The girls lacrosse team brings in a huddle. With only a little bit of time left on the clock, Harker is trailing a few points behind. Before they have the chance to go back on the field, the stadium lights go off. Confusion overwhelms the players, except for senior Chayce Milheim. She gets her team together to use the extra time to further their plan. When the lights turn back on, the team is ready. Sticks in hand, cleats tied tight, helmets on, the team plays until the last minute of the game. As the team piles back on to the bus, laughter fills the air as morale is high from the excitement that the game and their captain brought them.

Chayce began playing lacrosse during the summer after fourth grade when her mom signed her up for some local lessons.  From the moment she picked up lacrosse, the game became an escape from the rest of her life. Chayce continued with lacrosse lessons through the whole year and eventually scored a spot on the NorCal lacrosse team a year after she started playing. She also played with the Red Hawks, a group of students from across the south bay area, until she began high school where she immediately joined the Harker team and helped coach kids. 

“Lacrosse taught me a lot about how to communicate with other people and form healthy relationships where we can all talk about what we need from each other,” Chayce said. “I eventually became the captain of my lacrosse team on the defensive end and I had to learn how to lead people without feeling like I was ordering them and so that they would communicate with me well.”

After playing with her club for a few years, Chayce wanted to grow her journey with lacrosse. She started coaching when she was in eighth grade after gaining some experience helping manage the middle school team. After that she started helping out at her club team, teaching all ages between elementary and middle school. Since then, she loves watching her kids grow almost as much as she loves playing. The admiration she has for her students is similar to the intrigue she feels with her horses.

“Horses and kids are both beings that have their own minds and thoughts and opinions, and you have to learn how to work with them instead of fighting against them.”

Chayce has a full house packed with two horses, two dogs, a pig and a snake. These different animals make her feel calm and allow her to re-connect no matter how hectic her life gets. By far, Chayce has her closest relationship with her horse Tommy who she’s trained and rode since he was a pony. 

“I always used to joke and call her horse girl,” close friend senior Sofie Marino said. “I know that she really loves them and it’s not just because her family grew up with them; she really cares about them.”

Between ages 10 and 13, Chayce rarely rode Tommy after he had bucked her during one of their rides. When she would try riding again, fear overcame her but by the time she was 13, she had committed to working over her fear and fixing her relationship with her horse. 

“I learned how to meditate with him, and how to do horse massage therapy,” Chayce said. “I’ve just become really in tune with their bodies, because they’re very empathetic creatures. And I’ve always been very fascinated by how animals communicate. They’re very clear in what they’re trying to tell you and that’s something that’s really improved my relationship with my horse and just with riding in general.”

During the school day, most of Chayce’s creative energy goes into the yearbook, TALON. Over the years, Chayce has gone from a reporter to now editor-in-chief, making good friends along the way. Close friend and fellow TALON staff member senior Angelina Burrows and Chayce worked alongside each other which led to their close bond outside the classroom.

“Our first year we were kind of stumbling along together but through the past few years Chayce has really developed her own unique design style,” Angelina said. “In a way, the yearbook is kind of like Chayce’s baby; she puts so much time and effort into its production. You can definitely tell how much the book and the people in yearbook mean to her because she’ll spend almost all of lunch planning and designing. “. 

When she was off the field and out of the classroom, Chayce found herself spending many after school hours helping the Harker Spirit Leadership Team (HSLT) and joined the group in her second semester freshman year. She continued to guide HSLT to become a bigger and more prominent part of the school. She started new initiatives such as Instagram takeovers and looked for ways to encourage a bigger student section at Harker sports games. 

“Especially in HSLT and Yearbook, I was one of those special underclassmen that was able to communicate with the upperclassmen. I was seeing that they really don’t have any idea what underclassmen want,” Chayce said. “As I grew more, I was given more responsibility. I was like, I want to make sure that underclassmen are comfortable, giving their opinions and it’s not just whatever the seniors would prefer. I’ve also just always been a big, big advocate for improving.”

Chayce continued to dedicate a multitude of hours to Yearbook as she aspired to change the publication for the better. Chayce’s work with the team became her next significant leadership journey, and her passion for creativity and attention to detail were unmatched as she balanced both the organizations section editor position and photo editor position her junior year, resulting in her assuming a co-editor-in-chief position her senior year. 

Through all she does, her forensic science and biology teacher, Thomas Artiss, admires Chayce’s worth ethic and ability to balance her workload between her dedication to lacrosse, spirit, yearbook, and her academics in general.

“Chayce carries herself with a quiet, dignified confidence that reflects both self-assurance and poise,” Dr. Artiss said. She seems to always have a slight smile. “Whether it’s tackling a tough exam or juggling her schedule as a year-round varsity athlete, she handles it all like a pro. The way she balances a full course load with the demands of her sport is seriously impressive. She’s the definition of calm under pressure — nothing ever rattles her.”