Us

Us [R&B] WINTER 2022

Hey,

Lets take a moment to dicuss the purpose of this magazine. We don’t spend all this time writing, designing, having photoshoots and dealing with printing issues just to do it. There’s an intention in our dedication. And that is to tell the stories of now. As we get older, we’re starting to notice how often we are grouped in with the people that surround us when we should be seen as the individuals we are.

Staff EDITORS-IN-CHIEF

Asher Montgomery Carolina Tortorelli

WEB EDITOR

Isla Riddell

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER

Tammy Nguyen

PAGE EDITORS

Melanie Columbie, Jaden Mancini, Morissey Montgomery, Mathew Moreno, Mercy Ogunsola, Elisabella Pease, Isolde Rayman-Moore, Kaylee Robinson, Joscelyn Rodriguez, Lia Rojas, Josephine Smith

STAFF WRITERS

Victoria Bile, Dylan Cantrell, Trayvon Hightower, Shyam Patel, Rohit Ramaswamy, Diego Rodriguez, Haylee Tyler, Jack Wilkins, Jamiah Wright, Meredith Yen

stories about individuals: Collectors, creators, athletes, and artists. But you’ll reason we do the things that we do, the inner workings of how we function, what we are like. What motivates and inspires Us. Our photography this year, we hope, grounds, we were able to have fun with the shoots, focusing on what makes each person tick. The hobby, accomplishment, experience or struggle we focus on is only a vessel in which we share the stories of Us. looking at the photos, looking for your friends or a recognizable face, or a title that peaks your interest, we ask that you don’t skip the stories You’ll be suprised at what you can seems so different.

As always, happy reading!

Visit hhstoday.com for more stories, photos and creations 2

The Red and Black Winter 2022

PHOTOGRAPHERS

ADVISER

Ralyn Dye, Jaden Mancini, Mathew Moreno, Tammy Nguyen Sierra Kruse

ABOUT THE COVER

The collage of photos represents a collective picture of Us, using a compilation of portraits taken

by Tammy Nguyen and Mathew Moreno over a few days in the back of 506. This project was inspired by projects we did as children, clipping up old magazines in order to make something new and interesting.

PICTURED: ELISHA BROWN, MALACIA WATTS, DANNESHA GRADY, HENRY AVILLA, CASSIAH EVANS, JAUNI FRANKLIN, ZARIA BETSEY, JOSE VILLANUEVA, KAITLYN BAZAN, AUDREY DIAMBROSE, TORI DAWKINS, LAYLA HINES, CHRISTIAN JOHNSON, YULEIDY MONRROY, MORISSEY MONTGOMERY, OLIVIA BARBER, CATALENA PALOMINO, JADEN MANCINI, GIANNA SETTIMI, KAYLEE ROBINSON. COVER ART BY ASHER MONTGOMERY

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Aaron Roche Miki Kimura Gianluca Strazzulo Jamie Key Tianna Mallory Caleb Pierce Bryan Rodriguez Chailin De La Torre Anonymous Krishna Kothiya Catalena Palomino Dominic Reaves Elizabeth Burke Milena Serrano Jazmyn Wajd Janice Harvey Vogt Stefanie Zimmerman Brian Ginn Anavut Synakorn Ethan Casillas Itai Aarons Fatima Al Ziyad Keeley Seymour Danielle Castro Rebekah Diaz Annslee Maloy Rutwa Shah Oksanna Smith Ashley Mejia 3

COMIC BOOK COLLECTOR

For junior Aaron Roche, reading is a process. It starts with choosing one comic from the thousands he has in sleeves on shelves in his bedroom. He puts on gloves to protect his choice from the oils on his hands. From there he can take it out of its sleeve and begin to read.

“I read them. Some people don’t read them, which I think is insane,” Roche said.

He can’t remember exactly when it started, but he knows it Roche. From there his love – and collection – grew. He started with the early 2000s All Star Batman and Robin from his father and over the years he’s only gotten more, amassing thousands of comics, consisting of both physical copies and digital ones. However, more recently he’s been focusing on collecting The Incal, a character, John DiFool, as different factions go after him for the powers he has. many different genres of comic books,” Roche said.

Although there’s a large range of genres, Roche prefers to stick

Aaron Roche WITH AN UNBEATABLE, ACTION-PACKED COLLECTION

BY ISLA RIDDELL

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

to the classic superhero comics because of its nostalgia factor – they’re what got him into comics. It’s also a genre that will always be there. Roche and some of his friends consider these stories to be like modern day Greek mythologies because “[they] are these stories of these larger-than-life characters.”

