Often times the highest form of achievement is self-fulfilment, as is the case for junior Luke Whartnaby, but his list of achievements is not too shabby either; it includes being twice honored in the Leo & Antonia Gershanov Memorial Student Essay Contest, a Silver Key and Honorable Mention in the Scholastic Art and Writing Awards competition, Special Mention in Italy’s International Poetry and Theatre Competition (also called the Castello di Duino), first place in the Let Freedom Ring essay contest and he was selected by the English department as the representative for the National Council of Teachers of English Achievement Awards in Writing Program.
“I have always been very ambitious; I have a lot of self-motivation. It is not coming from teachers. My parents are supportive of it but they have never been [like] some parents who egg kids on to do stuff,” Whartnaby explained. “It all comes from myself, I like the sense that it is mine and it is personal. I have been successful with it so that helps.”
Whartnaby found a love for writing in middle school at Oak Grove, but he never thought of himself as a writer until he got to high school. Once he thought of himself as a writer, he started to enter contests, including the Holocaust Museum Contest. Last year, his essay won first prize and this year, his poem took third.
Though he doesn’t get to spend much time writing (Whartnaby also plays on the varsity soccer team and will be next year’s Senior Class President), he uses the little free time he has to write poetry and in the future, he hopes to write short stories.
Whartnaby’s accolades span beyond the boundaries of Illinois, and even beyond the United States. The Castello di Duino, an international writing contest based out of Italy, recognizes young poets around the world. Last year, Whartnaby was recognized by the organization, only one of two Americans as well as the only one under 16.
When it comes to his writing process, Whartnaby prefers finishing his work in several larger sittings. These larger chunks allow for his ideas to flow rather than breaking them up into smaller daily sessions. As an added bonus, he claims to work better under the pressure of finishing near his deadline.
Though Whartnaby has quite a knack for his craft, he has a meticulous way about the writing process, especially when it comes to revisions.
“I feel like he has grown when approaching his revisions. For instance, that first contest, which seemed to kick off his interest in sharing his work and putting it out there, I think he said he wrote it in like 40 minutes,” said Mrs. Karen LeMaistre, who taught Whartnaby in his sophomore year English class. “He had great success getting first place. But I have seen him submit and resubmit the poem he got special mention in the Italian contest, he has submitted that a few times. He constantly tries to make it better. He is also very good at tailoring it to a particular audience.
With his vast portfolio of writing samples, Whartnaby seems like the ideal candidate for a student performer at Writers Week; however, even with encouragement to participate from his teachers, Whartnaby has yet to participate in the school-wide event. Some of his works are in this year’s edition of Slant of Light, Libertyville’s literary magazine.
“I have not [done Writer’s Week],” said Whartnaby. “Mrs. LeMaistre said I should do it. I don’t know, it is not my thing, at least not right now. Maybe in the future. I have definitely thought about it because I have so many writing samples but I don’t like going up in front of the school and reading it. I like when others read it when I am not there.”
Whartnaby prefers writing for contests than writing school assignments (he still enjoys writing essays at school) for he has more freedom to decide the topic about which he will write. Often times, it is something relating to international politics; after graduation next year, he hopes to pursue a major in that field.
“I like writing a lot, but I would like to major in international affairs or politics, or international law, something in that arena,” Whartnaby said. “But I do know that being a good writer and keeping up with what I like to do will help me at least.”
Mr. Brain Twadell, Whartnaby’s AP English Language and Composition teacher this year, finds Whartnaby’s subject choice (including the international politics in which he is interested) just as impressive as the writing itself.
“He is a wonderful writer, with wonderful writing skill. His mechanics are sound, you can tell he is an intellectual too,” Mr. Twadell shared. “He chooses interesting, deep topics that a lot of students might not even think of for his writing in class and contests he has entered. He does a lot of historical-type topics that I find really interesting. He stands out in that way.”
Mr. Twadell sees Whartnaby excel in more areas than just the writing, as Whartnaby is a frequent participant in class who looks to help his peers whenever possible.
“He is a role model to his peers, he is a very active participant in class discussion. He can often come up with the answer when his peers can’t,” Mr. Twadell said. “Just very engaged in class, he really sets a high standard for the class.”
