#1StudentNWI: Graduates with Distinction and Winter Sports Recap at BNI

Teacher Spotlight

Mr. Josh Belko is both an outstanding teacher and coach. Belko has been teaching for four years, but has been at Bishop Noll Institute (BNI) for three years. At Noll, he has taught Current Events, World History, US History, and History of World War II. Previously to Noll, he taught 7th grade World Cultures and 8th grade US History.

When asked about his favorite part of teaching at Noll, Belko said, “I love teaching at BNI because it really is a giant family with the faculty, staff as well as the students. There are very few schools where you will find a school community as close knit as BNI, which is evident when you see how our students and alumni travel when BNI has a big game, no matter how far,” Belko said. “I still remember the 2017 Indian State High School Hockey Championship game in South Bend and packing the Ice Box out there. But most of all every teacher at Noll is at BNI for the same reason – they love the students at BNI.”

At Noll, Belko coaches both the hockey and baseball teams. He has coached hockey for three years and baseball for two. Belko grew up playing both sports, so he enjoys the aspect of still being around the sports. He truly enjoys being able to help his players reach their potentials as both players and people. The Bishop Noll community is fortunate to have Belko as both a teacher and coach.

Student Spotlight

     A second-generation student athlete is Bishop Noll sophomore Abigail Kawalec. Both Kawalec’s parents attended Bishop Noll, which is one of the reasons why she came to BNI. She also liked the fact she could be involved in several clubs and activities because of the small school atmosphere. With only being a sophomore, Kawalec is active in the Noll community. This year, she was on the varsity soccer team playing both defense and midfield. For two years, she has participated in Speech and Science Olympiad. This year, she led the Biology Club as president. Kawalec is also an honors student, and said her favorite class is Biology. She has a great passion for biology and loved her teacher because she made the class interesting. Even though Kawalec still has two years left until she graduates, she has an idea of what she wants to be.

“After I graduate high school, I want to go into a medical or research profession,” Kawalec said. “My ideal job would be working as an infectious disease epidemiologist at the CDC. I would love to do anything with science as I am passionate about it and I feel like there is so much more to learn.”

What’s coming up?

BNI recently announced their graduates with distinction, which means the annual banquet is coming up. Students with a 4.0 or higher grade point average are invited to attend the dinner with their parents, and are asked to bring a teacher who has inspired them. At the banquet, the seniors give a speech about their chosen teacher and present them with a plaque. This year’s graduates with distinction include Sebastian Valdes, Tatiana Jimenez, John Wea, Alexis Fortuna, Arthur Vazquez, Julianne Hoff, Henry Smith, Elysa Roldan, Matthew Avila, Alejandra Wedryk, Elizabeth Buksa, David Mendoza, Alexandra Traciak, Alexis Zieminski, Chyna Davis, Brandon Fuentes, Maya Cazares, Rebeca Vazquez, Jake Fuehrmeyer, and Franco Komyatte. Komyatte was named Valedictorian with Fuehrmeyer being named Salutatorian.

What’s happened?

BNI athletics had an incredible winter sports season. For the first time in BNI history, two female wrestlers qualified for the state championship. Sophomore Natalie Ramirez and freshman Tsi-Tsi-Ki Rangel both placed 5th in their weight divisions at State. For both girls and boys swimming, several swimmers competed in the sectional finals. In bowling, three girls qualified for regionals. Senior Ameer Lawrence qualified for State for the second time and placed 10th overall. Girl’s basketball won their second consecutive Greater South Shore Conference title. The team also captured their sixth consecutive Sectional title. Sophomore Courtney Blakey scored her 1,000th point during the Sectional playoff. Boys basketball had a slow start off to their season, but were able to persevere through it. The boys team had several buzzer beater and overtime wins against rivals such as Griffith as well as EC Central. The BNI hockey team had a successful season. Unfortunately, their season was cut short with a loss against Culver Military Academy with a score of 4-1 in the playoffs.The BNI Athletic Department is proud of what the winter athletes have accomplished and can’t wait to see how the spring athletes do.