by Maddie Dang

 

She watched one sister contribute to STA’s 2006 State volleyball championship and both sisters graduate near the top of their classes. She walked on STA’s campus freshman year with the pressure to achieve the same success in athletics and academics as her sisters.

Sophomore Kathleen Vogel feels the pressure to compete with her sisters, Ms. Erin Vogel’s and Ms. Jen Vogel’s, achievements everyday of her life.

‘I think my parents see how hard I work to try and accomplish things,’ Kathleen said. ‘I don’t think they realize that the reason I pressure myself so much is because I want to be as good, if not better, than my sisters.’

At STA, both Erin and Jen had at least a 4.0 GPA every semester and went on to attend the University of Notre Dame after graduating from high school. Kathleen’s friend, sophomore Anna Meyers, notices the stress Kathleen is under from witnessing her sisters’ accomplishments.

‘Her sisters are really successful and she feels the need to live up to that,’ Meyers said. ‘The pressure isn’t ‘Ëœyou have to do this,’ but [the pressure] is secretly weighing on her.’

With two older sisters and a brother, Mr. Eric Vogel Jr., Kathleen is the youngest of the four children of Ms. Anna Marie Vogel and Mr. Eric Vogel Sr.

‘I think being the youngest and being home by herself puts [Kathleen] under more pressure than I was,’ Erin said in an email interview.

According to Kathleen, when she meets teachers at STA, they ask about her sisters and expect her to meet the standards set by her siblings.

‘I think Jen and I were both very involved at St. Teresa’s, so a lot of the teachers and faculty know us,’ Erin said via email. ‘Teachers automatically have a positive opinion about [Kathleen] because they know our family.’

According to her father, Kathleen accepted the challenge of competing with her sisters’ achievements. Her parents allowed her to attend any high school and she chose STA although she knew she would follow in Jen and Erin’s footsteps.

‘It is clear that Kathleen is aware of her sisters’ success and she wants to uphold the high standards that her sisters set,’ Eric Sr. said in an email interview. ‘However, I truly believe it is a positive motivator and her sisters support her at every step. She often talks to her sisters to learn from their experiences, enabling her to avoid their mistakes.’

Her father said that along with the pressure in academics, Kathleen also deals with stress from athletics as a varsity and club volleyball player. Erin was on STA’s 2006 State championship volleyball team and set the record for the largest number of kills by an STA student in the same year.

‘There is no question that Kathleen is motivated to match or surpass Erin’s records on the volleyball court,’ Eric Sr. said via email. ‘When they talk at home, it is a friendly competition, but a clear motivator. That being said, Erin is Kathleen’s biggest fan and advocate on the court.’

Along with supporting Kathleen in volleyball, Erin is sure Kathleen will succeed academically.

‘I’m confident that Kathleen will excel at STA too because she is a completely different person with different interests and talents,’ Erin said via email.

Kathleen knows that her family supports her, but she still feels the difficulty of trying to be equal with her sisters in academics and sports.

‘I push myself to live up to [my siblings’] standards but at the same time, sometimes I put too much pressure on myself,’ Kathleen said.