Balancing Books and the Stage: How Rachel Chen Balances It All

Dominique Penaloza '29

Some students turn their passions into performances. Others turn them into responsibility. For senior Rachel Chen, APAC Dance co-captain, it has become both. Most people only see the final performance; the lights, the music, the polished choreography. But for Rachel, the work starts long before the curtain rises. 

Captaining the APAC Dance team isn’t just about performing well. It’s creating the world that performance lives in. Rachel explains that beyond choreographing, choosing music, and planning costumes, there’s an entire behind-the-scenes workload: organizing photoshoots and promo videos, coordinating with photographers, and updating the team’s Instagram. When creating dances, she isn’t trying to stand out as captain. Instead, Rachel says she “focuses on giving people choreography that will make them look the best and planning routines so that everyone has a moment to shine.” It’s a kind of leadership that doesn’t ask for the spotlight, and instead builds one for others.

But season one means something most students understand well: stress. Schoolwork begins to stack up as rehearsals get serious, and expectations rise faster than sleep hours. Rachel admits that choreographing two dances, one over six minutes long, while juggling the first months of the academic year, can feel overwhelming. What keeps her going isn’t pressure, instead it’s progress. “Seeing tangible improvement, seeing that the team is getting along and enjoying the process,” she says, makes the stress survivable. She reminds herself that dance isn’t just a task to complete, but an opportunity to create something meaningful. When the choreography begins to look good, when effort turns into art, it becomes worth it.

Even so, pursuing excellence comes with cost. When she became captain, Rachel had to make difficult choices. As a sophomore, she joined five or six clubs. By junior year, leadership roles came with higher expectations and less time. She stepped down from clubs she loved because she was committed to other leadership roles or demanding academics. Social events like dinners and birthdays were the next to go. With hours of  rehearsals, she often starts homework at nine p.m., working until one or two in the morning, or having to wake up at five to finish. Weekends are no longer for rest, instead they’re for choreography and assignments. However, “once you get into the gist of it, you kind of get used to the stress of high school,” she reaffirms.

Still, even the most dedicated students get distracted at times. After APAC conferences, when days are packed with dancing and nights with laughter, it’s easy to forget an assignment or skip studying. The panic after returning home is real, but experience has taught her something important. When your schedule is full, you don’t wait for a free hour. You find however many minutes you have and take advantage of it. “There are a lot of little moments in between your busyness that you can squeeze out,” she explains. Productivity isn’t about having massive chunks of time; it's about using the small pieces of it wisely. It’s hard, especially when your body is tired, but it’s possible.

For those who wonder how she does it all, Rachel’s story isn’t about perfection. It’s about choosing what matters, letting go of what might not, and trusting that discipline can coexist with passion.

As a freshman who is also navigating dance, academics, and student leadership, I know how heavy it feels to be pulled in different directions. Which is why I learned a lot from Rachel. She reminds me that balance doesn’t mean doing everything at once. It means deciding what deserves your time and giving it everything you have.

After interviewing Rachel, I’ve come to admire her even more. Not just as a captain, but as a person. The amount of unseen effort she invests into this team with Maja—the late nights, the quiet planning, the constant care for each member—all proves how deeply she values the people she leads. Their leadership is selfless, disciplined, and driven by love for the team. For many of us, including me, they aren’t just captains, they’re role models.