By Nina and Waley Lin

With Valentine’s Day coming up, we asked TPA students to tell us their favorite historical figure, author or literary character, and why.

James Atkinson, 6A: Lloyd Alexander is who I would choose. I like his writing because he is fluent. I like his series, The Chronicles of Prydain.

Mary Elias, 6B: I would choose Leo from The Lost Hero because he is good with machines and I think it would be cool to hang-out with him.

Emma Whalen, 7A: I would choose Finnick Odair from the Hunger Games because he charming, handsome, talented, and so chilled person.

Anna Moriarty, 7A: I would pick Augustus Waters from the novel The Fault in Our Stars as my Valentine because he is nice, charming, and understanding. He died from cancer, which made me feel sad so I feel like he would be really awesome and fun to hang- out with.

Lily Welter, 7A: I would choose Gale Hawthorne from the book The Hunger Games because he is good-looking, devoted and a really nice friend who is always there when you need him.

Anwar Seyed, 7B: I would choose Percy Jackson, because he is a Boss at fighting. Also he has water powers like a Boss.

Natasha Webb-Villegas, 8A: I would choose Peeta Mellark, a character from The Hunger Games. He is a nice person, and has a good heart.

Simon Ramos, 8A: I would choose Katniss Everdeen, a main character from The Hunger Games. She is strong and a cool woman. Fighting for her freedom and the people’s rights. Also I don’t agree with the person above me.

Dayvion Sumpter, 8C: My first choice is Aphrodite because she is beautiful. She is the goddess of love for Valentine’s Day. My second choice would be Waldo from Where’s Waldo? When I need him I could always find him.

Matthew Bergin, 10A: I would choose Harry Potter’s parents because they die very early in the book. I would like to spend time talking with them.

Hoda Seyed, 10B: I would choose Sydney Carton from A Tale of Two Cities, because my class likes him and because he is an undercover SUPERHERO!

Sophie Kniaz, 11A: I would choose Sherlock Holmes, because what better way to spend Valentine’s Day than solving crimes?

Nick Bellavia, 11B: I would choose Albert Einstein, because his hair makes me feel some type of way.

Connor Will, 11B: Bellatrix Lestrange from the novel Harry Potter because she’s just so intriguing.

Maddy Butler, 11C: I would choose Tobias Eaton from the novel Divergent. He is a strong, tough, adventurous, nice person.

Miles Serb, 12C: I choose Odysseus as my Valentine because he has glorious thighs and wipes out cities with one long whip of his marvelous leg hair.

Joel Simoneau,12C: Sabina from Alex Rider because she is British and a talented surfer, and brunette.

Hanley Carter, 12C: I would have to choose two Valentine maidens: The first would be lady Helen of Troy, because she the most beautiful woman on earth as seemed by the gods. Also that magic awesome fairy from Artemis Fowl because she kicks butts!

Teachers

Dr. Hickernell: I would choose Ada Lovelace because she was brilliant. She created computer language before computer was a reality.

Mr. Carlin: I would choose Dulcinea from Don Quixote because every gentleman needs to take his turn to serve for his serving wench.

Mr. Thurston: No historical character describes my wife because she’s unique. However if forced to choose I would choose Dolly Madison because she was the strength behind President Madison.

Mr. Veenstra: I would choose Penelope from The Odysseus because she is smart, clever, beautiful, and devoted no matter how awful Odysseus is.

Mr. Bernreuter: I would choose Mary Shelley, the author of Frankenstein because she seems pretty radical in her day. She was out there.

Mr. Halter: I would choose Boadicea, because she led a war for Celtic independence against the Romans. She is a great leader, beautiful, and she is a red-head.

Mrs. Vorst: I would choose Joe Gargery from Great Expectations because he is a kind, faithful husband to his wife even though she is a disrespectful wife. He cares for her when she was hurt from unfortunate circumstance.

Mr. Brittain: I would choose Alyosha Karamazov, a character from a great Russian novel called The Brothers Karamazov. He loves God and loves his brothers.

Ms. White: I would choose Claudius Caesar, the fourth emperor of Rome. He is an interesting and blunt man who expanded the Rome boarders. He let people underestimate him. He has to deal with a lot of his family members. I want to find out what he said in his writing since it never survived from the fire.

Mr. Kelly: I would choose Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who was an American social activist, abolitionist, and leading figure of the early women’s rights movement. She was a progressive thinker.