A unique part of comic books is the collaboration that takes place to produce them, an aspect that he enjoys. From writers, to artists, and letterers, a variety of people are involved in the process of producing just one comic.

“It’s nice to see an amalgamation of so many people’s work into one book,” Roche said.

This collaboration is something he loves being seen transferred to the big screen.

The comic book industry is a dying one, but by bringing new life to these stories in the form of movies, there’s hope. These movies bring the stories back into popularity, which then puts these comics back into print because people now want to read the source material for their new favorite movie.

As for his physical collection, none of which he would even think to collect them. For comics not in print anymore, he primarily scours auction sites and for comics still in print, he goes to local comic shops where the employees know him by name.

But it isn’t always easy. Comics that may not have been super popular or were produced by companies that quickly went under these physical copies gets more and more expensive, which is why Roche has an expansive online library alongside his physical

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and gain access to thousands of different comics, so he is able to still read comics and support the industry.

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KEEPING IN TOUCH WITH HER JAPANESE CULTURE

BY TRAYVON HIGHTOWER

Freshman Miki Kimura may be from here in Tampa but her heritage comes from the great country of PHOTO- Japan.

Kimura’s parents were GRAPH both born in Japan; her BY father in Tokyo and her TAMMY mother in a small town NGUYEN called Nara. Her parents would later move to Colorado, then to Florida where Kimura was raised. to Japan to visit their extended family.

“One big cultural difference between America 6

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Miki Kimura

and Japan is how school is treated differently. In Japan students put in so much effort to keep the school clean,” Kimura said. When they walk into the school, they change into slippers in order to They also don’t have janitors, instead there is a set period of time for students to spend cleaning the classroom.

In Japan, there are festivals and celebrations that go on throughout the year.

One big tradition is how

they treat New Year’s Eve as not just a holiday, but and preparation for the new year.

“Oomisoka is basically a New Year’s Eve celebration that my family and the country of Japan celebrate. During this day we clean the entire house to prepare it for a fresh start for the new year and we also spend this time to pray,” Kimura said. One of the major foods of this holiday is a small snack called mochi.

Due to Covid-19, it has been two years since Kimura has visited her family in Japan.

“I really miss all of the temples Japan had to offer, everything was so peaceful and beautiful there,” Kimura said.

She also misses visiting her grandparents in Nara.

There is a park nearby where children can go to play with the deer and feed them crackers bought from a store nearby. “It’s such a pleasant experience,” she said.

REMINISCING HIS HOME OF BRESICA, ITALY

Gianluca Strazzullo

BY JADEN MANCINI

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

When he was 13, Gianluca Strazzullo boarded a plane bound to Miami to start his life in America.

From his hometown of Brescia, Italy, he drove with his family to Milan to board the and a four-hour drive nally made it to Tampa.

He was born in Naples. At the age of three his family moved to northern Italy. While

the junior loves America, he still misses Italy.

Strazzullo loved Italian cities because of their design compared to most US cities. While cities like Tampa are big and spread out, most Italian towns, including Brescia, are smaller and very compact, making for a greater sense of a close-knit community.

He also misses his friends and family members in Italy who he hasn’t seen since he left.

The one thing that he doesn’t miss about Italy is school. Strazzullo recalls that Italian school compared to American schools, which he didn’t like very much. He says that because his workload here is much less, it provides him with the opportunity to make more friends and join extracurricular activities and sports.

While Strazzullo now lives with his immediate family and his uncle in

Tampa, he still retains much of the culture that makes Italy unique.

His whole family still speaks Italian when he’s at home, and they often have big family dinners, which is a cultural normalcy in Italy. His favorite dish is homemade pasta carbonara.

7

There’s a small group of kids gathered into a few few rows of the auditorium chairs, laughing and talking amongst themselves about inside jokes, something about a cat, or an ex-girlfriend. On the edge of the stage sits the auditorium for about 26 years, Jaime Giangrande-Holcolm.

She’s talking to me about a question I asked, about junior Jamie Key. “They’re a natural leader,” she tells me. “They’re always checking in on everybody.

