Student of the Week: Lutheran North's Monahan Thrives in Competitive Environments

By Don Gardner

It doesn't require going too long into a conversation to deduce that Karli Monahan is a competitive person.

Of course, her high school accomplishments in and out of the classroom would make that pretty apparent, with athletic, extra-curricular and academic success on her resume. But perhaps the most impressive accomplishment is her No. 1 ranking in her class for all four years of high school. She currently carries a 4.4 grade point average at Lutheran North High School on a 4.0 scale, the highest GPA that can be achieved at her school. That means not even an A- will appear on her transcripts.

That earned her Catholic All-Scholastic honors for the Catholic High School League, an honor she shares with the other top students from member schools. It's an honor and an accomplishment that she doesn't take lightly.

"It's important to me. I work hard for my grades," she said. "For it to pay off for me was huge."

Karli Monahan is The Macomb Daily Student of the Week.

She's also been successful on the athletic field, serving as captain for both her school's cross country and track and field teams, where she has the interesting combination of not only being a long distance runner but also a shot put and discus thrower, two events she's been competing in since middle school. She earned all-league honors in shot put as a sophomore and junior and all-league and all-county in the discus as a junior.

"I enjoy them (shot put and discus), because they're more about technique than anything, and I enjoy the fellowship with my fellow competitors, both on my team and those I compete against," she said.

She's also been playing basketball for 11 years, the last two as a varsity forward for the Mustangs. As a result, she has also won the Scholar Athlete award all four years in all three sports (for earning a varsity letter and maintaining at least a 3.5 gpa). She acknowledged her competitive streak, but said it's not in a taunting or cocky way.

"No, not in a negative way," Monahan said. "I just know what my potential is, and I work very hard to reach it."

Monahan was also an AP Scholar last year, which is awarded if a student earns a 4.0 or better on three advanced placement tests. Thanks to the AP testing, as well as taking online college classes from Macomb Community College, she is acquiring enough college credit that she will enter college next fall as either a second semester freshman or as a first semester sophomore.

Monahan will attend the University of Michigan and major in biochemistry and then plans to attend medical school and focus on either cardiology or emergency room medicine. She said she developed an interest in medicine by admiring and developing respect for her pediatrician as a child. As she got older, she learned about more medical possibilities, in large part thanks to job shadowing as part of the Michigan State University Future Docs program.

"I've always really liked science, and in medicine, every day is a different day. There is no monotony," she said. "A friend of mine has a parent who is an ER doctor, and I know you have to know a little bit about everything, and you never know what your're going to see. I welcome the pressure an ER doctor faces. I think I handle pressure and stress well."

"Cardio health has always interested me because it's so important to the rest of your body. It's generally very important," Monahan added. "I've become more health conscious since I got into high school as I learned more and more in science about how even the little things can make a difference in your health."

Outside of the classroom, Karli is also a two-year member of the school ski club, a member of the Spanish Club, and serves as the HOSA (Health Occupation Students of America) secretary this year and won a laboratory-based contest as a junior and a senior. She is a member of Example, an anti-drug and alcohol group at school that meets once a month and raises awareness, mentors students and engages the student body, especially around events like the prom and other community events.

"Not only is Karli academically strong, she is kind and compassionate. ... I witnessed her taking first place in the HOSA biomedical laboratory science event at the regional competition last year. What an awesome accomplishment! I've known Karli through all four of her years at Lutheran High North. She is an exceptional young lady and I know her journey through life will be filled with much success."

Monahan admits school work comes pretty easy to her, but she still had to put in a lot of work to be so successful. She said she looks forward to the challenge that will come with advanced learning at the U of M and at medical school.

"I definitely love to learn, and I think it will be a challenge that I will adapt to, and I definitely welcome it," she said. 

The Macomb Daily Students of the Week are selected in advance by the schools with the approval of the Macomb County Secondary Principals Association in cooperation with The Macomb Daily and the Macomb Intermediate School District.

Article originally posted by The Macomb Daily.