Triple Threat

Junior Anna Matutina was very grateful when she found out her Zoology teacher, Joseph Jutzi, nominated her to be West Of’s Student of the Month. “Anna is the epitome of a model student here at WAHS,” says Jutzi. “[She is] always courteous, perpetually in a good mood, and academically impressive on a daily basis.” Matutina thinks she was chosen because she is very quiet in class and pays attention to her teachers. “I like doing my work and getting good grades,” says Matutina. “I like to watch the teacher and take lots of notes.”
Her favorite thing about high school is being a part of the band. “It’s like a giant family,” says Matutina. “I have so many friends in Band, and it’s something I’ve always loved.” Matutina plays flute; she started playing when she was in the 6th grade. “It was the only instrument I could make sound out of,” says Matutina. She recently participated at Regionals and got fourth chair out of 12 other participants. This was an impressive achievement because she was the second highest seat from the West Ashley High School Band.
Playing the flute is not the only artistic thing Matutina does; she is also very skilled in art, especially drawing and sculpting. Other than band, art is her favorite subject. She loves drawing and very much admires her art teacher, Mr. Daniel O’Brien. “I love his teaching methods,” says Matutina. Besides spending time working on perfecting her musical and artistic skills, Matutina has proven her intellectual talents as well. She has been an active member of the National Honor Society (NHS) for the past two years.
In her spare time, she enjoys playing video games. Her favorite game to play is League of Legends. She also volunteers her time at concert festivals; she really wants to start volunteering at the local animal shelter with her mother. They both love animals, especially cats.
Somehow Matutina finds time in her busy schedule to read. She enjoys reading everything, but fiction is her favorite. Ironically, she claims her biggest academic weakness is spelling. “It’s funny because even though I read all the time, I’m still really bad at spelling,” says Matutina. Her mother helps her overcome this weakness. “Even if I did badly, she tells me she’s still proud of me,” says Matutina.
Unlike others, Matutina does not live her life by any sayings or mottos. “I just take in everything I hear, so I guess I live by everything,” she says. Instead of worrying about her future, she just thinks about what is happening each day. Even with this philosophy, Matutina still has goals for the future.
She plans to attend the University of South Carolina and join their marching band. She likes USC because they have a great music program, and she’s heard that the band is lots of fun. She plans to either major or minor in music, and earn a Bachelor’s degree.