Ranking in the top 10 percent of her class, Siddiqi is a living example of what it means to be both disciplined and passionate. Her journey is one of dedication, strategic time management and a deep love for both learning and the arts. Siddiqi’s academic achievements are no small feat. At a school as competitive as Lamar, landing in the top of her class requires more than just intelligence; it demands consistency, hard work, and the ability to juggle responsibilities without burning out. She has managed this all while being actively involved in several art performance clubs, a passion she refuses to put on the back burner.

The humble senior credits her supportive family with giving her the boost she has needed time and time again throughout her academic years.  

 “Art and performance give me an outlet, especially when academics get stressful,” Siddiqi says. “Art keeps me grounded.”

From long nights studying for AP exams to rehearsing choreography or practicing lines after school, her days are full. Her ultimate secret? A carefully planned schedule and a strong sense of self-discipline.

“I try to not burn myself out and have fun with the things I’m doing,” she explains. Siddiqi’s story is also about resilience. She admits that it hasn’t always been easy. There have been times when the workload felt overwhelming or when performances clashed with exams. But instead of backing down, she learned to adapt. Her advice to others trying to balance academics and extracurricular passions is to simply – “be honest with yourself about your limits, but don’t be afraid to push them.”

“People think you have to choose between being academic or artistic,” she shares. “You don’t. You just have to find your rhythm, if you really want it, you will put time and effort into what you love.”

As Siddiqi looks ahead to college, she hopes to continue walking that same line one foot in the world of logic and the other foot in creativity. In a society that often pushes students to choose one path, Nadia Sidiqqi reminds us that success can absolutely be multidimensional. 

There are five UIL Journalism categories: Copy Editing, Editorial Writing, Feature Writing, Headline Writing and News Writing. In total, nine Lamar students participated in the five events. Six students walked away with awards. 

Lamar Scroll Editor-in-Chief Journey Bortzfield was excited to compete in the event for the first time. The senior, who also serves as yearbook editor considered it her duty as a leader to compete. 

“I asked Ms. Talton to sign me up for every event,” Bortzfield shares. “Even if I didn’t win – I wanted the experience and I wanted to encourage my fellow staffers to always look for opportunities to grow as writers.” 

Much to her delight, Bortzfield won 2nd place in Feature Writing and 5th place in both Copy Editing and News Writing.

Fellow yearbook staffer, senior Finn Lynch earned 5th place honors in Feature Writing. The feature writing category gives students 45 minutes to craft a high-school newspaper feature story, including vibrant verbiage and relevant quotes. 

Seniors Ben Powers and Sofia Omana were invited to join the UIL team as first year journalism students. Both jumped at the chance. Powers took on the challenge of Headline Writing, a competition which requires students

to read six news stories and write six fitting headlines during a short 30-minute exam period. Powers earned first place. Omana excitedly took on the editorial writing contest – a category that asks students to take a stance on a hot-topic issue. This writing submission must not be written as an opinion, but instead as a collective stance of an editorial board. Omana understood the assignment and she confidently earned a first-place medal in this competition. 

Junior Gracie Golden also took on Headline Writing for the first time and as a first-year journalism student. She walked away with the 5th place medal. 

Sophie Greer was the lone sophomore in the journalism competitions for Lamar. She participated in four of the five categories and won a medal in all four. Greer earned 2nd place in Copy Editing, a competition that affords students only 15 minutes to identify errors in three writing samples. She also earned 4th place in both Editorial and Headline Writing, as well as 6th place in News Writing. 

“I am so proud of these young people for taking on this challenge with me,” journalism teacher Ari Talton says. “Not only did they listen attentively during our study sessions, but they also gave up their Saturday to represent our organization and our school.” 

Contest honorable mentions are Isabella Andersson (9th), Angelmarie De La Rosa (12th) and Katherine Hernandez (11th). 

Winners of 1st and 2nd place medals will venture to Prosper’s Rock Hill High School in late April for the Regional UIL Competition. 

Winners for the Accounting competition include: 

* Daniel Wehr (1st)

* Caleb Casey (2nd)

* Lindsay Bui (3rd) 

* Carson Plamondon (4th) 

* Bianca Gomez (6th) 

* Antoinae Bynum (8th)

“The students worked really hard to get to the this level,” says sponsor Charles Ferrell. “Watching them work is an inspiration to me. Watching them earn the scores that they worked so hard for makes me extremely proud. We lost a lot of talent last year when the seniors left us, but this group really stepped up and they work well together.” 

In addition to securing these top spots, Lamar also outscored Martin High School by 400 points. 

Lamar coaches, directors, and football players have taken precautions in their own hands to deal with the spread of the virus. Varsity football player Jay Brown worries about games getting canceled and getting to show brotherhood towards his teammates.

“Covid impacted our summer workouts. Instead of using the gym one week, we had to do our workouts in bench press outside on the turf,” says Brown. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay at least 6 feet away from others when possible, even if you—or they—do not have any symptoms. Social distancing is especially important for people who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19. On game days they are required to stand on an orange dot on the sidelines to spread apart.

Coaches made rearrangements during practice to practice social distancing with the players. Players now are required to provide their own water bottles, wear a mask at all times, take temperatures before they enter the building, and etc.

“We have daily check ups to see if we have any symptoms, our temperatures are taken everyday before we get into the MAC, masks are required, hands are sanitized at any possible place. Things like that help prevent it,” says Brown. It is important to the team that everyone does their part, so many can stay safe.

When someone on another team or on the team catches the virus, the games are automatically cancelled. The virus that causes COVID-19 can spread from person to person, mainly through respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes. These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs. Spread is more likely when people are in close contact with one another (within about 6 feet).

“This week we’ve had people miss out due to the risk of being sick, or coming into contact with someone who is sick. We’ve definitely had people miss out on certain things, and that may have hurt them individually, but everyone is aware, you know? People aren’t willing to hug on someone or show affection.” says Brown.

The traditional sports teams are not the only ones adjusting during these times. In the past years, the marching band program has been promoting the idea of teamwork and unity as a way to help students achieve their goals in performances and competitions, but this year they’re aiming for everyone to be separate and distanced to stay safe for any virus. Upon arriving to rehearsals, students are told to pre-screen for Covid symptoms including cough, headache, fever over 100°F, or recent contact with anyone who has tested positive. All students are required to have masks on at all times, except when playing an instrument, and have assigned spots where they stay six feet apart at all time.

“We always stay six feet apart from each other and no one is allowed to touch one another, even high-fives aren’t allowed,” said Aditi Patel, senior and President of the Lamar Band. “We don’t gather together during our breaks like last year, we just sit in our spots or the practice field so its a very different feeling.”

The performances of the band changed a lot as well, with many competitions cancelled and members decreasing. When they cheer on the football team, they remain in the stands with lots of distance between each other. With a much smaller audience in the crowd, the band holds much more responsibility in terms of raising enthusiasm throughout the stadium or field.

“We play similar stand tunes like we have in the past and try to make the games as fun as always,” said Patel “We still work hard to prepare for our UIL competitions.”

Even with everything going on, the band and the football team continue to say motivated during the season and are prepared to tackle any obstacles that come their way.

“Every season brings new challenges, and every year you’re supposed to be motivated to the full extent that you can be,” says Brown. “Every year we work together as a team, and that’s what we’re prepared to do this year,”

Luis Villegas and Jordan Patterson contributed to this story.