, being able to roll out of bed, throw on my uniform and go to school without self-consciousness has been amazing.