On September 21, Alexandra Kriegel, a 7th grader here at Wooster, earned her black belt. This is something she has been working towards for almost four and a half years, about three times a week. Ever since she started, she has been working towards this goal. She loves doing karate because "it improves my everyday skills." These are skills like strength, focus, and leadership. Focus is incredibly important in karate, but all of these are skills that help her in school and will also always help her in the future.

A black belt is the highest of the colored belts, starting with white. The black symbolizes the darkness beyond the sun. This is given to those who have worked hard to gain a lot of skills; those who have shown that they would like to gain a deeper learning experience and understanding in these teachings. Karate is about both physical and mental strength, something that requires a lot of time and work.

Her test was hard and as she put it, very tiring! She had to perform her techniques, forms, and sparring. To get her black belt, "a lot of focus, hard-work, and dedication" was needed. She attributes a big part of her success to the support from her family and her dojo. This especially came from her sensei who "inspired me to be my best every time I walked on the mat in the dojo."

Congratulations Alexandra!