He didn’t walk into high school expecting to join the Mountain Echo, but one year taking the Introduction to Publications (Intro to Pub) class changed everything. As a first-year member of The Mountain Echo, Diego Gil has found his passion for writing, soccer.
Q: What got you interested in doing Mountain Echo ?
A: “When I entered high school, I really didn’t think about doing it at all. Then they gave me the Intro to Pub class, and I enjoyed it because I thought the atmosphere was good. I enjoyed all of the aspects of newswriting. So by the end of the year, I knew I wanted to do either the Mountain Echo or yearbook.”
Q: What does a normal day look like for you?
A: “I wake up and I have maybe five to 10 minutes to get ready for school. I’m tired. I rush to school. Then I go through my classes, APS, history, English, civics, whatever. I go through my classes. I get home. If it’s during the soccer season, I either have practice at night or a game, so normally I have to spend the few hours between school and my activity to get my homework done. Then normally I get home, still have to do homework, stay up late, finish that.”
Q: What’s your greatest accomplishment?
A: “My greatest accomplishment, wow. I mean, I feel like there’s not one specific thing that I think of as the best thing I’ve done. Obviously, I have won awards. I have enjoyed performing in competitions. I did Mathcounts, [which are] math competitions, and I won first place in seventh and eighth grade. I was pretty proud of it at the time, but there’s not one specific thing that I think is better than everything else. There’s definitely things that I think I’m very proud of, different competitions, aspects of my life, but right now, there’s not one thing. “
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: “I should be around 21. I will probably be in college. Hopefully, I get into a good college, and hopefully I have my time management down, so I actually have a social life in college. I think that’s basically my plan until I graduate. Just work hard and try to get a good job afterwards.”
Q: What do you think your greatest strength is?
A: “I would have to say my greatest strength is my ability to just pick things up quickly. I don’t need a super long amount of time to learn something normally, if it’s something I’m strong in, like math or something, I’m able to learn it once I see it and I do it a few times. I’m quick on my feet. I’m able to adapt easily.”
Q: What do you do in your free time?
A: “In my free time right now, in the middle of the soccer season, most of my free time is just spent resting, taking naps and watching YouTube. But normally, when I’m not so busy, I enjoy hanging out with friends, obviously, watching TV and playing games. I like playing soccer, just recreationally.”
Q: What interests you in playing soccer?
A: “When I was little, I wanted nothing to do with sports. All through elementary school, I remember my friend kept trying to get me into soccer. I said no. Then it was 2022, the World Cup, and my dad obviously somewhat followed soccer, so he just had it on. And I got really interested in it, and I started seeing it on YouTube, different clips of soccer players. So then I started. I dug up a soccer ball from my garage, and I started playing a little bit. My interest just grew and grew as I learned more about the sport. Then, I played my eighth grade year in middle school, and as I played with the team, I continued watching soccer and learning more about it. Then I became really, really interested in it, until this year. Now I would say I’m heavily invested in professional soccer, and so I’m really into the sport now.”
Q: What do you most look forward to doing this school year?
A: “I look most forward to what I’m doing in the spring with my clubs. I think last year I wasn’t the happiest with how I performed with things like mock trial or Junior Academy of Science, and this year I’m excited to really put myself into it again. Now that I have my time management more under control, and I’m more locked in than last year, I’m excited to hopefully do well on the mock trial team, and not stutter in front of the judge again. I hope to get good results in Junior Academy of Science, and I just want to be able to perform with all my different friends, in my clubs in school, socially, I hope to be able to do.”
Q: What do you like most about being on the Mountain Echo?
A: “How much freedom it gives me. Instead of the normal structured class lessons and assignments, I’m able to just do my own thing and work in the way that works best for me. I think that definitely takes a ton of stress off of my shoulders.”
Q: Who do you look up to in soccer?
A: “Of course in soccer I like watching professionals and learning from how they play. Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Haaland. But I’d say in terms of the soccer team, I look up to my friend Eli just because he does such a good job managing his time. We both have the same classes, so it always impresses me how he’s able to prioritize his time and get work done early.”
