Samantha Cohen   Aside from the fact that he plays water polo, I knew little about junior Gerald Porter prior to our meeting at Starbucks, even though we have inhabited the same halls for years. My first words to him resembled “Want to go to Starbucks?” and he kindly agreed without hesitation. He even met me at 7:30 in the morning because we don’t share a free! What a gent. As we sat down I soon realized, as I anticipated, how great of a person he is! Thank goodness for this wacky column I write because I would have never been able to meet so many of my peers who are worth knowing. Gerald has been playing Water Polo since seventh grade on the middle school club team and has played ever since! He hopes to continue to play on some level when he goes to college. Maybe you could have guessed this by a water polo yearbook photo or an announcement he has made onstage. But Gerald Porter is more than just a water polo rockstar. Gerald is a lifer at Latin. His mother works in the middle school and he has a ten year old brother in the fifth grade. Maybe you knew this too?! Well did you know that Gerald lives in Glenwood, a suburb about forty minutes south of Latin? Perhaps you didn’t know Gerald attended a Cuban music concert last month or that he likes Ethiopian food? I’m always amazed at how much one can learn about someone by spending 25 minutes at Starbucks. Not only did I become aware of the fact that Gerald’s favorite movies include, Forest Gump, Good Fellas and Finding Forrester, and that he loves watching Scrubs on Netflix but I was also able to see how polite and charismatic he is. We discussed the woes of purchasing Lolla tickets, our appreciation for the Mexican Art Museum in Pilsen, and our affinity toward Atlanta. Gerald’s favorite memory at Latin thus far was his trip to Berlin on project week last year with the band and chorus. He reminisced and shared “It was my first time out of the country and it was a really cool city”. If he could live anywhere though he would probably live in Spain. “I’ve never been, but I love warm weather and it seems like a nice place to be” he said. I had an awesome time getting to know Gerald. When I asked him one thing he wants the Latin community to know about him, he explained that though he is a bit quiet and introverted at first, he is actually super outgoing and talkative once you get to know him! So do so! You will discover a great member of the Latin community and someone to eat Ethiopian with. Maybe you can grab Starbucks sometime!    ]]>