A junior at Merion Mercy Academy, Emily Kallmeyer is a ministry team core team member, whom Sister Mandy Carrier describes as “an excellent leader who often takes charge, organizes the group, and keeps people motivated. She steps up to serve whenever volunteers are needed.” Kallmeyer also is a Student Leader of Mercy Mission Corps, Merion’s service club, where she organizes and leads events involving serving in our school community and communities in need. She is a member of the National Honor Society and Social Studies Honor Society, a Student ambassador for Blue Key Society, a member of MMA’s environmental club as well as the student newspaper, and runs her own business, Emily’s Cake Pops. A member of the MMA rowing team for three years, she spent last summer at a competitive rowing camp.
Main Line Media News: What are your goals as a member of the core team of leaders within Merion Mercy’s Ministry Team?
Emily Kallmeyer: As a member of the Core Team overseeing Merion Mercy’s Ministry Team, I work to make sure any ministry member who wants to volunteer to read, to plan a special part of a retreat, or to be a leader in home group meetings gets the chance to. Another goal I have for this school year is to make the events and masses that the Ministry Team plans engaging for the student body. The ministry juniors have been working hard to plan our junior retreat and ring Mass. My goal for this retreat especially is to make it a memorable and special experience for the junior class as we transition to receiving our class rings and become more engrained into the Merion “Sisterhood.”
Main Line Media News: Tell us a little about the goals of Merion Mercy’s environmental club and some of its most interesting activities.
Emily Kallmeyer: The environmental club is one of my favorite clubs at Merion Mercy, as our wonderful leaders and moderator work hard to brainstorm small but mighty ways to help the environment in our school community. One ongoing project the club has been working on throughout the school year is creating EcoBricks, plastic water bottles filled with recycled plastic that can be compacted and used as building blocks. We have multiple bins filled with these EcoBricks, and at the end of the year we will donate them to an organization who will use the EcoBricks in building homes. A service project I’ve planned and is approaching in April is what I’ve named “Service and Sunshine,” where a group of Merion Mercy students will go out into a park in the area and pick up trash in the community then take a short hike together and talk about our impact on the environment.
Main Line Media News: What is the most rewarding aspect of running Emily’s Cake Pops? What is the biggest challenge you face in running that business and how have you met that challenge?
Emily Kallmeyer: When I was younger, I watched my mom make cake pops for friends’ birthdays and family parties, and by the seventh grade my Mom passed them down to me and suggested I make a business out of it. Now, the most rewarding part of running my cake pop business is getting the chance to be a part of people’s special moments and celebrations. I also feel accomplished and proud of the work I present after completing an order, which is a feeling like no other. The most challenging part of running my business is juggling school, extracurriculars, crew, and cake pops. However, throughout the years of balancing cake pops with other factors, I have improved in time management greatly.
Main Line Media News: What has been your most interesting experience as a member of the Mercy Mission Corps?
Emily Kallmeyer: My favorite experience is our annual tradition of making pop up turkey cards for the Sisters of Mercy. For the past two Novembers, Mercy Mission Corps meets multiple times a month and a majority of our members come together to make close to 80 handmade cards with notes inside to brighten up our Mercy Sisters’ Thanksgiving season. Sometimes, a Merion student even gets the pleasure of a Sister of Mercy sending a handwritten note back to them!
Main Line Media News: What is your favorite book, and why?
Emily Kallmeyer: My favorite book is Boys in the Boat, by Daniel James Brown. Boys in the Boat centers on the University of Washington’s rowing team in the 1930s, and a specific group of 9 men who overcame personal and team problems and raced in the 1936 Berlin Olympics and won in the Men’s 8+ category. I loved reading this book because it inspired me to keep working hard in the sport of rowing even when it becomes difficult, and reminds me that even the fastest and most accomplished rowers also face struggles.
Main Line Media News: You spent last summer at Ready Set Row, an all-girls competitive racing camp that was based out of the Washington College campus. What was your most interesting experience at the camp?
Emily Kallmeyer: My most memorable experience here was being teammates with girls from across the country, who attend different schools, and row for separate clubs. While the camp was only a month long, I was able to create strong bonds that have lasted after camp ended. Another aspect of camp was the strong female empowerment I experienced from being around all girls and being coached by a completely female coaching staff, as well as the mental skills we learned in classroom sessions and later applied while practicing.
(To be selected as Main Line Student of the Week, a student must first be nominated by his or her school.)
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