Christina Foley
By Sean Sweeney Journal Correspondent

Within five minutes of talking to Oakmont senior Christina Foley, one can tell she has one of the necessary skills to be a leader - the skill of communication.

That's not to say she's bossy or oppressive in her speaking style. It's quite the opposite: she has a way of communicating that would make elocution practitioners blush.

She also has another quality that sets her apart - she's humble. Let this quote demonstrate her abilities:

"I think I have the personality to be a future leader; I direct people well, but I don't oppress people. I understand where people are coming from, but I can look at it from a different perspective and help them understand. It's hard to say what makes me a future leader because it's hard to tell if I will be one. I'd like to think that I would, but it's hard sometimes."

Natalie Pereira nominated Christina for her leadership capabilities, saying Christina is able to apply herself well and is up for any challenge. Pereira also believes Christina gives 100 percent of herself in everything she does.

And Pereira means everything. Christina has a resume chock full of extracurricular activities. She currently is the treasurer of the senior class and takes dance lessons. She works at both HealthAlliance Hospital in Leominster and at a Friendly's Restaurant.

She has also been in so many clubs that her yearbook picture may have to be expanded just to cover them all. So where does she find time for everything?

"Time management has been my biggest challenge," she admitted. "I try to stay busy but I try not to overdo it. With school and friends and class office and extracurricular activities, sometimes it's a challenge and can be overwhelming. I work and I usually have a class office meeting after school once a week. It depends on the day and what's necessary; sometimes I tutor, but our semester just started so not a lot of people need tutoring yet. Some of my days are crazier than others, and I try to keep one or two days a week free from the craziness."

Christina has already been accepted to Worcester State College this fall, where she will study education. She already has teaching experience as a religious education assistant teacher at her church and an assistant dance teacher.

She also has taught Spanish at Oakmont as part of a career exploration program.

"The thing with teaching is, I really enjoy it," she said, "but I enjoy teaching older kids. The religious education and the dance teaching were mainly younger kids, and I'm pretty sure that I want to teach high school."

She is also an accomplished writer, winning an award a few years ago from a local newspaper for an essay she wrote. But with her schedule, she finds it hard to find the time to write, so her writing career is on the back burner for now.

"I like creative writing; I enjoy it. I used to write a lot more, but when you're going-going-going, it's hard to sit down and write. I took a creative writing course and it worked out really well for me, because we wrote at school and at home. I got into the mindset a bit more, but I don't have a 'creative semester,' so to speak."

When you're a future leader, she's learning, what to give up - prioritizing - goes with the territory.