Hey there! I am a senior at President William McKinley High School and play flute in McKinley's band program. When I was a freshman, I was a reporter for my school newspaper, The Pinion, and helped design magazine-newspapers to distribute to the school every academic quarter. Despite not being a part of the newspaper staff for my remaining years of high school, I continue to work alongside the newspaper and literary magazine adviser as an editor for McKinley's lit mag, Ka Hana Kaulana (translated to The Celebrated Work in the Hawaiian language).
Marching and playing festive music in holiday parades for Christmas spirit!
I greatly appreciate my middle school band director for sparking my passion for music as well as the McKinley band and orchestra program for being my second family and second home. I also thank my junior year English teacher, newspaper adviser and lit mag adviser, Cynthia Reves, for working with and looking out for me throughout my four years of high school. Although I may not be as intellectually curious as my fellow tigers, I nod that ambition and diligence are my strongest traits because I strive to read as many books as Ms. Reves.
As someone who is not an avid reader but instead is a consistent procrastinator, my favorite book of all time is Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt. I first read this book in third grade solely because it was the only chapter book in my teacher's collection and every kid knows that chapter books are harder and, therefore, only for "smart" kids. Back then, I was ambitious to read Tuck Everlasting for the sake of gloating how fast I speedread. In fact, finished the book within a couple of weeks with zero comprehension. Now that I've actually took the time to understand and enjoy the book the summer before my senior year, something about the easy but compelling read and the nostalgia of seeing the cover of a girl petting a toad was alluring to a young reader such as myself.
Besides reading or playing an instrument, I enjoy spending time with family (particularly my feisty chihuahua!), playing video games, and binge-watching my childhood favorite TV-series, Just Add Magic, especially after school when my hunger for entertainment is stressed and diving into bed is heavenly. Even though I feel as if I'm incompetent to do things for others, I hope to give back to my community and, most importantly, my family.
ME OUTSIDE JOURNALISM
Some of McKinley's Health Academy students volunteering in a blood drive!
Playing pep-band tunes at McKinley's football games to support the team!