Junior Anastasia Trushcankova demonstrates leadership, hard work and passion

Many students devote much of their time to Homecoming during the beginning of the school year. Junior Anastasia Trushchankova is one of them, having helped choreograph homecoming dances since freshman year. Her passion for dance drew her to the position, and she thought it would be a fun activity as well as an opportunity to apply her skills. 

Trushchankova started dancing in preschool, but didn’t begin attending classes regularly until her family moved to Cupertino in first grade and found a local dance studio here. She currently takes jazz classes, but has worked in hip-hop and contemporary styles before. 

“[Dance] is a form of expression. It is a way to let go of anything I’m thinking and just focus on the music and choreography,” Trushchankova said.

For Trushchankova, dance is a passion but also a way to de-stress and relax; a way to balance out her busy schedule. However, Trushchankova also makes an effort to set ambitious goals and push herself to achieve them.

Besides dance, Trushchankova also plays volleyball. She has played on the Lynbrook varsity team for three years and is currently the captain. Trushchankova is also part of Women in STEM club, which encourages young women to get involved in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields, which are largely male-dominated areas. As an event coordinator, Trushchankova leads science experiments for young students once a month at the Calabazas library. 

Despite her varied commitments, Trushchankova still manages to remain dedicated to each of them, and credits some of her ability to do so to her previous experience training in taekwondo for many years. She took up the challenging sport at six years old and attended practices regularly three times a week, in addition to competitions and conditioning.

“I think it has helped me be really adaptable with managing school, sports and my activities,” Truschankova said. “It was a safe environment to question and push myself.”

Trushchankova has shown that it is possible for a student to devote themselves to many commitments, but still make time for their passions and maintain a healthy balance in their everyday life.