Carmelina Komyatte is the third–and last sibling–in her family to receive the Valedictorian title at Bishop Noll. Although pressure was applied to continue the legacy of all Komyatte children holding this title, she never let that define her. 

Additionally, she says the  title of Valedictorian never intrigued her. Carmelina always wanted to try her best and challenge herself, so the title Valedictorian was the byproduct of that. She said, “when my brothers were named valedictorians it pushed me a little bit more just because I wanted to prove it to myself and to others that I can do anything that they can do.”

Komyatte continued to say, “people probably did expect me to get the title, but I had to work really hard to earn it.” 

Becoming Valedictorian was a result of all the work she put into her academics her whole life. 

When her sophomore year came around, she knew she would be among the top four and her junior year she knew she would be in the top two. She was okay with whatever positions she felt even though she felt extra pressure from her older brothers. 

“ Friends and family helped motivate me by just always making it clear to me that I am not defined by my academics,” she said. 

Carmelina is hard on herself about school, so having supportive friends and family who put things in perspective helped give her the extra boost. Komyatte’s biggest inspiration to keep moving forward in her quest to be Valedictorian was her mom. Her mother continuously tells Carmelina that she is proud of her. She says that “just keep trying to be the type of person that deserves her pride.”

“My mom tells me almost everyday that she is proud of me and that’s one of the most motivating things in the world,” she said.

Her friends are “equally motivated, capable, and academically focused; so we push and help each other a lot which has really helped all of us get where we are now.” she says.

Although Carmelina is a great student, she said still had trouble maintaining balance between academics, athletics, and extracurricular activities. 

“My junior year especially, I had so much going on between sports, clubs, classes, SAT’s, and other extracurriculars it was so hard to find time to get everything done,” she said.

 She made the necessary sacrifices to do what she needed to do. 

Her positive attitude and outlook on life was easy to keep because of the people around her. They were always there for each other and cheered each other on. She cared about her sports and activities that she did, so maintaining a good attitude was important. 

Komyatte’s biggest teacher inspirations were Ms. Dostatni, biology teacher; Mrs. Fredricksen, theology teacher; Mrs. Albrecht, STEM teacher; and Ms. Bolakowski, NHS sponsor 

“ [They] always believed in me and motivated me to do my best, which really helped me in all aspects of my life,” she said.

Some of her best experiences at Bishop Noll included the friendships that she has made, funny moments and all the games and dances that she attended. She says that Bishop Noll has prepared her for her college experience by providing her with the knowledge that she has now. 

In fall 2021 Carmelina will be attending the University of Notre Dame to study Biology. She wants to be a biologist and do research. After that she would like to get a doctorate degree.