Alumni Spotlight: Sasha Harrington
September 11, 2014
As students, we all have our dream occupations. Whether it be doctor, a lawyer, an engineer, or a teacher. However, Sasha Harrington, a Diamond Bar High School alumni, has a career that is anything but ordinary. Harrington is an aerial acrobat for Cirque du Soleil, the biggest theatrical producer in the world, in Las Vegas.
Sasha Harrington was originally a part of class of 2005, but graduated a year early in 2004. She moved onto attend college at San Francisco State University majoring in Psychology with an emphasis on Human Sexuality, graduating in 2008.
As a child, Harrington did not know she would one day become an acrobat. She recalls having an assignment in her French class with Mr. Tietz to present her future dream job. There were no limits, rules, or expectations. She decided she would say her dream job was to be an acrobat, partly joking. However later on, she realized that it was truly what she wanted to pursue. Although Harrington didn’t love performing from the start, she always loved creative expression and circus artistry and being an acrobat combines those two.
“DBHS taught me how to wake up early and get through a lot of busy work and have the patience to deal with frustrating bureaucracies. It also taught me how to work around the path that was laid out for me to find and follow what I wanted out of life,” Harrington said.
It may seem as though Harrington is living her dream, after accomplishing what she aspired to do with her innate talent. However, there were uphill battles to get to where she is today.
“There were many, many hardships when I was initially building my career. My training was very difficult to get through, and there was no guarantee that I would have a secure job when I finished. I had to have patience and trust that things would work out eventually and that whatever happened, it would be worth it to stay committed to pursuing my passion because it truly made me happy,” Harrington said.
Harrington believes that the best part about her job is being able to share the message of the show to a new audience on a daily basis and to see people experience all the emotions of the show. However, although Harrington loves her job, there are challenges that come along with the physically demanding career.
“The hardest part about my job is performing when I’m tired or sick. Those days are hard to get through, but it can be done and it’s good to know your limits— how far you can push yourself, to test your strength[s],” Harrington said.
Harrington advises high school students to look at life as a two way street.
“My advice is to approach life with curiosity and excitement and an open mind— to experience all you can to find what you are truly passionate about— to give yourself time to find something that makes you deeply happy and committ[ing] yourself to pursuing it— despite how much money it may make you or the social status it may give you in the end,” Harrington said.
