For the past eight years, sophomore Carla Hill has been a part of the U.S.A Junior National Karate Team. She is the Co Captain in the Cadet Female category.

The team consists of young karate athletes who live across the country, Hill explained. She attends tournaments, such as the Pan American Karate Federation Championships in Brazil and the U.S. Open Karate Championships, while also traveling to various training camps with her team, Hill said. She successfully balances this with her extracurricular activities of South’s Mock Trial Team and attending Black Student Union meetings.

“It does get stressful, but sometimes I feel like you need [to be] a little busy for life not to be boring,”Hill said.

At Hill’s training camps, which she attends about six times a year, she and her teammates meet to improve their skills. Since most of her teammates are also students, the training camps and tournaments are mostly on the weekends or in the summer. She enjoys traveling with her teammates and getting to see many beautiful places, she added.

“Ever since I was on the U.S. Team, I’ve made so many friends,” Hill said. “I always get excited to go to tournaments and see [my teammates] because they are [from] all over the U.S..”

Carla’s mother Sarah Hill finds karate a very engaging sport because it builds perseverance. Carla never backs down from a fight and always finds a way to be on top, Sarah explained. Her family loves karate and the life long skills it brings that can translate directly into the real world.

“We love this [lifelong] aspect of the sport because it shows determination, focus, and confidence in one’s self,” Sarah said.
One of Carla’s local training teammates is senior 18-year-old Ava Brenner at Hersey Arlington Heights High School. Brenner has been teammates with Carla for about 10 years and practices with her at North Shore Dojo, her home studio that she practices at.

“ [Carla] brings great determination and a will to win,” Brenner said. “[She] is a great role model.”

Carla treats everyone at North Shore Dojo like her family because it was the place that initiated her karate career, Carla
said. The dojo is a great place to improve at karate, and they work with all ranges of kids, she added.

“I just want [North Shore Dojo] to continue to stay strong, even when I’ve advanced from it or have moved [on],” Carla said.