NORTH CANTON, Ohio — This week’s Student Athlete of the Week isn’t just winning in the game of tennis, she’s excelling in academics and leading in her community. Meet North Canton senior Siena Pilati.
Tennis may seem like solo sport.
"Although it can sometimes seem very individual, you're playing singles, by yourself on the court, it's very much a team,” Siena said. “Your success is based on the support of each other."
Supporting others is a lesson Siena has taken with her off the court, as well.
"I had a lot of mentors that I saw doing community service, that I saw always reaching out to people,” she said. “And I saw the difference that it made. And I wanted to do that."
The senior tennis captain at North Canton's Hoover High School is constantly putting others before herself, even if it means little downtime.
She says she definitely doesn’t “get those recommended 8 hours of sleep per night."
In addition to her many accolades, her staggering GPA, and a list of extracurriculars that could wrap around Hoover’s tennis courts, Siena still finds time to give back through camp intervention, a STEM-based summer camp for kids, and Bookworks, a program through Goodwill that connects community families for free books.
"Here in North Canton, we have a very close community,” Siena said. “Everyone supports each other. It's very important to build that up and keep that strong for the younger generations growing up in North Canton."
It's a mentality Siena wants to take to Washington after college.
"Everyone has big dreams, but I just kind of want to do my part and whatever I can do to help everyone,” she said.
Nominate a Student Athlete of the Week here.
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