Mitchell Willis: An Avid Adventurer
Mitchell Willis is a senior at La Lumiere and this year’s Activities Prefect. Mitchell oversees student life in the forms of Head’s Cup games, athletics, and school spirit. From Chesterton, Mitchell lives with his parents and has an older brother, an older sister, and a half sister. Mitchell also has a 2 year old nephew.
Mitchell first heard of La Lumiere in middle school and was drawn to it by its great academics and beautiful, secluded campus. Mitchell has come to love La Lumiere because because of the great community.
In his own words, “La Lumiere is a great community that supports and cares for me as an individual.”
In school, Mitchell loves to study physics and ethics. He wants to study business or engineering in the future. He hopes to head to California next year for school.
Mitchell loves the outdoors, is an Eagle Scout, and loves sports. He plays soccer and baseball. He has also been a member of La Lumiere’s football, basketball, and tennis teams. In his free time, Mitchell likes to fish, play spikeball, go camping, do parkour, and play paintball. Mitchell loves living in Northwest Indiana because he is close to Chicago but also has access to the Dunes. Overall, Mitchell is an adventurous guy who loves spending time outside. He takes advantage of the world around him.
The Teaching, Traveling Family Man
Mr. Clint Tallman is so much more than your average history teacher. He teaches US History, US Government, and AP Comparative Government. He is also the Girls’ Soccer Coach at La Lumiere and is the father of two young kids, Evzen who is 4 and Zofia who is 2. Tallman’s wife, Lenka, is also a teacher at La Lumiere and is from the Czech Republic.
Tallman has always loved traveling. In fact, before becoming a teacher he worked in international sales and traveled across Europe for his job. After a while, Tallman realized that his job was not very fulfilling and he decided he wanted to become a teacher. He went back to school at Jagiellonian University in Krakow to get his Master's degree. Tallman moved back to the States, just down the road from his hometown, South Bend, and began to work at La Lumiere. He has worked at La Lu for seven years now.
“I love teaching at La Lumiere because it’s a place where we as teachers are given space to exercise creativity in the classroom,” Tallman said.
His favorite part about teaching is the challenge. In his own words, “I love the challenge of communicating difficult concepts so that students can comprehend them and talk about them intelligently.”
He also loves coaching soccer and seeing players develop throughout their high school athletic careers.
In his free time, Tallman enjoys spending time with is family, being outdoors, and watching soccer. He also loves living in close proximity to Lake Michigan. Tallman likes archery, fishing, camping, and traveling.
An Artist Explosion at La Lu
On September 28, La Lu’s Fine Arts Council hosted its first Fine Arts Friday of the year.This is the third year La Lu has put on Fine Arts Fridays. There will be four throughout the year. Many students, from freshman to senior, showed artwork, performed music, recited poetry, or participated in the event in some way.
When visitors walked into the Fine Arts Building they were greeted with a small art gallery with art from over 10 students. The art ranged from fashion design by Eesha Patel, to photography by Jackie Mullins, to sketches by Chris Li. The artistic talent of these Lakers was evident.
The evening did not end there. About a half an hour into the event, the onstage performances began. The evening was structured as an open mic night and students were encouraged to sign up and share their talents with the La Lu community. The Jazz Band played some groovy tunes to kick off the evening’s performances. They were followed by La Lu’s Concert Choir who sang a beautiful acapella version of “Let It Be” by The Beatles. This was followed with a number of solo acts including senior Katie Rowan’s recitation of a monologue, a reading of an original poem, Savannah Starr’s incredible piano skills, and freshman Lauren Jordanich’s breathtaking performance of Adele’s “When We Were Young.”
It is definitely safe to say there is an overflowing amount of talent in La Lu’s little art community. This event was a great way to introduce this talent to the La Lu community. The Arts Council is already looking forward to the next Fine Arts Friday of the year on November 9.
La Lu’s Got Spirit, Yes We Do!
Now that the school year is in full swing, Lakers are looking forward to Spirit week! La Lu students are excited to show off their school spirit, play fun games, and dress up for the theme days of this year’s Spirit Week. Planned for October 8-12, it looks to be a very fun week for students and faculty alike!
The week opens up with Jersey Day Monday. Students will get to come dressed in their favorite jerseys. In addition to this there will be many games and activities throughout the day to get students involved and excited. Tuesday will be Scrabble Day. Students will wear a letter and spell out words with other students. Throughout the day, there will be word scrambles and other fun events. Wednesday is the PSAT day and, sadly, there is no theme. Thursday is Fandom Day. This gives students the option to dress up as characters from their favorite movie, as their favorite musician, as a superhero, or anything else they are a fan of. Friday will be La Lumiere Pride Day. Students will dress in all their Laker gear to show their school spirit.
Overall, the week looks to be a great one. Many students are anticipating Spirit week to show of their costumes and theme wear. Lakers will be sure to show up with great pride and school spirit, as they always do!