For many high school students, heading to school each day isn’t something to look forward to. Homework, classes and daily activities can make school challenging and, while annoying to some, it can be rewarding for others. For Portage High School Junior, Becca Rosado, school is exciting and something she describes with positivity from the moment she walks through the doors each morning.
Rosado’s day begins at 6:30 am and doesn’t end until 2:35 pm, and that’s just the regular school day. She’s involved in many programs, activities, and extras that keep her moving but, with a positive attitude and a love for what she’s involved in, Rosado takes great pride in her school and her involvement.
“I enjoy going to a school where I appreciate and love the administration we have. I believe Portage has some of the best teachers in the region,” said Rosado.
One of Becca’s favorite activities she’s involved with is dance, which has had a tumultuous history at Portage High School. Though the activity was recently removed from the athletic department and brought into the clubs, Rosado and other members of the team are just happy to have the opportunity to continue. She loves the opportunity to express herself and to shake off some stress through the program.
“Dance is a huge part of my life, especially knowing how hard we fought to get the team back,” explained Rosado. “The dance team has been there since the 1990s and it was something the girls from previous years had always loved doing. We were very thankful to have the colorguard coach take over and put us under his wing.”
The dance team was almost cancelled completely, with the team encouraged to move over to the cheerleading team. Feeling dissatisfied with this decision, the team took action and fought to have their activity brought back.
“We were told we could no longer be a sport and that the team would be cut altogether. Our captain went to the school board, principals, and athletics director and said that this really wasn’t fair. Eventually our clubs and groups took us in,” said Rosado.
With a strong push from the girls, the clubs and groups of Portage High School offered a home for the dance team, which would allow them to continue practicing, performing, and participating in school events.
Outside of dance, Rosado loves participating in her journalism and publications classes. With goals that involve a future in journalism, Rosado is using her classes to her advantage and finding every opportunity to learn.
“This is going to be my second year on the newspaper where I serve as a staff writer. I write stories about the current things going on at school,” said Rosado.
She’s not only involved in the school publications, but also serves as the #1StudentNWI representative from Portage High School for PortageLife.com. Between the different publications she serves on, Rosado spends a large amount of time talking to students, teachers, and learning about events around her school. She’s very well informed about current issues and the positive things going on around her.
“I think the Portage Life #1StudentNWI Program gives me a new perspective. Showing the positive side of matters has definitely opened my eyes,” said Rosado. “I guess the media today has shown students and journalists to show the more negative side of things, but I think it’s important to focus on positive sides of the story. I think writing for them has opened my eyes and shown me that there are so many positive things going on in our community and our school. I appreciate that.”
Continuing in journalism after high school is Rosado’s goal, and she hopes to attend Ball State University or Indiana University in Bloomington to accomplish this. In addition to majoring in journalism, she plans to minor in Spanish, as she is already bilingual and believes it to be an important skill in communications environments.
Outside of school and her writing projects, Rosado can be found practicing her dance routines and keeping up on the news. She also enjoys spending time with her friends, attending football games, and generally supporting her school and fellow students.
“My life revolves around friends, family, and journalism, inside and outside of school. I absolutely love it,” said Rosado.