From 6 a.m. varsity swim practice to playing the violin, from ski and snowboarding trips to speaking in the International Relations Committee and from Bosnian club to water polo practice, sophomore Sarah Kadunic can be found all over the Niles West. She shows dedication in her extracurriculars and diligence in her studies. She has established her role as a leader in the school community and enjoys being involved in any way she can.

Kadunic did lots of work involving International Women’s Day on March 8 this year. She organized a project where teachers gave out rose pins to female staff and students in school to honor them and all of their hard work.

“I feel like it is always nice to get a little bit of appreciation and to be acknowledged for all the work that [women] do, the women in our school definitely work really hard, and it was just a small note of my appreciation. Even though it was something little, I hope that it meant a lot to them because I do appreciate them and I know like a lot of people do too, but it goes unseen or unheard of,” Kadunic said.

Kadunic grew up with her younger brother, mother and grandmother, who have been crucial figures in her life. The women in her life inspire her because they have persevered through challenges and are not afraid to share their experiences. Her family and cultural values have led her to find importance in celebrating Women’s Day.

“So, I talked with the sponsor of the international relations committee, [Jasminka] Jukic, and they didn’t have any ideas for International Women’s Day and I know she wanted to do something but nobody was really stepping up. Nobody had any ideas, so I took it upon myself and I talked to her. She really liked my ideas and she thought it was important to celebrate. It’s not just National Women’s Day, it’s International Women’s Day,” Kadunic said.

Kadunic is one of four students on the International Relations Committee and has interacted with Jukic previously as the former president and one of the founders of the Bosnian-Montenegrin club. She has shown that she is a self-motivator and her project was influenced by the cultural tradition of celebrating Women’s Day.

“She helped distribute those roses that day [and] the day before that, so I’m really thankful that she approached me with her idea. I always like to see some student ideas because we learn from [them] as much as [they] do from us, so that was a good thing. She’s very ambitious, she’s very nice, she like[s] to participate in a lot of activities. So I think that this is an idea that we are going to keep going on,” Jukic said.

Outside of Women’s Day, Kadunic is a thoughtful student, always going above and beyond in her classwork. Since freshman year, she strives for good grades and to be a role model for others.

“When it came to working with other students, I felt like she was a leader. I felt like everybody wanted to work with her, especially because she was very hard-working and always did her best to try to understand what was going on in class. I feel like people also just wanted to learn from her. She doesn’t need the teacher to tell her to be the best she can be, she already tries to be [her best],” English teacher Dillin Randolph said.

Kadunic has impacted many teachers, clubs and students at West. She recently was a first-time emcee for the Snowcoming pep assembly.

“I think that our school community, we’re pretty united [with] all of our pep assemblies, we all share the same wolfpack mentality and spirit of the school. I think it’s really important to stay involved in the school community because it benefits everybody. I think it just makes it a better place,” Kadunic said.

After high school, Kadunic plans to follow her passion for advocating for others and study law in college. We are excited to see Sarah continue speaking up for others!