GreatNews.Life Student Voices: Marquette Catholic Prepares for Postseason

What recently happened?

February has come and gone fast. The month has been filled with snow and sunshine which resulted in a lot of Virtual Learning Days (VLDs) for Marquette Catholic High School (MQT). 

In sports for the Blazers, the Girls Basketball team has cleared Sectionals yet again and faced Feremont in a tough Regional battle. The Blazers fell short 64-51. The Seniors are remembered for their hard work, dedication, effort, love and support. 

The student section showed up to support their Blazers. They cheered, screamed, clapped, and cried for their peers. This was one of the most powerful student sections full of support MQT has seen in a while. 

“The support we receive from our students is very subsequent to how we play,” Senior Della Wittrop said. 

For Boys Basketball, they just recently celebrated their Senior Night. They celebrated seniors: Lloyd Heard-Muhammad, Enrico Ortega-Chick, Aedan McKee, Hudson Barth, Nate Bakota, and Aleks Pecoski. 

The boys played River Forest and came out on top 68-53. This was a very crowded game for the Blazers, the student section was filled with not just students but support. 

“Having students there to support us really fuels us to do better,” Senior Aedan McKee said. 

What’s coming up?

Keeping on the train of boys basketball, they are set to play their first round of sectionals on March 4. They play Tri-Township with hopes of victory. There will be a fan bus headed there to support their fellow Blazers. 

Coming up is the two Lenten opportunities here on campus during this Lenten season. On Fridays, students are encouraged to participate in Stations of the Cross and on Wednesdays, students can participate in Divine Mercy Chaplet.  Both activities are after school.

Another exciting thing coming up is the spring musical.The MQT Performing Arts Department has announced their musical: Mama Mia. The musical will be available to see on March 13-15 and March 20-22. The Performing Arts Department has put a lot of effort, dedication, and precious time into this magical, musical performance. 

“The musicals are so great. Mrs. Crane does amazing directing and casting,” Senior Chelsea Pippin says. 

The cast is excited for everyone to see the show.

“It will be a really good show. There is a strong cast and we look forward to performing for everyone,” Senior Leah Bartnicki says. 

Staff spotlight:

Anthony Holt is the Director of Student Life and runs campus ministry. Holt has been here for three years. For two of those years, he was with student life and spent one year in academic advising. 

“Our retreat program is flourishing and being able to experience this is what MQT is about,” Holt says. 

Holt enjoys the retreats at MQT. It’s one of the best ways to insert oneself in the MQT community. He also enjoys Catholic Schools Week’s all school mass. 

“We can see all the students from our diocese come together for one celebration. It is very special,” Holt says. 

Holt not only loves all the amazing opportunities here at MQT, he also enjoys engaging with the community. He loves the students and staff he gets to work with everyday. 

“Principal Collignon makes the community feel like a family,” Holt says. 

Besides being the Director of Student Life and running campus ministry, Holt does many other things. He serves as the music director for musicals, a dean for international students, drives the bus from time to time, and serves on the board of Michigan city Monday Musicale in La porte county. 

Holt sees MQT as a dedicated learning environment for the whole person, mind and faith. It is a unique experience. The biggest difference is being a catholic school and MQT incorporate that in everything it does. 

Holt is also currently enrolled in Saint Joseph University in the theology program. 

Outside of MQT, Holt enjoys traveling and enjoying hot summer days at the beach. He also enjoys playing music and exploring historic places. 

Holt’s advice for freshmen is to come in with an open mind and be ready for new experiences. This is where you can succeed. You make friends your first year but be open to everyone. You don’t always have the same friends and that is okay. What matters is that you are your own best friend.

Holt’s advice for seniors is go to college now before it is too late to enjoy the good parts of it. Be open to when things get tough. Starting over is not a bad thing;  look at it as an opportunity. 

Holt is truly a shining example of how MQT is open to everyone. 

Student Spotlight:

Nathan Bakota is a senior at MQT, and has participated a lot in the MQT community through academics and extracurriculars. 

Bakota has taken on many college level courses including: DE International business, DE Biology, DE Introduction to Education, DE Public speaking, DE Rhetoric Analysis, DE Calculus, DE Microsoft Apps, DE Intro to Business, DE Principles of Management, DE Economics, DE Business Law, DE Trigonometry, DE College Algebra, DE English Composition, DE Chemistry, and DE Engineering. 

“Overall I have primarily enjoyed Principles of management. Even though it was hard, it really helped me look at how management works, and offered a lot of hands-on experiences that really made me enjoy the class and curriculum,” Bakota said. 

At MQT, Bakota has participated in soccer for four years where he has been awarded MVP twice, rookie of the year, the blazer award, and academic all state. He led the soccer team as the Captain for the past two years. Bakota also participated in basketball for four years where he received academic all state, the blazer award, most improved and he was awarded being a Captain this past season. 

Finally, Bakota has participated in baseball as well for four years where he received the ACE award, defensive MVP, offensive MVP, academic all state and he’s led the team as the captain for the past three seasons. 

Besides his wide variety of athletics and academics Bakota is involved in, he’s involved in other extracurricular activities. He’s involved in DECA, student government and National Honor’s society. He is the student body president and he helps a lot with giving tours around campus. 

Outside of MQT focused extracurricular activities. Bakota participates in travel baseball and he has played travel basketball. 

“My motivation came from my brother, seeing him play has opened my eyes, and makes me want to be better than him because he’s my brother,” Bakota says. 

Bakota loves the great opportunities here at MQT, and being able to utilize those opportunities has really helped him succeed. He also enjoys being able to meet so many people.

“You can meet so many people to expand your social circle. This helped change me as a person. Even with the international program, you hear a lot about things you wouldn’t normally hear and it is very interesting to get to know people and become friends,” Bakota says. 

Bakota is looking forward to attending Purdue University in the fall with intention to pursue finance and supply chain management. He wants to learn how to manage and experience how to manage in the future. 

Bakota advice to the incoming classes is to go into high school with an open mind, people are going to change so expand your social circle. Freshman year is going to be challenging but you need to set your freshman self up for your sophomore self. 

He encourages everyone to put 100% effort into everything, no matter if you’re a senior, freshman in an honors class, or in regular level classes. 

When going through high school, Bakota wants students to apply themselves to different clubs and extracurricular activities. The opportunities are very important, so starting earlier is better. It will be worth it to make the jump, and if you commit to your goals, you will succeed. 

Outside of school, Bakota enjoys spending a lot of time working and in community service. He likes to maintain a good balance between community service and work that helps him mature. Bakota also enjoys fishing and golfing with his brothers Connor and Andrew. 

“I love hanging out with my friends. We are all going to be splitting up and going places after high school. This has been the closest we’ve been to each other and we are enjoying it together,” Bakota says. 

Bakota’s advice to anyone is to put yourself before others sometimes. You should put others before you but know when to take a step back and know you’re okay. Make sure you know you are doing things in the right manner. 

Bakota will continue to be a respected member of the MQT community and will continue to inspire incoming classes to take time for themselves, their friends and their classes.