Alex Kontos

Twenty minutes into her meeting, Celebration High School senior Alexandra Kontos has already been shocked six times.Kontos has been writing possible mottos, catchphrases and acronyms for SPEAK, the organization she formed for her senior project, on the dry-erase board.Every time she approaches the board to write something down she gets a static shock.By the time she gets shocked a sixth time Kontos has to resort to nervously prodding the board with her finger before writing anything else on it.This becomes difficult as the group of 13 high school girls attending the meeting continue to offer motto suggestions that Kontos has to write down. Eventually she has to have a friend start to write down the suggestions in a notebook, but this causes problems too."Are you writing this down?"Kontos asks.SPEAK meeting at CHS"No, you have my pen!"the girl responds.Many of the girls, Kontos included, start laughing before Kontos prods the board again and writes down a suggestion.Despite the light-hearted banter and pleasant atmosphere of the meeting, the girls have all come to address a very serious subject.Kontos formed SPEAK as a method to promote student awareness about rape and sexual assault.Kontos decided to form SPEAK after surviving a rape attack last year.Prior to creating the group, Kontos started her senior project by doing research on rape and sexual assault.Her research led to a 15-page paper on rape and its misconceptions, which in turn led her to form SPEAK."It's important for kids to know about it," Kontos said."This isn't something that only happens on TV."Formed only recently, Kontos said that not many people took SPEAK seriously when it started.
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Kontos invited the Independent to attend the group's second meeting where about 13 girls sat at tables in the high school's chorus room and discussed possible methods of getting the group's message across.Other girls arrive during the meeting, usually in pairs.Primarily a method of keeping people informed, SPEAK has allowed Kontos to do what she feels to be tangible work and getting people involved on the subject.At the same time, it has helped her deal with her own experience."I'm surprised no one had thought of this before," Kontos said."It's just as important for high school students as it is for college students."The group has also allowed other people to come forward with their experiences.At the first SPEAK meeting Harms said about 20 people attended.Kontos added that she had asked if any of they or anyone they knew had been a victim.Out of the 20 people, only three did not raise their hands.Both Kontos and Harms have hopes that SPEAK will continue to serve as an information tool on rape and sexual assault even after Kontos graduates in May.
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"This will always be part of my life," Kontos said.
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Kontos welcomes all of the suggestions and encourages more from her audience, at least until she has to write something on the board.

Alex Kontos (in the black suit & hat) founder of Kontos Fruit Company in 1888 located on Morris Avenue in Downtown Birmingham, Alabama!

Kontos History

in 1888, Alex Kontos sold his first stalk of bananas, starting a tradition that is still instilled in the company three generations later.