TEMPLETON, Mass. — Sarah Janssens played three sports and still managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA at Narragansett Regional High School.

According to the 18-year-old co-salutatorian, the key to academic success was pushing toward perfection while staying true to herself.

“I did what I always did, I never really changed what I was,” said Janssens, whose favorite course in high school was advanced placement biology. “With school and sports, I always strived to be better and I never tried to stay below the bar.”

Janssens played on the soccer, track and basketball teams throughout her high school career, but it was the latter where she pushed herself to the limit. 

Janssens tore her right anterior cruciate ligament — or ACL — during a basketball game her sophomore year. She then tore her left ACL during basketball practice a year later. Janssens, who is 5 feet tall, played point guard. She couldn’t finish her last season because of her injuries.

“I was going too fast and working too hard and it just popped,” Janssens said. “Maybe it’s genetics because it happened to my sister, too.” 

Years of physical therapy inspired Janssens to become a physical therapist herself. In the fall, she will attend Westfield State University where she plans on studying movement science. She even received two scholarships: the Presidential Merit Scholarship and the Honors Program Award.  

“[My injuries] taught me that everything happens for a reason,” explained Janssens. “It’s the reason I want to go to physical therapy school. I didn’t get to finish my last season, but I live with no regrets. I knew to play every game like it was my last.”