By Kyle Coppola
Lake Minneola High School Junior Shines Bright as a Leader
Ivy Valenta
Make Minneola High School cheerleader Ivy Valenta’s passion for cheer is evident, but her involvement in various activities and exceptional academic performance sets her apart.
“I was a competitive gymnast for 12 years,” the enthusiastic junior says. “As much as I loved it, I wanted to enjoy high school and it was hard to do that with the rigorous amount of time spent in the gym. I decided to try cheer and other sports like softball and soccer. I absolutely fell in love with all of them.”
With a 4.6 weighted GPA, Ivy ranks among the smartest students in Lake County. She loves math and says she appreciates the opportunity to dual enroll in Lake Sumter State College. After high school, Ivy wants to attend a university to study sports media and sports broadcasting.
“I have a passion for sports, and I watch as many games as I can to gain as much knowledge as possible,” she says.
Ivy credits her parents, Angel and Tom Valenta, for many of her leadership qualities.
“My mom inspires me to be a great individual and stay true to myself,” she says. “My dad was a local youth director, and I learned to put my faith in Jesus at a young age.”
“My parents mean everything to me. They have always taught me to stick to my morals. That has allowed me to carry my faith through high school.”
Leadership qualities run deep in the Valenta family — Ivy is the leader of Lake Minneola High’s Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) chapter.
“My role model is Jesus,” she says. “I stand by my faith and treat everyone with kindness. Most importantly, I always find a reason to smile and be the best I can be every day.”
Having dealt with various coaches in gymnastics and high school sports, Ivy has gained a deep appreciation for good coaching.
“I have seen the ups and downs of how people are treated. I have experienced how I would treat people and how I would not treat people,” she says. “Being involved with so much has given me a deeper appreciation for the value of surrounding yourself with good people.”
Ivy, eyes shining bright with anticipation for the 2024-’25 school year, offers this piece of advice to younger students: “The road is going to get difficult, but no matter what, stay true to yourself and surround yourself with people who make you a better person.”
In addition to her FCA duties, Ivy serves as president of Lake Minneola High’s Varsity Club. They plan activities for incoming freshmen and organize school spirit days, pep rallies and more.
“Those leadership skills benefit so many students at Lake Minneola High, including myself,” says Ivy, a kindhearted and selfless individual and model student with a seemingly bright future.
“I love being a Hawk,” she adds.
Photos: Nicole Hamel
Kyle Coppola was born in Newton, Massachusetts and received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Communications from Curry College in 2016. After traveling to Florida on a family vacation, he decided he could not get enough of the warm weather and made the move from snowy Massachusetts to central Florida 8 years ago.
For the last decade Kyle has gained valuable experience in social media content creation, marketing and sales, writing, video production, sports announcing and even broadcasting for local radio stations, such as FM 102.9 in The Villages and FM 91.5 in Massachusetts. Every year he volunteers at The Villages Charter High School as a play-by-play sports announcer for the football games as well as a public address announcer for the basketball games, including the annual Battle at The Villages Tournament.
Outside the office Kyle is a husband and father to two beautiful girls along with their cat. In his spare time he likes to spend time with his family, travel, play golf and swim. He is also a huge sports junkie and even bigger motorsports fan and loves to attend racing events when he can.