See?” She points behind me; back where Key, with brown and bluish-green hair tied back into a low ponytail, has hopped off the back of the chair that he was sitting on top of, to squat down next to a girl lying on they’re both laughing. The girl hops up and returns to the cohort with Key. Key has been the co-president of the theater club since the beginning of this year, and was the vice president last year. He’s watched the remarkable growth in the membership of the theater club between the two years, marked by the retirement of Jeffrey Pittard, the old theater teacher.

Key’s goal is to use that momentum to pick the theater program off the ground, as he put it.

At One Acts this year, the group performed an act called “Waiting.” The play was a collection of independent scenes, representing all the things that happen within a day in a hospital waiting room. Key played out that a teacher he once hat8

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THE PASSIONATE, COMPASSIONATE LOVE OF THEATER

BY ASHER MONTGOMERY

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

work on it for hours at times then scrap everything he wrote. He knows not to do that now; that even if something doesn’t work, it’s possible to use it in other pieces later on.

The play is about a man named Achilles, who goes off to college in London, leaving behind his mother, an “empty husk of a woman.” He struggles with depression, but meets a girl named Vienna, who gives him reasons to live,

life. What he doesn’t know, Key explained, is that Vienna has terminal cancer. The ed has just passed away. potential ways Achilles deals The group performed in an with this gives the play several auditorium at USF, in front of different endings. theater kids from schools all It has come together peracross the county. It was diffectly, in Key’s head. He’s still ferent from the One Acts two writing music for it, tweaking years ago, it every so when Key often.

“IT WAS FUNNY BEstarred in a The creCAUSE I MEANT TO performance ative process COME AT IT WITH with only is familiar to ALL OF THIS ANGER, two other Key, who also ALL THIS POSTERactors. writes poetry.

ING... AND, I CRIED... I One day, This year, for DIDN’T REALIZE HOW Key hopes the Poetry to put on his MUCH WEIGHT THAT Jam, he wrote own play.

POEM HAD ON ME UNabout the One he’s TIL I WAS SPEAKING IT justice system, been writing INFRONT OF PEOPLE” comparing since eighth it to a brograde, ken pendulum. Key holds the before he knew much about justice system responsible for theater at all. a festering anger about his He tried getting a group tosituation. He was taken out of gether to do it in his small aghis family home and hasn’t ricultural-based middle school seen some of his close family that had no existing theater members in years because of program, but it fell through. the complicated situation.

Too many people got involved, While he was presenting it everyone kept bringing their to the judges, Key began to friends in. It became unfocry. cused, and soon, no one really “It was funny, because I wanted to do it anymore. meant to come at it with all But Key stuck with it for this anger, all this postering… four year now. He used to and, I cried. I cried on stage

Jam

mie Key

because it was hard,” he said. “I didn’t realize how much weight that poem had on me until I was speaking it infront of people and judges and listening ears.”

The vulnerability expressed by Key brought Key’s ability to show this vulnerability, as well people around him to feel connected and comforted by his presence. Those few who are a part of the theater program for a while admit that the group is tightly knit.

As a close friend of Key’s, junior Foxx Markowitz, said, “theater makes a lot of people closer because you see them at their silliest and you see them at their worst.”

Key says he gets frustrated when participants don’t show up or take it seriously, as does any leader who cares about something deeply.

But through all the rough patches, all the fall throughs, all the things that don’t workout, Key continues to love theater and everything it has offered him so far.

9

SHE WAS JUST A GIRL, NOW SHE’S THE WATER GIRL

BY MELANIE COLUMBIE

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW MORENO

Tianna Mallory

In the beginning of September, Kenneth Russell, the football coach, asked sophomore Tianna Mallory to be the football team’s water girl.

He asked her simply because the team needed a helping hand. water bottles for the team since the coaches and athletic trainer had jobs.

Mallory came up with the her friend sophomore Mariangel Borsegui. Borsegui was volunteering with the football game tickets and told her she should ask the

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team if they needed any help to get service hours for herself. She asked Coach Russell if anyone needed help with anything. There was already a water boy, but one person wasn’t enough to get water quickly to the whole team, so the coaches assigned her water duty.

She loved doing her job.

She made new friend and made her friendships stronger. Her having the opportunity to create bonds with the boys, coaches included and help them out made her happy.

She really comes in handy when the football players need

water.

“Tiana is very cool to be our water girl. She’s very caring and empathetic,” senior Joseph Sipp Jr said. Senior Noah Miles, a lineman, agrees with Sipp. “She’s a very good listener and emotionally I see her as a little sister,” Miles said.

