Student spotlight: Streator High's Alina Johnson is on her way to a career helping the elderly

When, and if, Streator High School's drama club performs "The Beauty and the Beast," Alina Johnson will take the stage as Belle, the female lead.

The role has been a natural fit, because Alina sees much of herself in the character.

Similarly growing up in a small town, Belle is altruistic, Alina said. She's mindful of the people around her.

"She always wants more, she never settles," Alina added. " ... I can relate my life to Belle."

Alina has shown drive in both the career path she's blazing and her role in the high school band.

At 16, Alina started working as a dietary aid at Heritage Health in Streator. She said it opened her eyes to the many lessons she can learn from the elderly clients.

"They showed me how important family is, how important it is to keep people close to you. They taught me about family and friends and God," Alina said. "I've taken so much of that into my personal life."

Alina, a senior at Streator High School, wants to care for the elderly as a career.

She works half her school day as a certified nursing assistant through the high school's work program at Heritage Health. She plans on attending Illinois Valley Community College to get her registered nursing degree and she intends to graduate St. Francis University to become a nurse practitioner specializing in gerontology.

In her free time, she participates in the high school band. She served as drum major her sophomore and junior years.

As a drum major, she led the marching band during shows and performances. That involved arriving early and leaving late to prepare and set up practices. It also included working hours at home on conducting and preparing pieces.

"It was stressful, but I enjoyed it," Alina said. "The other band members looked at you to help them, or teach them their part."

Starting with oboe lessons in fourth grade and later joining choir, Alina said playing in the band and performing in front of people allowed her to develop confidence in herself.

Though she was an underclassmen, she interviewed to be drum major her freshman year. She was fortunate to lead the band in just her sophomore year and get that extra year of experience.

"It taught me a lot about leadership," said Alina, who plays the oboe this year in the Central Illinois Youth Symphony. "It taught me how to communicate with people in general, and that's something I can use at work, because there's a lot of collaboration with health care."

While Alina may not get a chance to perform as Belle in the school's musical due to the campus closure, she will continue to play the lead role throughout her life.

"I always want to do better," Alina said. " ... In the musical, Belle sings 'there must be more than this provincial life.' "