Q: What is your role on the staff?
A: “I am Editor in Chief.”
Q: What got you involved in newswriting?
A: “I’ve always really liked writing all throughout elementary school and junior high. And in junior high, my seventh grade English teacher recommended that I join the newspaper. I was on Livewire in junior high, and then I came over to high school and took the Intro to Pub class my ninth grade year. Then I joined Mountain Echo.”
Q: What do you do to stay involved in school?
A: “I’m in Mountain Echo, I’m in SOAR, I’m in Upward Bound, I’m in National Honor Society, I’m in the Quill and Scroll Honor Society and I’m the Vice President of FBLA..”
Q: How do you manage school, sports, and working?
A: “I’m a very busy person. I have school every day, obviously, and I take four AP classes, and then Mountain Echo. It’s just busy all the time at school, and then I obviously have a lot of homework for my AP classes. So I go home and I’ll do my homework, and then I’ll have swim practice. Some nights I’ll work. Honestly, I’m just always on the go. I don’t like to not be busy.”
Q: Do you ever get overwhelmed and if so what do you do to help it?
A: “Yes definitely. Usually I try to take weekends off and take time for myself. It doesn’t always happen, but there’s an attempt to make time for myself. And when I do, I usually just lay in my bed, watch TV and hang out with friends, all stuff to relax.”
Q: What intrigued you to devote so much time into writing?
A: “Whenever I first joined this class, I really liked it. I saw that there are Associate Editors and an Editor in Chief, and I was like, ‘hey, I want to do that’. And then I became Associate Editor, and my workload got a little heavier. We talked about how my workload was going to expand a lot, and it definitely did. I decided to be in the News l class to help the new kids because they’re new and everything. And then News ll and lll classes combined. I want to be there to help them, because I know they know what they’re doing, but I still want to be there with them. And then I also do community service for her. During my community service period, I usually just work on Mountain Echo stuff, sit in my corner and do my thing.”
Q: Who was a role model for you in newswriting?
A: “Well in writing in general, I would say my fourth grade English teacher, Mrs. Crawford. I love that lady. She always encouraged me to write; I still keep in touch with her, I talked to her, and she always encouraged me. I remember her telling me whenever you write a book and finally publish it, make sure you sign my copy. She would say those things, and it was just really encouraging. In newswriting I would say, the Editor in Chief from last year, Lily Roberts, she’s been a big inspiration to me because I worked alongside her a lot, especially towards the end of the year, when she was training me to be Editor in Chief. We got really close, and she’s still one of my really good friends.”
Q: Do you think newswriting has helped you in other areas of your life?
A: “I think that it’s helped me become a better communicator, better leader, develop those kinds of skills, definitely. I also feel like I know a lot more about what’s happening inside the school. We’re always writing about different things. I feel like I’m just always aware of what’s going on, and I like just having that sense of involvement.”
Q: What is different with being Editor in Chief compared to a normal staff member?
A: “The workload is definitely a lot more. Because as a normal staff member, you’re just working on yourself, and as Editor in Chief. I’m working on all my own stuff, plus theirs. So, they all write their stories. I do everything they do, plus everything else. It was definitely a challenge to adjust to it all. I love it, but it’s definitely a change.”
Q: Do you think you will pursue writing after high school?
A: “I’m not going to major in English or anything. I want to be a nurse. That’s what I’m going to do. I want to do nursing. I want to join whatever university I go to, their newspaper. I would want to do that. Then, depending on what college I go to, I don’t know yet. I might think about minoring in photography or something, because I really like photography too. So I’ll definitely keep it in my life somehow, but it’s not really my main focus.”
