This hunting enthusiast and hockey veteran with a quiet demeanor is more than meets the eye.

Junior Kosta Hionis grows a twinkle in his eye and excitement in his voice when he starts talking about hunting.

He was thinking of an experience where he hunted a bear when he was 11 years old, using dogs and a shotgun.

“You think they’re big, but when they walk up to you in a tree, you see they are huge,” he said.

Hionis first starting hunting at the young age of six with his dad when he used a simple blank firing gun. As he grew older, he advanced with the time.

“When I was ten I went to New Jersey to get my hunting license there. That’s where I did most of my hunting,” he said. “When I was 12, I went to Pa. and got my hunting license there.”

As a fellow hunter himself, Hionis’ father also knows how to taxidermy. According to Hionis, there are about 94 stuffed animal heads held in the trophy room of his house.

Hunting is a truly enjoyable experience for Hionis. He gets a lot out of his time on the prowl. Most of this fun comes from the new perspective it offers him and the fresh scene before him.

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“ To be your own person and really just be this unique comfortable person and that you are comfortable with others. I think that’s a great thing for his future. Knowing who you are when you are 17 is an amazing thing. I would say that about Kosta.”

-Ms. MaryKate Fisher

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“It is fun. But the one thing I think you really enjoy about it is when you’re just sitting in a tree or something like that you take everything in. You kind of look for animals and you see squirrels and things like that. You see birds. It’s pretty cool. You see things you don’t get to see a lot,” he said.

Hionis hopes to take hunting with him as he grows and keep enjoying it. “Hunting, that’s a lifelong thing. You can do it for the rest of your life,” he said.

Another activity that Hionis has been involved in for a long time is hockey. He started playing in sixth grade and has been a part of Malvern’s team ever since and even had the honor of being a captain this year. He got the idea to play during his elementary school gym class.

“At my old school, they had a rink there. So we learned to skate during gym class in the winter. I got to Malvern and realized that I was pretty terrible at basketball. So I thought I would play hockey,” he said.  

This year’s hockey season was a series of highs and lows according to Hionis.

“We played our first game against LaSalle. We hadn’t beat them in at least three years before that, and we smoked them… We beat them at their own rink which was pretty unheard of. It was a huge morale booster,” he said. “Then we lost to Downingtown West the next game in an overtime game. That was rough… We did get to the playoffs. We mercy-ruled Father Judge. Then, Prep came down to the wire and they pulled ahead of us. They were pretty good. They were better than us. We will get them next year.”

His fellow hockey teammate Ryan Sambuco ’21 was happy to have him on the team this year.

“It was a good team we had this year. I thought he was pretty good with the team. He had a good year… He helped us have good moral support,” Sambuco said.

Sambuco has also gotten to learn more about Kosta as they practiced together this year.

“In practices, I’ve gotten to know him better. How hard he works. He’s a very coachable kid. He follows all of what the coach does… As a senior he could be a great captain,” he said.

Hionis is in the middle of almost finishing up his junior year. He gave some general advice for those who aren’t in their junior year year yet.

“It’s tough. It’s a big jump from sophomore year… For junior year, it’s hard. Don’t underestimate it or you will get behind. It can come back to bite you,” Hionis said.

Hionis in particular feels that way about Mr. Richard Roper’s Honors British Literature class.

“It’s a great time. It’s hard. There is so much busywork. But once you get through that, he makes the class so enjoyable,” he said.

He is also in Ms. MaryKate Fisher’s AP Environmental class. Fisher loves having Hionis as her student and has had a very pleasant year with him in the class.

“I will tell you that in the beginning of the year. You always try to gauge the kids. I thought he was going to be quiet. But no, he always participates. And I really like it. I like the things that he says and the questions that he asks me,” she said. “And he is great at working with other people. He is always willing to work with anyone who needs a lab partner.”

She genuinely likes him a lot as a person and thinks he is walking a good path right now.

“I think he’s a really unique person. For me, I think that’s an amazing thing. Especially at [his] age. To be your own person and really just be this unique comfortable person and that you are comfortable with others. I think that’s a great thing for his future. Knowing who you are when you are 17 is an amazing thing. I would say that about Kosta,” she said.