Gina Montalto

Gina Rose Montalto radiated positivity into the world, spreading joy to all those she met. Her selflessness, determination and compassion for everyone and everything made her the kindest soul her parents ever met and the nicest person to her friends.

“Gina’s greatest talent was brightening a room. She was always happy walking around with a big smile on her face,” Gina’s former babysitter Mary Hutchinson said.

Born on April 22, 2003, Gina’s spirit, full of optimism and kindness, will forever be ingrained in the minds of those she knew.

“She’s everything; she was nice and caring and selfless. She would do anything for anyone, whether she knew you or not,” freshman Julia Brighton said. “I remember the time there was a bug on the floor, and Gina stopped everything she was doing just to help it.”

Gina took an active role in life, spending most of her hours with others whether it be family, friends or any of her various organizations.

Gina’s altruism was reflected by her participation in Girl Scouts, the Friendship Initiative, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s Interact Club and her youth group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church. Gina found pleasure and reward in volunteering her time to the community and wildlife. Her positive attitude spread excitement to all those she worked with, encouraging everyone to participate with a smile on their faces.

Gina began her involvement with the Girl Scouts of the United States of America organization as a Daisy. Gina’s troop, Troop 10581, was one of the few local troops that provided its girls with the opportunity to earn a Gold Award, the highest level of achievement for a Girl Scout that is awarded to members who demonstrate strong leadership and service. Gina hoped to earn this award, but had yet to meet all of the requirements.

One of Gina’s favorite activities was selling Girl Scout cookies. This year in high school especially, she thoroughly enjoyed the experience, as she could walk down the halls of the school and sell dozens each day, meeting new peers and showing off her membership.

Apart from her love of Girl Scout cookies, Gina travelled often with her troop on camping trips. She travelled to Savannah, Georgia and Orlando, Florida with her troop and loved spending time with the friends she made there. Gina was also particularly close with Phyllis Bejune, her troop leader who guided her on the path to earn her so desired Gold Award and to become a leader.

“Gina was a great Girl Scout; she was a leader for the younger ones and friend to girls her age. She was willing to learn new things, so that she was able to teach other girls these skills,” Bejune said. “Gina was a part of the Leadership Institute, which is only for older Girl Scouts. She took her role of historian last year very seriously and was excited to be the secretary this year.”

Gina often camped with her Girl Scouts as well; surrounded by nature, she learned about the necessity to preserve the life around her and how to do it. Gina’s friends noted her affection towards all animals, especially dogs.

After finishing her religious education classes, Gina joined her church’s youth group where she made friends and contributed to the community. Gina held her faith dear to her heart, always thanking God for the blessed life she lived. Gina was a parishioner at Mary Help of Christians Catholic Church, but attended religious education classes and youth group at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church.

When she had some down time from her many activities and academics, Gina engaged in the common practice of “binge watching” television shows. She had nearly caught up to the current season of “Grey’s Anatomy,” a show with 14 seasons. Gina also enjoyed “Supernatural,” identifying with Castiel, the Lord of the Angels in the series who had handsome looks and an honorable and heroic personality.

As an avid reader and huge fan of “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson,” Gina was enamored with the stories of characters who displayed empathy, passion and bravery through their adventures. One of Gina’s favorite quotes from author Rick Riordan was “I’m not choosing one of your paths. I’m making my own.”

Gina also dabbled in skiing, surfboarding, snorkeling and other recreational sports, such as tennis, flag football and soccer.

As people remember Gina for her various character traits, one commonality has been the radiance of her infectious smile. Her grin would spread from ear to ear and brighten the moods of everyone who witnessed it.

Gina lived vibrantly with her heart on her sleeve each day. Her free spirit had no regard for the judgement of others, as she fully embraced her quirkiness and uniqueness to display to the world.

“She would wear whatever she thought was awesome; she’d wear something from the 1950s, and she wouldn’t even care [what others thought],” Brighton said.

Gina’s uniqueness and compassion made her a fun-loving spirit with all those she met.

“Everything she did had to have some sort of flare to it,” Brighton said. “She wouldn’t just have a white poster with words on it; she would have a bright pink poster with hearts on it and flowers and lime green,” Brighton said.

In addition to her caring and quirky personality, Gina excelled academically. She was enrolled in honors classes and maintained high marks while also participating in many extracurricular activities.

“She was beautiful, bright, articulate and an all-round fabulous student. When no one else raised their hand, she would,” geometry teacher Zipora Lazarus said. “The world lost an amazing young lady.” Gina took pride in her grades and achievements, but never failed to ensure that her humility shined through, never bragging or gloating to others. Also, Gina, caring and selfless, would never shy from helping a friend when they were in need.

“She was very good at math, and I was always asking for her help because she was better than I was or will ever be,” sophomore Lauren Garnecki said.

At school, she participated in color guard and the art program. Since joining Westglades’ JV color guard in eighth grade, Gina had adored the program. She continued with it into high school and found herself committing three days a week toward competition practice in the Eagle Regiment.

Color guard pushed Gina to think competitively, exemplified by her fierce determination and extensive, selfmotivated practice when she struggled with the J toss, a move in color guard that twists a flag around in a J-shaped motion. While bettering her own skills, Gina spread her tenacity for success to her fellow color guard teammates, encouraging them to never give up and keep practicing.

Opposed to quitting like many people would, Gina constantly worked on the J toss, eventually completing the toss for the state competition. Her hard work paid off when the Eagle Regiment won first place overall, an award in which they placed second in previous years.

Art was Gina’s favorite subject since elementary school when she began doodling and coloring. Since then, Gina had always taken the class in school. During her freshman year, Gina took 2D Studio Art I with Lauren Rosa, and previously she had drawn for a former local magazine called Spotlight Families as well, sharing her gift to the public.

Spotlight Families will be releasing a special edition as a tribute to Gina and the other 16 victims.

As busy as Gina was, she always had time to spend with her family. Whether it be annually cooking on St. Patrick’s Day, spending time with her many Florida relatives every week or travelling on vacations with neighborhood friends. Gina always made memories with her family and cherished their time together.

Her family visited numerous places in the United States and Mexico over the years, and Gina most recently proposed taking a trip to Europe to which her parents agreed.

“She didn’t want a big party; she just wanted to go to Paris for her 16th birthday,” Gina’s mother Jennifer Montalto said.

Her mother will never forget the time when Gina was so excited to ride a mechanical bull that she leaped so high to get on the saddle that she landed right on the other side of the bull. Everyone started laughing hysterically, especially Gina.

Gina was also close with her younger brother, Anthony Montalto. The pair never fought and got along effortlessly as siblings and friends.

“He was not ready to be an only child,” Jennifer Montalto said. “He thought that that would happen when she left for college.”

Gina will remain in the hearts of her family and everyone who she met. Her smile will be ingrained in their minds and her love and encouragement in their actions, as the world moves forward without her presence.

Story by Suzanna Barna; photos courtsey of Scott Edgar, Lauren Garnecki, Jennifer Montalto and Phyllis Bejune