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School's 'queen' has designs for her life
By LOGAN NEILL © St. Petersburg Times, published March 1, 2001 Leiko Munford has never thought she was all that extraordinary a student at Central High School. Sure, the petite, bubbly 18-year-old makes what she considers decent grades and is involved in several sports. And each day, the teenager, whose friends greet her by her nickname, Koko, strives to enrich her life with the joys of school. But when her fellow students overwhelmingly selected her to be homecoming queen last October, it was a thrill she never expected. "I was really stunned when they told me," she said. "I always thought that only really popular girls got (homecoming queen). I certainly didn't think it was going to be me." As surprised as she was to win the title, there was still more exciting news to come. Leiko was recently chosen to represent Hernando County at the 21st annual Florida Homecoming Queen competition next month. If she wins there, she will receive an all-expense paid trip to the national finals to compete for the honor of America's Homecoming Queen this summer. All of which takes the Brooksville teen back just a bit. The idea of competing for such an honor tends to interfere with her humble and self-effacing nature. "People who know me know I'm a plain person. I really don't go for that kind of stuff," she said. "To me, being homecoming queen at Central meant that people voted for you because they like you. That was enough for me. I don't know if being realistic is all that impressive to a bunch of judges." The competition isn't necessarily based on appearance. There is no talent contest and thankfully, Leiko said, no swimsuit competition. Rather, the criteria focuses more on things such as leadership, community service and career goals. In those areas, Leiko's credentials are impressive. She is vice president of her senior class, and is heavily involved in the school's Distributive Education Clubs of America group, a business-oriented organization that she says has given her insight toward her future desire to become an interior decorator. Throughout her years at Central, Leiko has distinguished herself as one of the school's top athletes in track (where she holds the post of team captain), weightlifting and golf. Outside school, she is also a star volunteer. Leiko often works alongside her mother JoAnn, who runs Hernando's JAM Community Outreach program, assisting the elderly and needy in Brooksville. In addition, she is a frequent volunteer at the SPCA. "I love working in the community," she said. "Helping people has always been instilled in me as something you do for yourself as well as the people who live around you." This fall, Leiko plans to enter the International Academy of Design in Tampa. Afterward, she hopes to return to Hernando County to open her own business, which somehow seems fitting to a young woman who has always taken pride in her independence. "I guess I've always pretty much been my own person," she said. "That's a good thing, really. You learn responsibility better. When good things happen, you can take pride in them. But when things are bad, you can't blame anyone but yourself. That's the way the world is." NAME: Leiko "Koko" Munford AGE: 18 SCHOOL: Central High PARENTS: Rick and JoAnn Munford FAVORITE SUBJECT: U.S. history HOBBIES: running
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From today's Hernando Times |
