GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Portage prevails with passion and pride
What's recently happened?
The Portage Boys Wrestling Team achieved a remarkable victory by being named Regional Champions, scoring a total of 246.5 points over the last weekend of January. Their success earned them a spot to compete in the regionals at Hobart High School on February 8.
“I really do admire how strongly the Portage wrestling team supports each other with their matches. Not only the boys, but the coaches too,” said Junior Olivia Pickering, member of the Portage Girls Wrestling Team.
The Boys Basketball Team had an impressive performance playing in their best game of the year against Michigan City.
With true harmony between the players and coaches on display, the basketball team succeeded with flying colors. The game went into double overtime and ended with Garrett Clark being named Player of the Game.
Fans were encouraged to come out and support the Portage Indians as it was an amazing opportunity to see their Portage pride expressed first-hand.
What's coming up?
Two Natural Helpers retreats are being hosted this year, providing juniors and seniors with the opportunity to grow as leaders and peer supporters. Natural Helpers is a program that trains students to be positive influences in their school by offering encouragement, guidance, and a listening ear to those who need it. Since students often turn to their friends for advice, this program equips them with the skills to provide meaningful support.
The first retreat will take place from March 12-14, and the second will be from April 4-6. These retreats are designed to strengthen students' ability to support their peers and foster a more connected school community.
“I’ve seen first-hand how impactful the Natural Helpers program can be. It was a meaningful part of my high school experience, providing students with a safe and supportive network to navigate personal and academic challenges,” said Matthew Supergan, an educator at Portage High School.
During the retreats, participants will engage in team-building activities, interactive discussions, and hands-on exercises. This will provide the students with enhanced communication, problem-solving, and leadership skills. Not only do these experiences help the students develop personally, but they also create a network of compassionate, trusted peers within the school.
“Seeing how Valparaiso and Chesterton have continued to embrace and benefit from this program has reinforced my belief that Portage could greatly benefit from bringing it back,” Supergan said. “I want to be part of the effort to reintroduce Natural Helpers to Portage because I know how much of a difference it can make.”
Staff spotlight:
Paul Montgomery’s lessons are not to be taken lightly, as there are years of wisdom behind what he teaches. Not only has he shown his wisdom as an educator, but also as a veteran of film production.
Montgomery had spent time in the film production business doing jobs such as broadcasting, editing, and advertising. He got into teaching to prepare ambitious students for the forces of the industry.
Montgomery spent 10 years working his way up the industry ladder in California. He worked on countless trailers and promos for films such as Gemini Man (2019), Snake Eyes (2021) and Suicide Squad (2021). When he first began work in California, he started out doing odd jobs and worked his way up to the top.
“I was the weekend manager for the facility I worked at. I ran the building on the weekends and eventually got a chance to become an assistant video editor. I got a trial, got an audition, and I won that. I became a lead video editor and an assistant video editor before I worked on set,” said Montgomery.
Montgomery has seen how demanding and pressuring a career can be in film production. He sees how even the most passionate people can be turned off by the crushing reality of a career in that field.
“I would say a lot of people are so worried about perfection in the beginning that they never even try. They never even know what they can actually perfect as they continue to work on these projects,” said Montgomery.
When it comes to his most talented students, Montgomery tends to test and prepare them for the fields they intend to go into. Things like crunch-time and deadlines are a part of his methods to get his students into shape.
“I would say the teaching side of it was a way to use the skills I obtained from my last job in a way to help teach the younger generation that has more energy to put up with the industry,” said Montgomery.
Student spotlight:
When faced with a challenge like tedious math homework, some students do not see any benefit in thinking outside the box and solving it. As for Senior Keeneth Roark, he looks forward to overcoming these challenges.
“I love math class because it mostly comes easy to me but also gives me the challenges to work out problems”, said Roark.
Roark’s motivation to succeed has nothing to do with ego or pride. It’s all for the people he cares about the most. A magnet for anyone he comes across, Roark is compassionate towards his managers and teachers who push him to be the best student he can be.
“I look up to a lot of people. My manager, Lauren, pushes me to do great stuff at school and work. My teachers, Ms. Dimov and Mr. Nestorovski, have been great this year in helping me become a great student. The person who I look up to the most is my grandma, who has always been in my corner. Between school, football, or life in general, she was always there for me,” said Roark.
Roark cherishes his grandmother, even five years after her passing. Roark enjoys spending his free time playing video games, driving, or just simply living in the moment at his job.
Roark has a bright future ahead of him, as he plans to become an HVAC technician after high school.