MM_100616

mokenamessenger.com School
the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 13
The mokena messenger’s
Standout Student
Sponsored by Marquette Bank
Who is your favorite teacher and why?
Mrs. [Kati] Nakamura. I have never
met a teacher so involved with her students
in my academic life. She made
the world of “1984” a realistic nightmare
and made Jay Gatsby come to life.
What is your favorite class and why?
English. I enjoy analyzing and especially
discussing literature. I often get
very passionate when doing debates or
speeches.
22ND CENTURY MEDIA
AND EVERGREEN SENIOR LIVING
ORLAND PARK PRESENTS...
Sebastian Khattabi, Lincoln-
Way East senior
Sebastian Khattabi, a Mokena resident,
was chosen as this week’s Standout Student
for his academic excellence.
What is one essential you must have
when studying and why?
Silence and a full belly. I get very
easily distracted with nearly everything.
Also when I am hungry.
What do you like to do when not in
school or studying?
I enjoy wasting my time on Netflix,
reading and sleeping. Sleeping is my
favorite.
What is your dream job and why?
I would love to be an actor in either
plays, television or theatre. I enjoy performing
so much that doing it as a profession
would be a dream come true.
What is one thing people don’t know
Anniversary
From Page 8
Photo submitted
about you?
I was my fourth-grade spelling champ
for my district, but I could have been
the champion for grades four through
12 [at the next competition level], but I
misspelled the word “interference.”
Whom do you look up to and why?
I look to my father for inspiration because
of his resounding confidence and
his relentless willingness to care for his
family.
“And I just begged,” Robertson recalled
about securing the funding. “I
went to every organization I could
think of – every homeowners association,
every club, every VFW, everything
that had to do with anything
in the surrounding Lincoln-Way area
towns – and I just stated our case and
asked for donations.”
Robertson garnered enough money
to pay a handful of college students
minimum wage, and the rest is history.
“I think at the time it was about $4
an hour,” Robertson laughed. “But
the college kids who were all working
with me were willing to do it. Nobody
really thought about the money
involved, we just paid for the buses for
the field trips and the supplies for the
arts and crafts and tried to do the best
job we could do. And that’s what we
did. We ran the program with young
people ... and it was amazing.”
Robertson would go on to be the association’s
first director, and was in
the following years the driving force
behind the organization securing public
funding via area park district’s tax
levies. The LWSRA today receives
funds from the Frankfort, Mokena,
Manhattan, New Lenox, Peotone and
Wilmington Island park districts.
“It took a while,” Robertson said
about getting public funding. “It took
a lot of explaining and arguing and
hoping, but then we finally had a tax
What is one thing that stands out
about your school?
The teachers and staff create a cohesive
learning environment as well as an
entertaining and interesting place.
If you could change one thing about
school, what would it be?
Bring back the non-touch paper towel
dispensers in the bathrooms!
What is your favorite thing to eat in
the cafeteria?
Lincoln-Way chicken bowl. All day,
every day.
What is your best memory from
school?
My sophomore year I was able to be
a part of “Death and Taxes,” which was
probably the best play I’ve ever been in
because of the play itself and the cast.
Standout Student is a feature for The Mokena
Messenger. Nominations come from
Mokena area schools.
base for the program.”
Robertson’s remembers that first
summer camp fondly, of course, but
one memory in particular is forever
ingrained into her memory. The camp
concluded with the youths in the program
presenting their mothers with a
rose, as Bette Midler’s “The Rose”
played.
“That’s how we ended that first summer,”
she said. “I can’t hear that song
without remembering that event. It
was such an emotional thing for those
parents to see their kids involved in
something positive.
“It’s been a journey. You kind of sit
back at my age and think ‘I hope, I
hope to God that somewhere along the
line I did something good for maybe
one kid or two kids.’”
An Expo for Ages 50+
9 am - 2 pm
Saturday, Oct. 22
Tinley Park Convention Center
18451 Convention Center Drive
NEW FREE FREE
LOCATION! PARKING! ADMISSION!
Event features vendor booths, health
screenings, entertainment and more!
Pre-register and get your FREE tickets:
www.22ndcenturymedia.com/aging
For more information,
call (708) 326-9170 or visit
www.22ndcenturymedia.com/events
22CMEvents