Senior Spotlight: Christian Schroeder

Soccer player. Baseball player. Eagle Scout. Band member. Scholar Bowl member. Aspiring valedictorian. Aspiring chemical engineering major.

And that's just part of the life of Vandalia senior Christian Schroeder, who finished his high school soccer career on Friday.

So how does one juggle all of those responsibilities, anyway?

“I don’t know how he does it,” said Vandals soccer coach Walt Kinney. “He’s a superhuman.”

Actually, Schroeder just spends a lot of late nights doing his homework, sometimes finding himself awake at 1 a.m. finishing papers.

But, if he gets accepted to the University of Illinois engineering program like he hopes, those late nights will be a big reason why.

With a 4.0 grade-point average, Schroeder is on pace to be one of a few students at the top of the class when they graduate in May.

His ACT score of 29 is a little low – the median score in the U of I engineering program is a 32 – but he is hopeful that his success in other areas will show his dedication.

“I’m on the low side of the spectrum there,” he said, “but I hope my (extracurricular activities) will show that I’m cut out for all the work.”

There should be no questioning Schroeder's dedication, as he went above and beyond for the soccer team this season – even though it finished with a 0-15-1 record.

Kinney said Schroeder was the team's vocal leader all season, and one of the hardest workers.

Schroeder, who has been playing the game for seven years, said he probably could have done a bit better on the defensive side, but all-in-all, he felt the senior class gave strong contributions all season.

“It’s a good balance between playing for a team and individually," Schroeder said. "You have to score a goal by yourself. You have to stop a ball by yourself, but yet, you can play like a team and pass the ball off.”

After watching Schroeder's leadership, Kinney said that if Schroeder meets the academic requirements for the engineering program, he should get in based on his work ethic.

“If it comes down to hard work, then absolutely," Kinney said. "He has put in the time, so I can’t see why he wouldn’t be able to get in there.”

Schroeder also put in a lot of time on his Eagle Scout project.

His grandfather served in the Battle of the Bulge during World War II, and that got Schroeder interested in the event.

Schroeder didn't get to interview his grandfather before he died, but for his project, he interviewed several WWII veterans from Fayette County and created a display at the American Legion.

Family is also one of the reasons he wants to get into engineering.

“I want to do the best with what I have done," Schroeder said. "I have some uncles who have been engineers, and that has worked out for them.”

And while he would be justified in skipping out on sports while trying to maintain his GPA, he said he will be playing baseball for the Vandals in the spring.

And that is not very surprising – considering it's coming from a young man who has no quit in him.