“I don’t know life any other way,” Sandra Summers says. We are sitting in the dorm room she shares with fellow freshman Robyn Braun.

It’s Monday, and I have caught her after her last class and before she begins her homework. This is rare, to find Summers just sitting.

The freshman, majoring in communication sciences and disorders, tackled a 17-credit load this semester, and plans on taking 18 credits in the spring.

In addition to her heavy class load, she is a freshman senator for the Student Association (SA), teaches 3-year-olds in Sunday school at North Shore Congregational, where she is also a junior high youth group counselor, and is involved with National Residence Hall Honorary and Sandburg Halls Administrative Council.

Summers also does service learning for her major for six hours a week.

Why is she taking on so much?

“I have no idea … I’ve never thought of that,” she says. “I guess it’s because no one from my high school goes here, so I knew I’d have to get involved to meet people.”

Summers manages her busy schedule quite inexpensively. She does not use a Palm Pilot or the calendar function on her cell phone. She simply writes things down in an assignment notebook.

And even if she does not look back at the notebook, she says the physical act of writing helps her to remember. This way, she says she always knows what is coming up and can allot her time accordingly.

Although her busy life is time-consuming, Sandra never forgets about herself or her friends.

“I always have ‘me’ time, everyday, because otherwise I’d go crazy,” Summers says. This can include taking an extra-long shower, or putting away the books to watch a “random TV show” like “Desperate Housewives,” “Grey’s Anatomy” or “7th Heaven.”

Sandra also copes by relaying her day to her mother and her roommate.

“I talk to my mom everyday, and so I can debrief my day on her. And I tell my roommate everything, too,” Summers says.

“My mom tells me stuff that’s going on at home. We gossip together,” she says.

Braun and Summers have a close relationship, although the two could not be more different. Braun does not find the need to be as involved in school as Sandra, and while she admires her, she does not desire for herself the kind of lifestyle Summers leads.

“Sandra is a dedicated human being. I think that she has a strong sense of who she is and where she’s going,” Braun says, with Sandra sitting no more than 10 feet away (Sandra turns a little pink, but is touched by the statement).

Summers’ busy schedule, she says, makes her appreciate the free time she does have, and forces her to prioritize her schedule, even the off-time. She has to decide what she has time to do with the free time, whether that is watching a whole movie, or just a 30-minute television show.

Summers’ life is driven by organization. Every aspect is planned out. It has to be — it is the only way she can accomplish everything she wants and still be sane.

“My roommate says I’m crazy, but that she respects how organized and adult-like I am,” Summers says.

SA Vice President Robby Schuettpelz describes Summers as “one of the strongest women I know.”

“Though I've only met her recently, she is willing to drop what she is doing to ensure others accomplish their dreams, and do so while having a great time. Her priorities lie where they should: school, family, friends, and then work,” Schuettpelz said.

Schuettpelz said he admires Summers for her drive for success and her belief that she can make a difference in the world, something Summers says herself was a reason behind her busy schedule.

“Being super-involved makes me happy,” Summers says, and asks that all students “do whatever it is that makes you happy and do it well.”

Summers’ busy lifestyle has had nothing but positive impacts on her life. She has made new friends and grown in knowing Milwaukee as a community and its dynamics as a city, something a small-town girl like Summers was never offered before.

What are her plans for life after college?

“My number one goal through life is to have a family and be a mom,” Summers says.

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