Kayli Mato stays in constant motion — she doesn’t know how to be any other way. The Hahnville senior volunteers on a regular basis with the Special Olympics and the United Way. She was on the Tigers’ swim and track and field teams, earned crowns in two pageants and is a member of the Beta Club, National Honor Society and Interact Club. She also keeps her artistic skills sharpened on a regular basis as she plans to pursue a career in graphic design. She accomplished all of this while excelling in the classroom.
“I do a lot,” Mato said with a broad smile. “It can be a struggle to maintain a well-balanced life with school, athletics and volunteering while having time with my family and friends … somehow I managed to do it, and I’m really proud of myself for that.”
Mato developed a love of volunteering at a young age, starting with the Special Olympics. Mato noted her younger sister has special needs and that gave her the motivation to get involved. Once she did, she never wanted to stop. She’s also done her share of volunteering with Beta, Toys for Tots and food drives.
“I was about 11 or 12, and she was 8,” Mato said. “It just gave me a really good feeling about myself. You can go shopping, buy all the clothes in the world and have that kind of feeling that comes with that, or you can go out, serve someone else and have an even greater feeling for yourself.
“I love the way I can make the athletes of Special Olympics smile. I know all of their names, they know me, and we have such a great time. I love it so much.”
Each fall, her time in the pool ramped up as she was part of a successful Hahnville swimming program. While Mato was involved in gymnastics and softball growing up, among other sports, none stuck with her like swimming, which she said has been a special part of her life that’s always provided a positive atmosphere and camaraderie with others. With the Tigers, she was named team captain as a senior.
“There’s a really small community within swimming,” she said. “Everyone is friends with everyone and it’s filled with people who love the same things that I do.”
She added with a smile, “And, I was kinda good. I wasn’t the best person on my team (before high school) but I had success. I came onto the high school team and made the state team and we went from there.”
How did she fit it all in while keeping her grades high?
“It’s a lot of staying up late at night,” she said with a laugh. “That’s just how it is. A lot of nights, I don’t get back home until late, but I push myself and know I have that responsibility to get my schoolwork done. So the second I get home, I eat, do my homework … sometimes it’ll take until midnight, then I wake up at 5 the next morning.”
She said the sacrifice has been worth it.
“Hey, I’m young,” she said. “With scholarships and applying to college, I know all of my hard work paid off.”
She will be majoring in graphic design and minoring in business at Nicholls State. The minor in business, she said, comes with an eye cast toward different career options down the line. While her goal is to pursue a graphics design career, she has also had a longtime fascination with advertising.
“I was thinking, you can never go wrong with a minor in business,” she said. “You can go further into it with advertising. And ever since I was in the seventh grade, advertising was something I was really interested in. I’ll still pause the TV and say, ‘Hey, look, this commercial is so good!’ I still have that love for it, even with my leaning more toward graphic design.”
She has no plans to slow down once she gets to college.
“I love to go, go, go,” she said. “I’m going to try to balance it all, the schoolwork, working out, meeting new people in clubs and activities. It’s going to take a few weeks to figure out the ropes of the place. If anything, it’s even more opportunities to go out and do things.”
Be the first to comment