Liberty High: Senior displays determination

Summarizing the achievements of Janell Kjack, a graduating senior at Liberty High School, her mother has only one word: “Amazing.”

Janell was diagnosed with dyslexia in second grade after falling behind her peers in reading. Her parents sent her to what later became Meadowbrook Educational Services and put her through an intense one-week class, where the instructor worked closely with her on connecting symbols with words.

Then Janell went back to school, joining her peers in regular classes. Through determination and perseverance and the help of her teachers and parents, she has achieved a grade-point average of 3.0 to 3.4.

“Janell has worked so hard,” her mother, Kay, says. “There were times in the earlier years when I was helping her with homework, and if there were 20 questions, I would give her 10 and said that was enough for her. But she would say no. She insisted on doing all of it.”

Long ago, Janell Kjack saw the importance of hard work.

“I realized when I was very young that if I did not work very hard, I would have a harder time later in life,” she says.

Every night since junior high, she has spent hours on homework, not quitting until everything was done.

When Kjack entered high school, she decided she didn’t need the special services from school anymore – she was going to make it on her own even if that meant extra work.

Her positive attitude has left a big impression on her father, Karl. “It is this attitude that has carried her this far,” he says.

Janell grew up on a farm and has a natural love of, and ease with, farm animals. She has been involved in 4-H since third grade and is active in Future Farmers of America, showing pigs, sheep and cows. Recently, at the Junior Livestock Show in Spokane, she won a second-place purple ribbon in steers for quality and a blue ribbon in fitting and showing.

She also serves as a judge at local animal shows.

Her passion for animals has led her to pursue a career in animal care. Kjack has been admitted by Apollo College in Spokane, where she will start an 11-month intensive training program in August to become a veterinary assistant.

Kjack also is an avid hunter and fishes regularly with her father and sister. Last fall, she bagged her first elk with a muzzleloader – something not too common today, especially among young women.

Kjack’s parents note that it has taken their daughter a lot more effort to achieve what she has, especially academically, because of the learning adversity she faces. Her determination, hard work and positive attitude have made Janell Kjack who she is today.

“Without them, we would have flunked from the second grade on,” her mother says.