Caleb Pierce

BY DYLAN The play was fourth and short, CANTRELL and quarterback Caleb Pierce ran

instantly felt pain. He continued to

PHOTO- play after the hit. Later on, Pierce GRAPH found out he separated his AC BY TAMMY NGUYEN game he found out he would need

surgery and wouldn’t be allowed to play football for four to six months.

For three years Pierce has been a leader and captain on the football team. He has led the team on two deep playoffs runs and this year was supposed to be a state run.

QUARTERBACK’S INJURY PUTS A PAUSE ON HIS LAST SEASON

When Pierce went down, he did everything he could to help the team. He knew the team’s season was not over, so he did everything he could to help the backup, junior Shaun Joshi.

His main focus was to help the backup quarterback play comfortable and the best he can. When he was not helping the quarterback, he was scouting the other teams to help prepare for the next game. He was doing everything he could to keep the state dream alive.

The injury had Pierce looking at four to six months on the side-

himself and kept the same goal of making it to college. He now holds multiple offers, but Pierce did not have an easy path to get them. Because of the injury he had to miss the rest of the season, limiting his time of playing in front of scouts.

He never took time off; he was always working on getting healthy through rehab by getting his range of motion and strength back while getting his name out there to get as many offers as he can.

Pierce is not yet committed and is still looking over his offers but is looking forward to his future wherever he goes.

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Bryan Rodriguez is climbing higher and higher into the sky in his sin-

PILOT IN TRAINING

the engines and begins the plummet towards the ground. He and his plane are in total free fall hurtling towards the ground faster and faster, adrenaline pumping through his veins.

As he nears the ground, he turns the engine back on and pulls up and out of harm’s way. He has just performed a “stall” his favorite trick when “It feels like a rollercoaster” he said about the experience.

instructor. did not go well. “I almost put my plane in the water, if I didn’t have didn’t know everything he had to do to control the plane. He didn’t pull up when making a turn and so his plane started to go down. The safety of having somebody else with him to help meant he was able to safely recover from this.

Bryan Rodriguez PREPARING TO TAKE OFF ON HIS PILOTING CAREER

really awesome that he just couldn’t pass up. That was when he was 14

BY JOSEPHINE SMITH

frequently as possible which is usually once every week or two because of split custody with his parents. out of this world, It’s almost indescribable.” A view from thousands of

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

“...I’ve seen everything from manatees to entire theme parks from a perspective that’s hard to imagine.”

Bryan Rodriguez is able to experience something that not many people can say that they have. He recommends for other people to try it out if do it.” It can be expensive but, in his words, “the payoff is worth every penny.”

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BY JOSEPHINE SMITH

DRESSING FOR HERSELF, NOT FOR EVERYONE ELSE

Chailin De La Torre

Chailin De La Torre is the type of girl that likes to do her own thing no matter what other people say. She does what she wants and dresses how she likes despite the disapproval from others that goes along with this. She expresses herself freely and doesn’t accept criticism.

Her style doesn’t truly conform to dia and musical artists she listens to, she prefers punk rock or chill grunge. ings, boots, and short skirts.

“My favorite thing to wear is probaabout the things she likes, she is obviously proud of the way she dresses. style only really developed into what she wears now over the summer. She needed a change so she explored different styles. in but once she started dressing for herself her own individual style. She settled on her current style because it “matches her vibe.” She is now happy with the way she dresses because it matches who she is as a person.

She receives some judgement for her unique fashion taste. Her family and people at school sometimes tease her. They say she is just “trying to be tik tok alt.”

Though she may draw inspiration from creators in the app, she isn’t dressing this way to impress people. She is only trying to be herself.

De La Torre is happy expressing herself through the way she dresses, unlike her classmates who she says may be afraid to dress unique. She says that these people “should explore more instead of staying in their comfort zone”.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN 14

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BY ASHER MONTGOMERY

THE STRUGGLES OF LEARNING A NEW LANGUAGE

Anonymous

nervous. She followed her mother the whole way, doing exactly as she was told.

Her step-dad was a mailman in the States. He lived in a small apartment in Tampa, and when she and the rest of her family joined him, she would take the couch every night for a year.

For two weeks, things were new and exciting. spoke only Spanish, she didn’t know where to follows. Now, she was expected to move between classes alone. She tried talking to her teacher, but she felt like she was speaking an alien language. she joined a class for Spanish speakers. It wasn’t easier. The rest of the students were at least a little bilingual. Compared to them, she knew nothing.

