Marauder of the Week: Friday, December 11, 2020
Katie Kaiser

Katie Kaiser is an exceptional Marauder of the Week who has established her hard work and dedication at BHS over the years. She likes many school subjects: Pre-Calculus and Calculus, since she enjoys using logical thinking to solve complex problems; Biology, because of its uniqueness in comparison to previous science courses, as well its real life applications; and English, as it highlights a variety of literature while also diving into various social and political issues. Katie is an avid reader who develops new ideas regarding important topics every time she finishes a book. Several BHS teachers were impactful to her: Mr. Reynolds, her English teacher for her freshman and junior years; Ms. Lovett, whom she had for Pre-Calculus; and Ms. Saxena, her Biology teacher. Katie says that they all brought passion to their classes and cared for their students’ well-being.
Katie is involved in a number of extracurricular activities such as the Performing Arts Company, cross country, National Honor Society, Tri-M Music Honor Society, the choral program, and many clubs. She has been the historian of Belmont’s Tri-M chapter for the past two years, started the Second Hand Club last year, and is currently a section leader in chorus. Katie also takes dance classes, and has two jobs: working at Comella’s in Belmont Center and working as a ski instructor at Cranmore Mountain in New Hampshire. She has been working at Comella’s for the past two years, and often helps train new employees. This coming winter will be her fifth year as a ski instructor.
Overall, Katie is most proud of being a part of the music program at BHS. Since elementary school, she has immersed herself in the world of music; she has been participating in musical theatre since first grade. Through the PAC, she typically does three shows a year: Broadway Night, the musical, and One Acts. She has been in chorus since her freshman year, and in Chamber Singers since she was a sophomore.
Katie’s words of wisdom for other BHS students are a quote by Albert Einstein: “In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” Katie believes that since life’s challenges can often feel overwhelming, especially in high school, it is necessary to remember that there are things more important than schoolwork, and to enjoy every small moment as much as possible.
By Shivane Pratap
Divya Natarajan

Senior Divya Natarajan is a great candidate for Marauder of the Week. She doesn’t have a favorite school subject, because anything that “pushes [her] to look at something from different perspectives” interests her; similarly, no one teacher was her most influential at BHS, as many have been “positive influences” on her life.
Divya participates in many extracurricular activities: she is a member of the Belmontian Club and the Performing Arts Company, a Student Advisor to the School Committee, played volleyball and rugby, and performed to represent India during Asian American Club’s Asian American Night. In the Belmontian Club, she is a part of the Hot Pink Committee, which raises money for breast cancer awareness and research; they were recognized several times by the American Cancer Society’s Making Strides movement for being a top fundraising high school in the state. Divya was also Secretary of the Belmontian Club her junior year, and, as a senior, is Co-President. Additionally, she was the volleyball co-captain in 2018 and 2019 and won a Coach’s Award, was a co-organizer of the BHS Diversity Day Hunger Banquet, and co-founded the Belmontian Summer Committee to aid hunger insecurity in eastern Massachusetts.
An excellent dancer who has been taking classes since she was three, Divya is most proud of completing her Arangetram, a “debut/graduation” for Bharatanatyam dancers. She trained “for hours every day for more than a year” to complete a four hour solo performance last August. The moment was not only a “milestone,” but also a way to prove to herself that “if you care about something enough, no matter what other people say, you should always pursue it.” Divya is passionate about making sure that everyone feels respected, “especially for their differences”; the journey to achieving her Arangetram taught her the importance of sharing our differences, because building “understanding and mutual respect” requires a willingness to teach and to learn. She wants to create a space where “what is beautiful and deserves recognition” is not limited to the familiar. She believes that we all deserve the opportunity to be our best selves without fear of rejection, and that “[t]he best versions of ourselves are the most genuine versions.”
Divya has two pieces of advice for other BHS students. First, “Ups and downs are inevitable,” but if you trust yourself and your own capabilities, “you will end up in the right place.” Worrying about the future shouldn’t distract from “everything the present has to offer.” Second, “Don’t be afraid to say hello to people”; while it’s simple, it “goes a long way.”
By Claire Svetkey