Student Highlight: Freshman Hopes to Create a Lasting Legacy

Alongside fellow students, Ty Calinda and Ivy Crespo, 15-year-old Julia Marcoccio spearheaded a new opportunity for future classmates in the Viking Longship Project. Marcoccio recognized a link between the Viking culture and the blacksmithing trade and put in the work to execute a class that she hopes to see as a curriculum option, going forward. 

“In the future, I see this field growing with more underclassmen coming in and learning about how important this trade is to the Viking culture,” said Marcoccio. “When I graduate as a senior, I hope that the students after us will be able to carry out this field and teach it to the rest of the students as we did, to create a lasting legacy.”

Marcoccio has proven that goals can be accomplished if you have the right support system and knowledge in place. The passion that it took for her to execute the the brand-new blacksmithing class, spills over into all aspects of her life, as the active ninth-grader excels both academically and athletically. In addition to winning quarter two Student of the Term in Spanish and making the top 10 percent in her class, Marcoccio is on the 9^th grade’s social committee, Winthrop girl’s outdoor track team, AAU basketball team, and the ninth and tenth grade traveling soccer team. She manages to accomplish it all with a successful time management system in place.

How do you balance sports and academics?

During the spring especially, there are a lot of activities going on along with all of the school work. What I found that works best for me was to create a calendar and agenda on my Chromebook. Every day I write my homework in my agenda to make sure I don’t forget any assignments. I also have a calendar where I put upcoming tests, due dates of projects, practices, and games. As soon as I find any dates for school or sports, I write it down before I forget.  

What is your favorite subject?

My favorite subject in school would have to be math and science because I like working with numbers and I hope to work in the medical field when I am older.

Who is your role model?
My role model would have to be my parents. They both are able to handle everything that is going on in their lives while also being able to provide for my brothers and me. No matter what obstacle comes their way, they are always able to find a way through or around it.