Standing over six feet tall and benching around 300 pounds may be all some people see when they look at junior Mark Kalinich.

Everything from being on the varsity football team to owning the top GPA among all juniors is why Kalinich may be the closest they come to being the total package. Along with being the starting right tackle for the varsity football team, he is also the principal trumpet of the wind ensemble and the lead trumpet of Jazz I.

“I think that the activities I am involved in say that I enjoy a diverse group of activities, but I also like to be challenged,” Kalinich said.

Along with being involved in band and football, Kalinich is also a member of the debate team and Academic Superbowl. He is also the founder of the newly formed chemistry club.

“I am planning on becoming a chemist and working in the pharmaceutical field, hopefully making new pills to combat Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” Kalinich said.

Although Kalinich plans on becoming a chemist, he also has been impacted by his time on the football team, specifically by Coach Bill Melby.

Kalinich said that Coach Melby has been one of his inspirations in life, and Coach Melby is one to talk about Kalinich and the kind of work ethic he has.

“Mark is one of the hardest working kids I know. He can balance so much with football, band and weight lifting, and he can still be excellent at all of them,” Coach Melby said.

Kalinich, although only a junior, has already gained the right to be on the varsity team and to be the starting right tackle.

Coach Melby said he knows that Kalinich is going to have to be a key role in the teams success next year. “We need him to be a leader and when you have high character like Mark you need him to play a big role on the team,” Coach Melby said.

Kalinich said that his parents have definitely been his support throughout his life.

“My parents helped to shape my education and really cared about advancing my knowledge,” Kalinich said.

The current state of society is one area that Kalinich feels America needs to improve.

“Well, not to be a pessimist, but the media have (not has; I’m not an uncultured swine and I know it’s plural) corroded the critical thinking abilities of America, and schools have yet to fix the problem,” Kalinich said. “We’ve definitely come a long way since the middle ages, but there’s still more progress to be made.”

It is those types of comments that most people would not expect to come from someone who can lift a person with one arm and squat 570 pounds.