Luke Viñas’ countless extracurriculars, and what’s come out of them
Royden Liang
Staff Writer
In the grind to a dream college and a successful life, hundreds of students at American High overload themselves with AP’s and extracurriculars. Among them is Luke Viñas (12). “I’ve done a lot [of extracurriculars],” Viñas explained. “I started off with track and band, then I did tri-m [Music Honor Society], FSA, and the photography club. Sophomore year, I did track and wrestling, still doing band, Tri-M and FSA. Junior year, track and wrestling, and I was the VP for tri-m. This year, I’m still doing tri-m, wrestling and band.”
The interest in many of Viñas’ extracurriculars started from a young age, such as for the marching band. “I started regular band when I was in fourth grade. Music has been around my entire life, even before I started. Then I joined the marching band my freshman year.”
Angad Gill (11), a friend and bandmate of Viñas, commended him for his leadership ability. “Right now he’s a section leader,” said Gill. “He’s very welcoming, but he also knows when we need to be efficient. He has that aspect of being disciplined and getting work done, while also keeping a light hearted mood.”
Viñas explained how he benefited from being in marching band, saying “I’ve been in a leadership position for two years, and you learn to hold people and yourself accountable for all these people. You have to learn how to manage people, keep people on task.”
Gill related to this, saying “Let’s say we have twenty minutes left in the rehearsal, and Luke’s managing it, and he sees that we’re really tired. If we have five minutes left, he might tell us, let’s keep going, you guys can work for your water break. If we have twenty minutes left and he sees that we’re very tired, he recognizes that, and will give us a water break. But also, he knows that we’re gonna stay on task, and he’ll keep guiding us, which I think is very important.”
Viñas joined the Music Honor Society club through a recommendation by Mr. Wong. “Last year, I was vice president, and this year I stepped down to secretary. You have to know your duties for the club, and where you fit into this, to make everything function.”
Amanda Ng (11) described his leadership abilities, saying “He’s got that natural leader charisma, he’s able to connect with a lot of people. He’s really friendly and welcoming. He was willing to go up to freshmen during lunchtime in our marching band camps, and ask them to sit with him.”
However, Viñas’ decision to join the track and field team was much different than marching band. “I was bored,” he mentioned with a smile. “I was really bored during COVID, and I had just moved here from New Mexico. I had no friends during online school for an entire year, so I was like, I need to meet some people.”
And meet some people he did. “When we started long jumping, that’s when we really got close to each other,” said Alex Natividad (10). “Some of the other freshmen are also close to him, just because of how nice he is.”
Viñas’ track experience not only benefited him socially, but also mentally. “It’s in your mind when you’re running,” he related. “As a sprinter, you really learn how to give it our all for that entire second that you’re running for. There’s no slacking off. When you’re running a 200, which is half a lap, that was the hardest part for me. You have to do 100% for twice the amount of time. It’s good for your mental strength.”
Natividad also discussed Viñas’ role as a mentor in track, saying “He was like our father. I think I said he was my uncle, actually, that’s his nickname. He took us and kind of mentored us through it. He would take those little things and help us tweak it a little.”
Similar to marching band, Viñas’ status as a member of the wrestling team stemmed from an interest from a young age. “I started judo when I was six years old,” he explained. “My parents wanted me to do wrestling in middle school back in New Mexico, but it was with all the popular kids, and I thought, that’s not really my crowd. Finally coming here, it was a fresh start pretty much, so I was like, why not.”
Viñas found that wrestling, much like track and field, contributed to his mental fortitude. “You’re only wrestling for six minutes, but if you let up for ten seconds of that, you can lose. Keeping a clear mind, even if you’re under stress, that’s what will help you. If your mind starts getting foggy, that’s how you lose, in wrestling and in life.”
Summing up how his extracurriculars have benefited him, Viñas said “It’s helped me figure out what I like to do. As a kid our hobbies are always changing, you don’t stick to one thing for too long. So doing multiple things helps you figure out what you’re good at, what you like to do, what your strengths and weaknesses are, and helps you grow as a person.”
Viñas mentioned how his extracurriculars improved his overall leadership skills, saying “For example, in marching band, people are getting tired and you just help to encourage them. Even in wrestling, as a senior you’re already given a leadership position. You take people under your wing, help guide people, and I found that that’s what I like to do now. I find it satisfying to see that I’ve helped people through their struggles, whether it’s wrestling or marching band or whatever.”
Partly due to his family’s heritage, and partly due to a wish to serve his country, Viñas has applied to the Naval Academy, and he found that his extracurriculars aided his application. “They really like leadership out in the Naval Academy, because going into the military, you would have that leadership role already. Instead of being a sailor, you would be an officer, which means you’re basically telling people what to do.” Viñas’ dedication to each and every one of his extracurriculars, as well as his leadership skills gained from them, is coming together to determine his future.
Setting on his car, Luke Viñas (12) stares into the deep blue sky. Luke spends a great deal of time maintaining his car, representative of his dedication to his interests, for example wrestling. Teammate Quinn Rees (11) described him, saying that “His dedication to the sport showed out through the three years that I’ve known him, and it shows a lot that he chose to stick with it rather than couldn’t, like other people.” (PC: Luke Vinas (12))
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