Seventh-grader does not let syndrome get her down

SALT LAKE CITY— Cathryn Hunt (13), a seventh-grader at Our Lady of Lourdes Elementary School, has just been elected the school’s student body president for the coming year.

Cathryn also knows her basketball, especially the Jazz. She wants to devise a way to get her classmates excited about coming to school next year, and she has lots of good ideas, including selling pins for Heifer International and choosing a student who will be "principal for a day," an honor Cathryn won a couple of years ago.

Cathryn has Prader-Willi Syndrome, a complex genetic disorder that typically causes low muscle tone, cognitive disabilities, problem behaviors, and a chronic feeling of hunger that can lead to excessive eating. She is the oldest child of Caryn and Richard Hunt, and school excites her.

"I love P.E. (physical education), soccer, and skiing," she said in an April 30 interview with the Intermountain Catholic. "This year I won some medals skiing at Park City. Last year I won a gold medal."

Cathryn also likes math class, and she hopes to play on Judge Memorial Catholic High School’s girls basketball team. She’s almost tall enough at 5’4". In April Cathryn was looking forward to the annual Prader-Willi walk, slated for May 17.

"I like the walk because people come out and support me. Even some people in my class come out for it."

One of her fondest memories was being tapped to play Jasmine in the Camp Kostopoulos production of "Alladin." "I liked it best when there was music and I could tell when it was my turn to sing," she said.

Cathryn has been a student at Our Lady of Lourdes School since the second grade when she transferred from Eastwood Elementary School. At that time, Sue Patillo, the school’s reading specialist took her under her wing, and before long Cathryn was reading and spelling like a pro.

"We didn’t know if Cathryn could come to this school," said her mother. "But the faculty and staff have gone above and beyond. Cathryn has done so well here, and we’re hoping we have the same success at Judge Memorial."

In order to be elected student body president, Cathryn had to make posters for the school walls and make a speech. At Lourdes, teachers and staff, as well as students, vote for student body president, and Cathryn has been thrilled to find out how many people voted for her.

"Cathryn continues to surprise us," said her mother. "Once something gets into her long-term memory, it’s there to stay."

"I’m learning to think before I do something," Cathryn said. "I want to know if doing something is going to get me in trouble. I need to know right from wrong."