Senior Isabella Specchierla has been a student-athlete at Archer since sixth grade. Specchierla serves as a board member on the Girls Empowering Girls (GEG) club, is captain of the varsity soccer team, and also participates in club soccer outside of school. Specchierla said Archer is like a second home, and she cherishes every memory that she has made with her classmates and the greater school community.

“Spending time and living in the moment with your friends and the people who make Archer meaningful to you is important,” Specchierla said. “I mean, Archer is not just a place to do work. It’s a family.”

Specchierla began playing soccer when she was four years old with The American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO), joined a club team when she was eight years old and hasn’t stopped playing since. Specchierla has played at Archer since sixth grade and has competed on the varsity team for all four years of her high school career.

“When I stopped doing soccer [over quarantine], I realized how my soccer has impacted my life, and how it’s a form of therapy,” Specchierla said. “The endorphins that I get from exercising help with my mental health, as well as having a team environment inside and outside of school is heartwarming.”

Specchierla said she enjoys playing soccer because she likes having a sense of team culture and said having the chance to uplift others is a “wonderful experience”.

“I call soccer ‘fun exercising’ — it’s not like straight running — you’re always just playing the game, ” Specchierla said. “It’s an adrenaline rush when I play, which just makes it all the more fun.”

Specchierla has had to manage her time while playing soccer and participating in other extracurricular activities. She said at first, managing her time was difficult, but after doing so for such a long time, she has now figured out what works for her and what does not.

“I keep a planner, and I use it all the time because if I don’t, then I will forget things,” Specchierla said. “I’d say writing things down, just scheduling everything out has been super helpful and a better way of organizing everything.”

Specchierla said that her friends and family are her best support system during difficult times. She finds it comforting to have people in her life to want to see her succeed and grow overall as a person.

“They just really motivate me to keep working hard and keep up what I’m doing,” Specchierla said. “I couldn’t be more grateful for the support system that I have.”
Outside of school and doing homework, Specchierla likes to keep herself busy by doing hobbies she enjoys. Specchierla said she loves to bake cookies, make her signature chocolate cake, do arts and crafts, read, knit and create ceramics pieces when it comes to her free time.

“Whenever I get stressed, I bake cookies, and secondly, I love baking chocolate cake,” Specchierla said. “I have a signature chocolate cake that I make for my family on birthdays. I am also super into arts and crafts while also starting knitting.”

Specchierla has been on the Girls Empowering Girls executive board since 11th grade. Specchierla said she wants to inspire others through feminism and wants to fight to remove that stigma by talking and educating others on what feminism entails.

“I wanted to be able to be part of a support system at Archer specifically to help empower younger classmen either in upper school or in middle school,” Specchierla said. “To be able to have a safe space and to talk about what’s going on politically in the world, in terms of just equality for women across the globe, is truly amazing.”

Specchierla’s focus is on raising awareness surrounding feminism, and through attending Archer, she has been able to learn more about the subject while also assisting others.

“I believe Archer taught me about feminism, and I feel horrible or guilty saying that because I didn’t truly understand what feminism was until I was entered Archer in sixth grade,” Specchierla said. “As I grew up at Archer, I was truly educated on the workings of the world and equality problems, as well as being able to play a sport I enjoy with the students at my school for the past seven years — I could not be more grateful.”