Newman High School Student of the Month Warren Melton

Warren Melton, 17, of Rock Falls, is Newman High School's January Student of the Month. He is the son of Diane and Tod Melton, and has a sister, Audrey, 14.

Favorite class: Psychology. It makes me think.

Top teacher: Paul Magnafici, speech and English. Mr. Magnafici dedicates a lot of his time to Newman and to his students. It is evident that he strives to know and respect all of his students on a personal level, and he challenges his students academically in unique ways.

Extracurriculars: Newman swim team, Sterling Stingrays Swim Club, National Honor Society, Kairos Retreat leader and Sacristan minister at St. Andrew Church.

After graduation: I plan to attend the University of St. Thomas in St.Paul, Minn., this fall. I will double-major in psychology and theology, in addition to competing for their swim team.

Paycheck: In the summers, I have done maintenance work at St. Andrew Grade School getting the building ready for the school year.

Best friend: Aaron Helander. Aaron is a dedicated person in every aspect of his life. He cares about the things he does and the people surrounding him. No matter what, Aaron is always there for the people in his life, and I hold him in high regard for being such a good friend to others.

Favorite musical group: Imagine Dragons

Favorite actor: Adam Sandler. "Happy Gilmore" has got to be the greatest movie of all time.

Hobbies: Swimming, working out, traveling, and contemplating deep philosophical matters with Lane Martells after swim practices.

Favorite outdoor activities: Disc golf and ultimate Frisbee

Favorite food: My mom’s homemade mostaccioli

Biggest fear: Drowning

Least favorite class: Any type of math

What makes your blood boil? When people have potential, but do not work hard.

What kind of music makes your skin crawl? Sorry, but country is sometimes a little too much to handle.

Hangout: The Bird Store, a.k.a. Showplace Antiques & Treasures in downtown Sterling. My friends and I like to walk around their giant building and check out all of the cool things that they have inside. There is always something out-of-the-ordinary. Plus, they have free cookies.

High school survival guide: Work hard and stay involved.

Useless knowledge: I wasted way too many hours of my life reading Moby Dick.

I’m in the dictionary next to: Particular. I like things to be done a certain way.

Personal trivia: I was a Blackhawks fan before they were good.

Dream job: Sports psychologist

Trading places: It would be pretty gratifying to trade places with my swim coach. It would be pretty cool having him do a workout that I wrote.

Trading spaces: Warm Australia sounds pretty fun after such a long, cold winter.

Read this: Nothing beats a classic like Mark Twain’s "Huckleberry Finn". I can read it over and over again, and it is still good every time.