By BOB PUTNAM, Times Staff Writer
Published July 1, 2005
From morning to midnight, Emma Boston packed her schedule with athletics and academics, succeeding in both with barely a breath to spare.
Beep! Beep! Beep! It's 4:30 a.m. The alarm blasts as Emma Boston awakens to begin a typical Wednesday of her senior year at Shorecrest.
She heads out the door to meet a runners club for a workout that usually consists of 6-to-8 miles around Coffee Pot Bayou in St. Petersburg.
After that, it's off to a prayer meeting with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.
All this, and she still has to go to school.
Vrrring! 7:50 a.m. - The first bell sounds. The three-sport athlete attends advanced placement Spanish V, AP biology, AP world history, AP calculus, AP English and honors political science.
Vrrring! 3 p.m. - The final bell rings. Boston talks to a few friends or relaxes for a few moments before preparing for cross country, soccer or track practice.
Huff! Huff! Huff! 5 p.m. - Boston navigates rugged terrain or an asphalt track as she completes her distance workouts. But she still knows she has miles to go before she sleeps.
Vrooom! 6-9 p.m. - Boston gets in her car and races off to piano practice. After that, she heads to the gym to lift weights.
(Silence) 9:30 p.m. - Homework begins. Boston studies for an hour or two.
Sigh! Midnight - Bedtime.
"I'm addicted to working out and making myself worn out," Boston said. "It's definitely easy for me to fall asleep by the end of the day."
So it's no wonder you would have to be a rooster to keep up with Boston, a firm believer in the axiom an hour worked early in the morning is worth two in the afternoon.
Even her weekends are booked.
"I usually sleep in a little on Sundays," Boston said. "But that's only until 5:30 a.m. Then I get up and do a half-marathon."
Her four years at Shorecrest were a marvel of organization and stamina. The 18-year-old successfully stitched together her disparate interests into an impressive quilt.
Besides training twice a day and taking a rigorous academic workload, Boston also found time to become a member of the Spanish Honor Society, National Honor Society, Mu Alpha Theta, Interact Service Club, Students Against Drunk Driving and prom committee.
With boundless energy and minimal sleep, Boston ended up with a lengthy honor roll of academic and athletic accomplishments. She was class salutatorian, won six state medals and set two school records in track and scored 1450 on the SAT and 32 on the ACT.
Her good grades and awards gave her a legitimate excuse to relax a bit after graduating.
But Boston has always found that busy is the way to be.
In May, she got a job working as a clerk with the State Health Department. That lasted until two weeks ago when she left for Tennessee to spend the summer as a camp counselor.
"What can I say? I just like to be active," Boston said.
But she will have to take some time to figure out her major when she attends Duke in the fall.
"There's so many options, it boggles the mind," she said.
At least Boston will be ready for college thanks to her hectic schedule.
