Valedictorian prepares for future
Mounkes shares her story
By Shelby Brokaw
May 17, 2007
When asked their grade point average, not many seniors could respond with a resounding 3.98. Calla Mounkes, valedictorian of the class of 2007, can. Mounkes is a well-rounded student, excelling in every class.
Mounkes stands out in her journalism and English classes, where she does most of her writing. Journalism is where she experienced both her grandest accomplishment and her greatest regret.
"The first semester edition of 'The Mirror' satisfied me. It was amazing seeing it completed and being able to say that I was editor-in-chief.
"My only regret in high school is not applying for newspaper editor my junior year. Instead, I only applied my senior year, but it's still been fun. I still got a lot of experience," said Mounkes.
Jamie Manhart, her journalism teacher, chose Mounkes to hold the position of editor-in-chief for both the school newspaper, "The Eagle Times," and school magazine "The Mirror," which was created in Mounkes's name.
"I have said before that I actually created the Journalism III class and 'The Mirror' magazine this year for Calla. After writing for the newspaper for four years, I could see her getting a bit bored. I hated the fact that I wasn't challenging her or using her full creative potential. So, we started a district magazine. And boy, did I see Calla blossom! Her eye for design and her Photoshop knowledge were unbelievable.
"Calla possesses a passion for writing, and she is incredibly creative. I chose her as editor-in-chief of the newspaper and the magazine because she is dependable, hard working, and she is continually evolving and improving as a journalist," remarked Manhart.
The writing itself has had a personal maturing effect on Mounkes.
"The English and journalism foci of my education have initially let me examine and discover who I am as a person and then gradually exposed me to constructs to fit myself in. When you already have preformed opinions and thought processes, it makes it much easier to structure them," commented Mounkes.
While she may be a skilled writer, Mounkes's favorite subject is biology, which is her current major for college. Judy Hamilton, biology teacher, believes in Mounkes's abilities.
"Calla is very knowledgeable in many areas of science...I was always confident that Calla could answer the science questions, along with most other categories, in Scholars' Bowl!" said Hamilton.
Mounkes's interest in biology began after she acquired her wheelchair around the age of 10. She was born with a disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, which stunts her bones and makes them frail. By the time she obtained the wheelchair, Mounkes had fractured her femur nine times.
She explained, "...Growing up and visiting the doctors a lot, I seemed to learn from experiences. I feel very aware of my body and enjoy learning about it."
She doesn't use her wheels all the time, but they have still affected Mounkes's outlook on life.
"...It has made me more accepting and it gives me a perspective on life that other people don't have. My peers at Silver Lake don't really see the wheelchair. They see who I am..." said Mounkes.
Mounkes hopes the same will be true at the University of Chicago, where she will begin school in September.
"Life is random. An urban setting like Chicago provides many possibilities for randomness," she said.
Manhart believes Mounkes could go nearly anywhere she wanted to after high school.
She stated, "Calla is one of those people who is talented in so many areas - writing, graphic design, art, math - that she could go anywhere and be anything she wanted to be. Calla will go far in life because of her talent and her attitude."
Even though writing and science may be two of her fortes, Mounkes believes that reading is the best way to succeed. What's more, she hinted that you don't have to be a geek to get hooked.
"I think that anyone can be enthralled by some book out there and should engulf themselves in it," declared Mounkes.
She explained how she got hooked.
"My mom always told me when I was growing up that because I couldn't go places normally, I went there when I read," she said.
Mounkes is certainly going somewhere now and will soon be headed toward the podium to give her speech as valedictorian of her class.
This valedictorian conceivably wants her speech to be as authentic as her life, personality and interests: unaffected by patterns, molds, or conformance.
She offered a sneak peek into her speech.
"Traditionally, it's about the future. I want to be very blunt and truthful to my class and the crowd gathered to listen. I don't want it to be the typical, 'As we look to our future...'."
What's in a valedictorean?
| Date | Subject | Posted by: |
|---|---|---|
| 05/17/2007 | Congratulations, Calla! I've always admired your word crafting skills - The best of luck to you! Also, Shelby, your very well written article was the perfect compliment to Calla and is a great indication of another very fine Silver Lake journalist in the making :) |
Jacque Taylor
|
| 05/18/2007 | Calla... my family has watched your progress from afar as you have grown... and we are proud of you... we know you will have a great future! | Sean Teel steel@pellaks.com Silver Lake. |
