Athlete of the Month: Steve Aziz

What do the Spanish language and the sport of volleyball have in common?

For Jamesville-DeWitt High School senior Steve Aziz both are doorways to new experiences. During his senior year at J-DHS Aziz has displayed his athletic ability and intelligence level playing volleyball and speaking Spanish for the first time in his life. “Both (the Spanish language and volleyball) pose serious challenges, but nothing that I didn’t think I could overcome,” Aziz explains.

Aziz’s desire to challenge himself is evident in his schoolwork. During his senior year Aziz is taking AP Literature, AP Calculus and AP Physics, all while maintaining a high honor roll grade point average, a feat he’s achieved each semester in high school. Aziz is also a member of National Honor Society, furthering his impressive academic résumé. Aziz’s top choices for schools are Brown University, Princeton University, Cornell University and Tufts University.

This impressive list of schools is no reach for Aziz, who is praised by the people who know his work ethic the best, his teachers. “Steve is extremely motivated and detail-oriented,” explains Susan Techman, a J-DHS calculus teacher. “His work is always approached thoughtfully and he truly seems to enjoy learning. He has worked hard to strike a balance between a rigorous academic schedule and extracurricular activities,” she says. Physics teacher Doug Wilson seems to agree with Mrs. Techman when it comes to Aziz’s work ethic; “He has a good work ethic and his skills in analyzing and problem solving are excellent,” says Mr. Wilson.

This academic success hasn’t come out of thin air; smarts run through the family tree. Aziz’s sister Angela graduated from Cornell University and is enrolled in medical school at Upstate University Hospital. Aziz’s brother Joe also had academic success in high school and at the college level. “Joe is my inspiration because he has paved the way for my life,” Aziz explains. “Because he was the oldest, I was able to learn not only from his mistakes, but from his success too,” Aziz says.

Like his older brother Steve plays soccer and takes it very serious. Joe played in a state championship for Manlius Pebble Hill in 2004 and Steve followed very closely in his footsteps. Aziz was a defender for the 2010 J-DHS Varsity Boys Soccer team that won the Section III crown, defeating New Hartford 1-0, despite having an injured Zander El-Hindi, the team’s superstar. “Winning sectionals was unbelievable because it hasn’t been done in so long,” Aziz says. “But an obstacle like having Zander hurt just meant more people had to step up. Everyone showed up to play that night, which is a huge reason why we won. Good teams find ways to win.” After winning the Section III Championship, the team won the regional championship defeating Scotia-Glenville 3-2. Though they held Pittsford Mendon scoreless until the last 15 minutes of the game, the no. 1 seeded Red Rams fell victim to Pittsford Mendon High School by three goals.

Soccer, however, is not the only sport Aziz has seen success in. During the 2010 lacrosse season Aziz was a member of the Varsity Boys Lacrosse team that went 22-0, winning the Section III Championship and the state championship. Aziz insists that he is still at a loss for words when reminiscing about the lacrosse season, describing it as simply, “unbelievable.” Many of Aziz’s teammates credit him with pushing the team and helping it reach the heights that it did. “Steve brings everything he has every practice. He knows how to push people to make them better,” senior lacrosse teammate and Syracuse-bound midfielder Alex Hatem says. Senior lacrosse teammate Ahkeen Williams seems to agree with Hatem. “Steve is very competitive; he pushes the team as a whole to be better.”

It seems obvious that Aziz’s athletic career has been far from boring during his time at J-DHS, but to spice it up he decided to try volleyball this winter. “(Volleyball) is interesting,” Aziz explains who plays the middle hitter position. “It is tough to learn, but once you get a hang of it you see yourself progress, which is unique.” Aziz has seen the team drop two straight games, but this has not affected the team’s positive energy or chemistry. “Steve is handling volleyball well,” says junior Jimmy Quartier, a volleyball teammate. “He is very composed and handles the pressure in a good way.”

Before this ambitious embracement of volleyball, Aziz had a lot of free time during the off-season to volunteer at Crouse Hospital. Unlike most kids who do the minimum 20-hour of volunteer time because it is required for senior year, Aziz fulfilled over 190 hours as a volunteer before the his senior year had even begun. During his volunteer time Aziz transports patients and charts, even witnessing live surgeries. “Shadowing doctors ultimately led me to my decision to want to become a doctor,” Aziz says. This difficult task of becoming a doctor may become easier as Aziz’s father, Dr. Nabil Aziz works at Saint Joseph’s Hospital and North Medical Center as a neurologist. “ He’s always enforced high grades,” Aziz says of his father. “His intelligence inspired me to try and acquire that kind of knowledge and become a doctor.”

Aziz’s willingness to lend a hand and his well rounded personality has really pushed him to the head of his class. No matter where Aziz ends up you can be sure he will continue to jump head first into new experiences, whether it is on the athletic field or in the language department.