Aspiring journalist Maya Palacio is so closely enmeshed in her school’s activities that she sometimes feels like an honorary member of staff.

“I love being at CedarBridge,” the 17-year-old S4 student said.

“Sometimes I’m there from 7am to 7pm, or I’ll come in even over breaks. I almost feel like a teacher — maybe I’m here so much because it’s the final year.”

Her imminent graduation means leaving a much-loved school — and once she sets off for further studies, Maya will also cede her role at the helm of the Longtails women’s hockey team.

“We’re the youngest team in the league — I have teens on my team and we play people who are 20 or 30 years old,” said Maya, now in her sixth year as captain and justifiably proud of the Longtails.

“We came up from the bottom. When we first started we’d lose 11-nothing, 15-nothing; now the last two games, we won. I love my team — we’ve really progressed.”

Playing hockey for the national squad is a passion dating back to Harrington Sound Primary School when she was coaxed into it by gym teacher Linda Hines and “never stopped going back”.

Last year she attended the intensive Sportways Hockey Camp in Barcelona, courtesy of National Junior Athlete Sponsorship Programme. It was a “bittersweet trip” after her uncle Melvin Smith died as a result of a Cup Match accident in which a car came off Kindley Field Road and struck campers along Ferry Reach.

“It was very hard,” she said. “It was a good thing my mother came out there with me.”

But now the future beckons: Maya is off to University of King’s College in Halifax, a college noted for its journalism courses, to pursue a Bachelor of Journalism. Sports journalism is a field of special interest.

Maya is a keen athlete: aside from hockey, she leads a basketball team and plays volleyball, football and, at the beginning of the season, track.

“My sisters and I call ourselves brains, beauty and bronze,” she laughed — older sister Pharaoh, 21, stands out in academia, while 19-year-old Indigo is a model.

Maya hopes to secure a place for herself in the hectic world of 24-hour online or broadcast news.

She contributes to The Royal Gazette’s Young Observer section and airs on Thursday nights for Teacher Talk on Magic 102.7FM — a position she landed when she told the station of her career aspirations in the promotional run-up to the 2014 Mr and Miss CedarBridge Academy.

She was declared Miss CedarBridge in November — with Rashae Bean taking the men’s title — and was inducted into National Honours Society, as well as joining her school’s Student Government Association as a vice president.

A prefect, she’s Blue House captain and student head for the athletic department.

As Miss CedarBridge, Maya has had occasion to deliver speeches at three different primary schools, reporting that “those children are really interactive, asking me about everything — I wouldn’t want them to lose the enthusiasm they have”. She volunteers for the YouthNet programme, which links public school students with younger mentees.

“I like taking the initiative to get to know them and lead them in the right direction. I’m very talkative with the S1 students. A lot of them were despondent when they started.”

Abiding by the George Santayana quote that “a child educated only at school is an uneducated child”, Maya keeps her interests as varied as possible.

An animal lover with pet rabbits and a dog called Lea, Maya is in her second year of work at Noah’s Ark.

“I love that job. Everything is all smiles — my co-workers are amazing.

“We’re all there for the same purpose. We all love animals.”

Graduation won’t be the end for the Hamilton Parish teen’s school spirit: by all appearances, CedarBridge Academy is about to acquire a dedicated alumna.

“Sometimes people don’t recognise CedarBridge for all the good things they do,” Maya said. “It’s a great school. I’m really going to miss it.”