She became depressed, isolating herself. Her mom’s attempts to make the family feel more American by cooking macaroni and cheese for dinner didn’t cheer her up. She took to drawing, instead of trying to understand. Even though she didn’t show anyone, she felt like drawing allowed her to express what she felt.

Rico, when she had a disease called Vasculitis and had to stay in the hospital for three months. She asked for a white piece of paper and started drawing the things she saw when she walked down the hallways. She felt lonely with no one to talk to except the nurses. She felt lonelier in her 6th grade classroom with no one to talk to at all.

In 7th grade, things started to change. She was Ms.Galindo, who expressed how important it was to be able to interact with people around you.

She stepped out of her comfort zone, trying to communicate with her classmates. That is how she met her best friend.

She also started studying for her classes in Enshe made using only English words for the classes brother noticed, he asked if he could study, too.

ARTWORK BY ANONYMOUS

The subject of this story requested that her identity be concealed.

Artist’s statement: “The skeleton [represents] me when I starting growing in this country with knowing nothing until it starts to become a women learning things and catching courage that would be the roses. The leaves represents hopes and opportunities that come from courage.”

ing each other to speak in English.

Now a senior, she’s still trying to improve her English. She used to dread going with her mother to the grocery store, but now she sees it as a chance to practice. She laughs, talking about how her youngest brother speaks English better than all of them, with an American accent, too. But ultimately, occasionally to translate words on her phone.

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As a child, senior Krishna Kothiya was quite reckless, but it wasn’t exactly her fault.

She went to a bad school where students didn’t get in trouble and teachers didn’t care.

For second and third grade, Kothiya’s parents sent her to India to live with her grandparClass instructions in India were different than what she was used to in the states. At her

isn’t as rigorous.

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cuss the 200 questions on stage with the saints in front of a crowd of people. Religion was

Krishna Kothiya REFLECTIONS ON HER YEARS SPENT AT SCHOOL IN INDIA

BY TAMMY NGUYEN

the religious aspects of things,” Kothiya said.

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PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

The principles that Kothiya picked up during her stay in India changed how she viewed

for their future careers,’ Kothiya said. She believes that in her culture, Indian parents have

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17

Catalena Palomino

A SERVICE PROJECT INSPIRED HER FUTURE CAREER

BY MERCY After mentoring a OGUNSOLA child who was really

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

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shy and struggled with keeping the rhythm, junior Catalena Palomino rejoices knowing she helped a child she saw struggling.

From the start of fall to the end of spring each year, Palomino volunteers for The Penguin Project at New Tampa Players. The Penguin Project is a musical with each role played by children and young adults

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with various disabilities.

Starting in September, mentors, or volunteers, ages eight and up are assigned with an actor the same age or close to their age. The actors are also assigned based on the amount of guidance needed to perform their role.

Palomino’s mother was the one who found out about the Penguin project when scrolling on Facebook, and was later told about it from a fam-

ily friend. Volunteering at New Tampa Players started out as an idea for Palomino’s CAS project, which is a service hours requirement for the IB diploma. cause it’s a very unique project and I thought it would look good on college applications,” she said. “But the more I got into it the more I wanted to base my career off of it too.”

Palomino plans on

becoming a physical therapist or majoring in speech and language pathology.

Along with getting to watch kids overcome challenges, Palomino forms mature relationships with their parents.

The parents share with the mentors how much their child is doing better with their help which ing.

Dominic Reaves

BEYOND THE FOOTBALL IS A GOOFBALL

BY ELISABELSenior Dominic LA PEASE Reaves has more to him

committed to South Dakota University to play corner and wide receiver.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW MORENO

than being a football player. He has a smile so contagious, the people around him can’t help but laugh with him. His friends from the football team say he has a goofy personality to his athletic side.

Not only does he have a great personality, but he also has worked hard for the game he lovesfootball.

“I started to really

fall in love with football when I was three. I would sit on the couch with my dad while watching Sunday night football and I remember he told me, ‘One day this will be you,’” Reaves said.

His biggest supporter is his father because of how much his dad has believed in him throughout his life.

Some obstacles have made achieving his goal harder. For exam-

ple, during quarantine, Reaves doubted his ability to stay skilled without the aid of his coaches, and thought that maybe he’d be out of shape or not as good on the return. But he made sure not to quit.

