Senior Profile Big Talk Looks For New Challenges

Wolf Point High School senior Jayla Big Talk is one of the standouts for the school’s music department as she is involved in both the pep band and jazz band.

She has played the clarinet for the past four years in the pep band. A fun addition was the jazz band that was started just last year, and she plays the alto saxophone for that group.

“It’s pretty fun to do, and it’s a way to challenge me, which I like,” she said of jazz band.

A highlight came when the band, Northern Lightning, performed at the Elks Lodge near the end of summer.

“It was my first time performing a solo in front of people,” she explained. Big Talk is also looking forward to performing with the band for the Fireman’s Ball on Saturday, Nov. 8. In addition, she recently performed with the All Women’s Honored Band in Billings. The band was for females in grades 8-12.

Another interest for Big Talk is a sewing club that she is starting at the school. She hopes it will have its initial meeting in the next week or so.

“I wanted it to be a place for people like me to meet up and create a safe community,” Big Talk explained.

One idea is for the club to create blankets and donate them to the nursing home.

Big Talk is entering her third year competing in humorous oral interpretative for Wolf Point’s speech and drama program. One of her goals is qualifying for state this season.

Another activity is that Big Talk has been the reader at First Presbyterian Church for the past year. Her duties include reading scripture and prayers. She doesn’t get nervous about the responsibility. “I enjoy public speaking,” she said.

She has recently been elected to serve as the student representative for the Title VI committee.

In the classroom, her favorite subject is American government because she has always had an interest in history. Her favorite teacher is William Larson.

She has gone to classes in Wolf Point and Frontier since kindergarten. She enjoys seeing the differences between being on a reservation compared to a bigger city. “I think a smaller city will better suit me,” Big Talk said of where she might want to live in the future.

Big Talk has been accepted to attend Montana State University in Bozeman where she will study to become a history teacher.

Asked her goals for the rest of her senior year, Big Talk said, “Graduate is the number one goal and to also challenge myself, which I feel I’ve been doing well at.”