Photo by: Charlize A.
Portia Piasentin is known to be a very talented, caring, spiritual, and intelligent Grade 10 student. She is gifted both in academics and the arts. Portia transferred to St. Joe's from the IB program at Assumption this year and she has been enjoying her time at her new school. She says that “the teachers have been really great and the students are very welcoming and kind. I know it sounds cheesy, but at St. Joe's, it’s like everyone is a big family.”
Portia is an avid Star Wars fan. She fell in love with the series as a child due to the plot and the sense of what peace and justice were. She loves the visuals and characters and it was just a source of nostalgia and pleasant hopes for her. You’ll also find that she loves anything horror. She loves watching them for the cliches and cheesy parts as well as the hilarious lack of common sense the characters have. Her favourite horror movie of all time is The Exorcist. Portia’s great passion in her life is her art. She takes great pride in her studies and spends her weekends studying, organizing her notes and homework. On top of her school obligations, she’s been dedicated to learning how to speak and read Latin. Something you might not know about her is that Portia has been playing the ukulele for the last year. It took her only 2 months to learn how to play it! She can play “Hallelujah” by Leonard Cohen and “Riptide” by Vance Joy. Portia describes her love for music with the quote: "I consider myself an old soul, lost even. Then I listen to the songs, and it somehow soothed the pain and longing I can't express or understand. Then I knew I should keep going."
Portia devotes a lot of her time to the school clubs she participates in and to her parish, Our Lady of Atonement. She is a member of St. Joe’s Debate and Drama team and spends her Wednesday nights helping to make rosary bracelets. She has attended one debate tournament at the University of Windsor in November and won 1 out of the three debates. For Drama, the English Drama Team is preparing a play that brings a new perspective on racism. They will be competing in the Ontario Drama Competition which is taking place at the end of this month on the 28th at L’Essor. Portia also entered the school’s art showcase that is to take place in April.
In order to prepare for her future career as a History or English professor, Portia is taking all academic classes so that she can attend university. She’s working hard and putting all her time, effort and passion inter her studies. Portia's been told that she’s great at helping others with their studies and explains things very well. She picked this career path because she wanted a job where she wouldn’t lose her love and passion for it. Her interests and passions don’t lead to many mainstream careers, so she thought teaching was the best way to go.