The Benjamin School holds students to a very high standard, some would even say the gold standard. Speaking of which, Allison Kelly, a sixth-grade swimmer, won nine gold medals at the Junior Olympics in Coral Springs which took place March 10-13. Allison also won the 11-12-Year-Old MVP Award at the All-Star Meet.  She competed in six individual events, earning five gold medals and one silver medal. She also participated in four relays, winning gold in all four. This meet pitted swimmers in Florida’s Gold Coast (Palm Beach County and every county south) versus Florida Swimming which is the rest of the state of Florida.

“That was my greatest achievement in the pool so far,” said Kelly, who is a member of the Bucs’ varsity swim team. “I also got six team records, and I was really happy about it. It felt good and special to win.”For Kelly, swimming is more than just competing and exercising – it’s also a form of escape. 

“It completely takes my mind off of anything happening in my life,” she said. Of course, it still takes a lot of hard work.

“I practice an hour-and-a-half during the week and two hours on the weekends,” said Kelly, who has been swimming for seven years. However, she didn’t love swimming until recently.

“I started to love swimming after the pandemic. During the pandemic, my mom, my brother, and I worked out every day, so when I came back, I knew I put in a lot of work towards it.”

All of this hard work paid off when it came down to the big day, but Kelly wasn’t expecting to be so dominant in the pool.

“I was very surprised,” she said, “but hard work pays off.” 

Despite the long hours she spends practicing, Kelly still finds time to do her homework and maintain success in the classroom as well.

“I normally do my homework before practice, and if I have any left, I do it after,” she said. Kelly works hard when it comes to both swimming and academics, , and she does it all with a smile according to her teachers.

“She is very sweet, she’s kind to everyone, she is an awesome student, [and] she is very into her work – it is very admirable,” said Ms. Sarah Oster, Kelly’s math teacher.

To stay ahead of the game academically, Kelly is proactive in her communication with her teachers. 

 “I tell my teachers before I miss class, and most of my teachers know because I do a planned absence form,” she said.

So far, she has been an impressive student-athlete.

“She is not in easy classes,” said Oster, “and she works really hard for long hours, so it’s a lot of time management and being proactive and communicating with her teachers,” she said.