Q: How did you become interested in being on the Mountain Echo?
A: “Originally when I was choosing classes in ninth grade, I didn’t really plan on doing this kind of thing. I wasn’t sure what I was going for so I was trying different things. In tenth grade I got into Intro to Publications. Once I got through all of that, it started growing an interest on me, and I thought maybe I want to join something like this. What drew me to the Mountain Echo was that there were the editorial cartoonists. Since I am an artist and love to draw, that kind of interests me.”
Q: What other experiences in news writing have you had besides the Mountain Echo?
A: “Obviously Intro to Publications, that was kind of my first experience. So I haven’t had that much experience that I can remember. So the first time I actually touched on it was when I got into Intro to Publications and then moved on to the Mountain Echo.”
Q: What do you think makes a good form of news reporting?
A: “That’s a good question because I feel like there’s a bunch of different factors that go into it, especially depending on what you’re reporting on. News stories wise, you’ve got to have a lot of quotes/questions that are going to give you a good amount of information not just like a yes or no. I feel like you want to focus on a certain part depending on what you’re talking about. It’s important to be able to clearly communicate with people so that they can read and understand it.”
Q: What made you interested in doing set painting for drama?
A: “Like I said earlier, I am an artist and love doing art. Originally I wanted to audition for acting for Monty Python, because I saw clips of it, and I thought it would be interesting to try some acting. I was interested in set painting as sort of a backup if I didn’t get a role. Painting is not my strongest when it comes to art, so I wanted to learn more about how to paint.”
Q: What has been the hardest part of balancing the Mountain Echo, set painting for drama and the foreign language club?
A: “The hardest part is definitely the time management considering I have AP classes and honor classes. I have to sort out a time as to when I’m going to do certain assignments. I feel like for my AP classes I do those assignments first because you can’t get an extension on those. Then I work on honors, and then I have one academic class that is English, and I get that one done last. It really depends on what work I have and how I distribute it throughout the week.”
Q: Is there a certain reason that you were interested in joining the foreign language club or was it something you were just interested in?
A: “This year I took German, and every year there was always a Mifflinburg field trip. This year the FLC funded a lot of money and decided to pay for all of the buses. So you had to join the FLC in order to go on that German field trip. I didn’t get many field trips in middle school. But I’m also mindful of the work I have and how much time I have, so I have to distribute that within a certain way as well.”
Q: What parts of being on the Mountain Echo have been your favorites?
A: “I feel like my favorite part of being on the Mountain Echo is being able to make new friends and talk to new people. Gained the courage to not really be afraid to talk to new people because I used to be sort of the quiet kid in elementary and middle school, so I’ve opened up a bit more. But I also enjoy hearing what other people have to say about certain things, hearing their perspectives and being able to share it and see my work out there and having people read it.”
Q: Has there ever been any challenging parts of being on the Mountain Echo?
A: “Probably time management. I feel like that is the main thing that I struggle with for a lot of things because I have stayed up a lot multiple times. I feel like also meeting deadlines can be hard especially depending on the amount of interviews you have and when you can do it. Finding a good time or a good period to leave for a few minutes at least to interview somebody.”
Q: How did you get into drawing and what type of things are your favorite to draw?
A: “What got me into drawing is that one of my friends who I made in seventh grade drew. I saw one of her drawings in her notebook that she was doing. I thought they were really cool. I asked her can you teach me how to do this? That kind of sparked something within me to start drawing. I feel like sketching is definitely something that I’m probably best at. I’ll use original characters that I draw, and write out scripts as well. So my drawings are sort of not just drawings, but they’re used for something, or just made for fun, rather than just being made.”
