LA HABRA, Calif. -- There’s a look Whittier Christian senior Clare Jordan gets when she’s in a challenging class — eyes up, face calm, and her mind processing. 

“I’ve always felt really comfortable pushing myself,” she said. “That’s when I feel the most myself.”

It’s not often that someone feels completely at home in a class like AP Statistics, but Jordan isn’t your typical student. She carries a course load that includes five AP classes and sits at the top of her senior class, but Clare’s found the perfect way to let off steam. 

“I see volleyball more as a stress reliever, I love to play this sport,” she explained. 

As the setter on her team, Jordan is basically the quarterback of the volleyball roster, the one that touches that ball more than anyone else. She says the job has pushed her out of her comfort zone and encouraged her to be OK with speaking up and taking the lead. 

Her coach Todd Morrison said it’s been inspiring to watch Jordan grow into her own. 

“The way I describe it to my kids, is student athletes are special people, but they don’t get special privileges,” he said. “So, to be able to do that, balance that rigorous schedule just shows what kind of person she is.”

Because for Jordan, it’s all about balance — shining on her own and as part of a team. And it’s for that focus, being at the top of her game and the top of her class, that’s earned her this week’s Scholar Athlete.