Grade: 11

Family members: Tara McNally (mom), John Gallus (dad), Greg McNally (stepdad), Megan Gallus (stepmom), Morgan Gallus (sister), Braelyn Gallus (sister), Payton McNally (brother)

Favorite subject: Literary Arts: The writing program at my school is amazing and it’s helped me develop such a love for learning and opened my eyes to the opportunities and power which writing holds.

Activities: National Honor Society, softball, ringside photography, organizing and running the monthly poetry readings at Café The Lodge, designing/creating/sewing outfits for the Black Excellence show, student council, environmental club, GSA, president and co-creator of “MOXIE: Feminist Club,” journalism/radio intern for WDIY, volunteering at the Northampton meditation circle garden/chapel, yoga

Career goals: I hope to someday attain a job that will allow me to travel and simultaneously be creative in writing or film-media.

Heroes: My Nona (great-grandmother) who immigrated from Italy to America as just a child and built her life here from the ground up (once in the US); she inspired me with her endless warmth and unceasing faith.

Hobbies: Hiking, roller skating, writing poetry, going for road trips, gardening, thrifting/antiquing, taking photographs, seeing live music

Current Job(s): A journalism/radio internship for WDIY and part-time photographer for hire

Volunteer and community work: Student council (teacher appreciation week, Planned Parenthood, St. Luke’s Children’s Hospital), National Honor Society work, raised money for “Do Good. Period” (a nonprofit organization that provides menstrual products to women in poverty), gardening/landscaping for the Northampton meditation circle’s garden/chapel, cleaning up the Lehigh Valley riverside, local elementary school community garden caretaker, made first-aid kits/emergency blanket kits to send to Ukrainian soldiers, attended Ukrainian rallies, engaged in local protests against rape culture in schools/police brutality/gun violence

Likes: Being outdoors, slow fashion, local art exhibits, short films, Italian culture, traveling, sushi

Dislikes: Dishonest and/or discriminatory people, high gas prices, Roe vs. Wade being overturned, abuses of power, pollution

Greatest accomplishment (so far): It’s between being the winner of two silver keys from the National Scholastic Writing Awards or being the annual Lehigh Valley poetry contest winner (and featured on-air for an interview on WDIY and my poetry was later published in the local newspaper!)

Advice for peers: Please speak and act against injustice; remember that a threat to the freedom of some is a threat to the freedom of all! Additionally, protect your mental health, know your worth and surround yourself with an environment that encourages your passion/success!