A 12-year-old Eastside student is preparing for the opportunity of a lifetime as she gets ready to represent the United States at the 2026 World Karate Championship in Romania.
Alaina VonMenke will travel to Romania at the end of July to compete after training in karate for the past four years.
“You have to be determined. You have to give it your all. It also does require sacrifice, so you can miss like birthday parties and stuff like that because of training,” VonMenke explains.
She said she first became interested in karate after seeing the Nihon Karate School on the Eastside. Before that, she danced…