On June 10, 2022, Alex Le will complete his junior year at Como with the No. 1 academic ranking in his class. Two days later, Le began training at the U.S. Naval Summer Flight Academy.
Le earned a full-ride $25,000 scholarship to the challenging program held at Delaware State University. Beyond the classroom, his academy training will include over 15 hours of solo flights. When Le starts his senior year at Como, he will already have a private pilot’s license from the Federal Aviation Administration.
WCCO-TV News recently did a feature story on Le and his extraordinary accomplishments. Le shared that he’s excited for the opportunity, but also a little nervous about solo flights.
He’s been studying flight manuals and mentally preparing for the adventure. It’s a unique chance to propel his career path before even taking on his senior year of coursework at Como.
Le says that he’ll be applying to the Air Force Academy and has dreams of being an aerospace engineer for NASA or Boeing.
Concert season
The Como choirs performed an outdoor concert at the Como Lake Pavilion on Tuesday, May 24. Choir director Siri Keller wanted the spring concert to embrace spring in the neighborhood. Beyond families and friends, the free concert attracted a wider audience from the community.
Members of the Como Band, under the direction of Dr. Philip Fried, presented a concert in the school auditorium on Thursday, May 26. Attendees were treated to popular music that included selection from musicals such as Les Misérables and films including Star Wars.
St. Paul badminton stars shine
St. Paul girls’ badminton teams traditionally dominate the rest of the state’s competition and this year was no exception with Johnson, Washington and Highland all reaching the state tournament’s final four.
Como’s team has reached that stage several times over the years. While that didn’t happen this season, the Cougars’ No. 1 singles player and senior captain Pa Nra Lee earned the third place medal in the individual tournament.
Retiring teachers
Abdomohammed Karimi began teaching science and math to Como students in the fall of 1985. In total, he spent 39 years teaching in St. Paul Public Schools.
Karimi was an instructor of AP physics for most of his career at Como and was known for his enthusiastic greetings and welcoming classroom environment.
“My years of teaching have been filled with utter enjoyment as many familial relationships were formed,” Karimi said.
Suzanne Susens started her career at Como in the fall of 1994 as a French language teacher. With dual licensure as an instructor of English Learners (EL) she began teaching EL classes in addition to French, and switched to teach EL full-time in 2012.
“Como has been a family for me,” Susens said.
“The students and my colleagues have shaped the person I have become. They’ve made me wiser, kinder and more empathetic – in short, a better citizen of the world.”
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