As Elizabeth Allen looked up at the highschoolers presenting their message to her she knew immediately that she wanted to be just like them when she grew up. Elizabeth Allen, a member of the Knights of the Round Table said “I remember being that little girl in elementary school and seeing these kids come to my school and being like wow I want to be just like them.” Children look toward their parents or older siblings for role models but at San Marcos High School the role models on campus are The Knights of the Round Table. The message the Knights of the Round Table hope to give to younger students is to live a drug and alcohol free lifestyle in order to achieve academic excellence.
Becoming a KORT is not an easy feat, which is why it is such a respected program. In order to secure a seat at the round table, knights must craft an essay on why they want to be a KORT, and from there, 50 applicants will be selected to do an interview with admin and teachers. Last year over 200 applications were sent in and only 20 people became KORT.
What exactly are the Knights of the Round Table? KORT are student-athletes or members of school organizations who were able to balance grades and sports at the same time. Assistant Principal John Livingston who has been overseeing KORT for the past year says “the key thing is balancing academics with athletics or whatever additional activities…is time management and getting your work in because it is student-athlete not athlete student.”
In order to apply to KORT students must have a GPA of 2.5 or higher and be in some sort of sport or organization. This is why balancing the two is so important in order to become a KORT. Allen explains what helped her get in, “Over the last four years I have been playing a sport. I have been in softball for the last four years at this school and also I have just been maintaining good grades in the classroom and good time management to show that I can be a student athlete on campus.”
The Knights at the Round Table travel to different elementary schools to speak about clean living and how to maintain the title of student athlete. Taylor Nielsen, a member of the Knights of the Round Table, explains why speaking to these kids is so necessary, “I think it really helps kids at a young age to know it’s ok to accept peer pressure but to also live by your values so when they hear it from us older students they really value it unlike learning it from their parents or teachers. They get super excited when they see it so when we say our mission statement they actually listen and it sticks in their head for the next four years.”
While they are at the schools, KORT also gives the kids trading cards of themselves that they sign and interact with the kids to make the moment really special. Livingston explains how many of the KORT members actually were impacted as a young kid by pass KORT members which inspired them to become one today, “many of these individuals that became knights of the round table aspired since they were in elementary school when the knights would come and see them and they never forgot that.”
The Knights of the Round Table really are some of the most important role models on this campus. They encourage students from a young age to lead a clean lifestyle, staying away from drugs, alcohol and other cases of peer pressure, being involved on campus, and prioritizing education. Their hard work is inspiring not only to young kids but to students all across this campus as they set the standard of a well rounded individual.
