It is not often that you will find a junior in high school who manages school and sports every day of the week. A junior who genuinely  enjoys spending time with every member of her family. And a junior who strives day in and day out to be a role model of her faith. But this, according to Emily Schnitker, is the person she has become.

The middle child of three, Schnitker lives daily in the shadow of a sister who all the teachers knew at Sion, and acts as a shadow for a brother still passing through St. Thomas More grade school.

“I enjoy being the middle child,” Schnitker said. “It allows me to have a role model and to be a role model in everything from school to faith.”

As a sophomore, she formed a group of girls who went to the chapel every Thursday to pray the rosary, for no other reason than they wanted to.

However, she doesn’t pretend that keeping up her Catholic faith has always been easy or without its struggles.

“I began doubting God and my faith towards the end of last school year,” Schnitker said. “There was no real reason for it, it just happened. And I couldn’t seem to overcome it until I went to Camp Tekawitha this summer and realized that God is there even when He does’t seem to be, I just needed to trust.”

A powerful idea. Especially when most girls in her grade are just trying to get through Double Midd this year.

“I just try to see the good in everyone,” Schnitker said. “I know we can all learn something from each other if we pay attention. Especially in our faiths.”