Senior Grace Usher is an inspiring champion of the Woodhaven High School community. Usher is an outstanding student-athlete with deep connections to her team, her friends, and her family. How does Usher, who has committed to playing softball at Grand Valley State University, balance school and sports? Does she include her weekday time for just herself?  

During her academic career, Usher managed a 3.8 GPA during her senior year. When asked how she maintains her academic performance with the weight of being a committed athlete Usher says, “It is a challenge being in sports and being a scholar but to do so, I get most of my work done at school which is key for me. Getting it done during school gives me extra time during the day to go to practice without worrying about doing homework afterward and keeping my grades high helps me.” 

She starts her mornings with a wake up at 5 Am. For breakfast, she eats a quick breakfast sandwich for protein and a spike of energy to start her day. She leaves home with her sister at 7:15 AM. Usher says, “I love listening to country songs to set a calm mood in the mornings.” She tends to arrive at WHS by 7:35 AM. 

Her school schedule starts with an online class. Usher states, “I love this class because it is self-paced followed by learning sign language on a level I can understand.” 

Next, she heads over to Mrs. Marlow’s Forensics science class where they work on blood typing, DNA, fingerprinting, and investigating crime scenes. She describes this class as being very hands-on with Labs. Usher states, “It is fun and I love the labs.”

Her next class is painting class. She enjoys listening to music as she paints her art projects. Usher mentions, “I love how relaxed I feel when doing my paintings, I love how I get to do my own thing during my projects.” 

Her fourth period is Choir. She began taking this class during sixth grade and became better each year. Usher explained, “ I love being a part of the choir family and am grateful for her amazing directors who encouraged her each year to keep going.” 

Following that she has a tasty lunch, She sits in the PBLZ with some friends as they talk, eat, and laugh. Normally at lunch, she eats a chicken salad or a chicken sandwich with milk or juice with a bottle of water throughout her days. Usher says “ I eat to stay healthy, filling up with protein.”

Next on her schedule is Athletic Training. Usher states, “In my opinion, athletic training is really fun, and I like hands-on training like practicing typing. I wish there was more hands-on training in the second semester, but on the bright side, you get the feel of being an athletic trainer.” 

During her five-minute passing time, she talks to a few friends and checks Her cell phone notifications on her way to the last class of the day, English. Usher mentions, “ I was able to process everything with the major help of substitute teacher Mr. Wilkinson He made learning senior English simple and very fun.” 

Altogether, once that final bell rings at 2:30 PM, she heads to the locker room and dresses for softball practice. She starts her softball practice at 3:00 PM, depending on the weather they may be inside, and that will begin at 4:00 PM. Once she is comfortable, she takes a sip of refreshing water and makes sure she has a bite of a snack like an apple for energy or a granola protein bar. 

She checks her important notifications, replies to some emails, throws on her Pit Viper sunglasses, and drives to the field. 

Usher has a simple and short schedule as she stated before she uses her time during school hours to keep ahead of the game and tend to her studies, but at times she can spend some time doing work and studying after her practices. 

As her day comes to a close around 4:30-5:15, she heads home after talking with her co-captain June Lusk, and coaches about what happened during practice. She also helps clean up the equipment. When she gets home, She enjoys taking a hot shower, catching up on emails, and eating dinner with her family as they talk about their days. She winds down with her favorite TV show White Collar or a movie, plays with her dog, or even bonds with her boyfriend or little sister. 

Being a student-athlete is very time-consuming, but Usher does an outstanding job of maintaining her grades and being there for her team, by going to each practice and game all while still being a teen like us. She loves the challenge and has committed to GVSU by keeping up the amazing work. 

Usher leaves some words of encouragement for the upcoming student-athletes. Usher states, “Being a student-athlete is all about balancing putting your responsibility first and managing your time, practice these skills and it will help you through your semester. Be sure to have fun, meet new people, and play to your fullest potential, you got this!” 

Throughout these past four years of being a student-athlete, she over the years learned that team bonding is her number one encouragement to keep playing at a high school level. Usher says, “It is all about making sure the team fits together like a puzzle because it affects your overall performance as a team, and it opens many doors for you.” Usher mentions, “I have made some of my best friends from being a student-athlete. I enjoy meeting new faces and creating those bonds each season, I highly recommend you to make those connections.”