WGHS’s Super Star Ellie Clower Balances Academics and Sports

​Walnut Grove High School’s star athlete, Ellie Clower, a junior, isn’t just stellar in sports; she is also an academic master. Many may wonder about this super student’s academic and athletic life and how she balances it all while staying successful.
by Markeis Hardeman and Semaj Chestnut

​Walnut Grove High School’s star athlete, Ellie Clower, a junior, isn’t just stellar in sports; she is also an academic master. Many may wonder about this super student’s academic and athletic life and how she balances it all while staying successful.

One might question: With such a full schedule, how can she maintain it all? Ellie explains, “I do my best to get everything done in class, so I don’t have to do it after school. And after that, I just do everything I can on the field.” She makes sure she keeps up with her schoolwork, bringing up her GPA (grade point average) and class rank: “I have a 4.25, 102.5%, and first in my class.”

She has been balancing this type of workload her entire life and states that she's been playing sports and staying active “since I was three at least. I started with soccer, but then I started T-ball when I was four, and then from there basically just softball and basketball, and from there it’s just increased.”

She works extremely hard doing multiple sports and extracurriculars. She does it because she wants to go to college one day, explaining, “I plan to go play softball in college and study a degree in architecture... I’m hoping for Furman.” Explaining why architecture, she expresses, “It’s a good career. Well, it has a good salary cap. You can always own your own place, but it’s also just something where you can be very artistic and work at your own pace and with your own ideas.”

Even though she's busy most of the time, when she's not, she loves to do things that don’t relate to her schoolwork: “I play video games a lot… That’s all I got free time-wise… I don’t have a lot.” She enjoys playing games such as World of Warships and Rocket League. She also explains, “I love watching sports, but I like doing art as well...”

Ellie is an amazing student and a good example for all underclassmen. Her dedication to sports and academics makes her a role model for all students, and Walnut Grove is proud to call her a Warrior!