MONICA MONTALVO: Soccer kicks, artistic talent and giving back

Star soccer player Monica Montalvo will be attending Georgia Tech next year to study International affairs and modern languages.

She is part of a Stratford team that is in the state playoffs. The Eaglettes next game is on Tuesday,

When asked about her favorite thing from soccer season, Monica said after finishing the region. Coach Kate Blankenship invited the team for a sleepover.

“We stayed up and we watched The Proposal, and we played the BeanBoozled game,” said Monica. “The team aspect of that was really fun.”

This year, she became closer with several of her classmates. They went to bonfires and went on a spring break trip together.

“That was probably the highlight of my senior year,” said Monica.

Among Monica’s many talents is art. She  enjoys painting and drawing.

Outside of Stratford, Monica enjoys volunteering with the Bibb County Mentors Project. Also, she and her soccer teammates recently went to an animal welfare unit in Lizella to volunteer. Monica hopes to continue that more in the future.

She  represented Stratford in the “Athletics” category at the Golden Eagle Awards in early April. Although she did not win, she said she was happy and grateful to be nominated.

With her high school career in the home stretch, she reflected on her time at the Academy.

“My least favorite part (about high school) was probably just what everybody dislikes, like the cliques, and that’s probably it,” she said. “Everything else about Stratford has been pretty great.”