“I worked out each day I had the opportunity to. Eventually, I got better and better at learning how to play the game,” Reaves said.

Due to his hard work,

19

ROBLOX DEVELOPER

When Roblox regular Elizabeth Burke’s parents decided that they would no longer supply her Robux- the game’s currency, Burke declared that she would make her own, thus beginning her career in Roblox development.

Now, from her bedroom, Sophomore Elizabeth Burke spends hours on her RobloxRoblox regulargames Elizabeth Burke’s parents decided computer writingWhen and building for customers. that they would no longer her Robuxthe game’s Roblox is an online platform where players supply can explore a huge variety of currency, Burke declared that she wouldwith make her own, games made by developers like Burke.

Players can interact others, customthus beginning her career in Roblox development. ize their characters, and earn Robux.

Now, from her bedroom, Sophomore Elizabeth Burke

elementary school, she didn’t she’d be able to make actual money from spends hoursknow on her computer writing and building the game.

Roblox games for customers.

She began by simply aroundplatform in the Roblox a developer platRobloxmessing is an online wherestudio, players can explore

a huge variety of games made by developers like Burke.

Players can interact with others, customize their characters, and earninRobux.

While she began developing 2018, she didn’t get really serious about it unWhen Burke first heard the free popular til 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sheabout used her time video duringgame quaranduring Fun Friday in elementary school, she didn’t tine to work on developing. Now, with being in the IB program, Burke doesn’t know she’d be able to make actual money from the game.

The process begins with sketching out a plan. She then forwards it to the customer to ensure that matches vision.

Then,around she chooses details-stucolor Sheitbegan by their simply messing in thethe Roblox palette, lighting, dio, music, and more.

All of these elements go towards creating a developer platform. She learned the specifics fromthe using Blender and Photoshop. Over time, it became easier and easier for her

Elizabeth ElizabethBurke Burke SHE GETS PAID FOR BUILDING ROBLOX GAMES

BY MORISSEY MONTGOMERY

PHOTOGRAPH BY JADEN MANCINI

right atmosphere and feeling for the individual customer.

Often, Burke will send her games to be tested. Thousands of kids ages 5 to 17 try it out and give her feedback.

“They’re very honest,” she said. The testers, especially the younger ones, are not afraid to tell her when they didn’t like a game or found it boring. tomers on the Roblox developer forum. She focuses mainly on story writing, scripting, and 3D modeling and often works with a team of other developers, tomer. Currently, Burke is working on a project with a developing studio called players must go through.

As a developer, Burke gets paid for her work in Robux, but is able to exchange it for actual money using the developer exchange. Right now, she is saving it up to do one large exchange. kids. Burke remembers the joys of playing Roblox with friends when she was younger and wants to make that happen for others.

“It’s really nice to see people appreciate the stuff that I make and it’s fun to see people play and interact with it,” Burke said.

PHOTOGRAPH BY JADEN MANCINI 6

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BY ISOLDE RAMAN-MOORE

SHE USED HER ARTISTIC ABILITY TO START HER OWN BUSINESS

Milena Serrano

Junior Milena Serrano starts with a plain piece of clothing from a store, and turns it into a piece of beautiful, wearable artwork. Since she was seven, she has had a passion for drawing and painting.

She took this passion and turned it into a business, Designs by Lena.

When Covid-19 started, Serrano used drawing as a way to cope with the loneliness of quarantine. As the isoloationcontinued, she switched from drawing on paper to drawing on clothing.

She buys fabrics or uses spare clothes, and freestyles different patterns with acrylic paints. She gets inspiration from family, friends and interesting TikToks she saves, and combines them to make her own original patterns.

She works from her own bedroom, and at the end of the design process, she sells her clothing artworks usually through her business Instagram. Her favorite part is making art for others.

“The look on [the customers’] faces as I accommodate to what they told me to brings me joy,” Serrano said. “It is my passion and my place where I can do whatever I choose and let my hand do it’s work.” She tries to adhere as closely to what the customer’s want while also giving it her own touch.

She admits she can’t do everything, but she’s improved a lot on what to do to make art pop out more on her clothing, and character design. Although it takes a lot of hard work and time, and she has to sit for hours working on it, she doesn’t regret it at all.

“It’s become something that makes me happy and I can see myself doing so much more in the future. It is a talent and I am going to take it very far,” she said.

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BY MERCY OGUNSOLA

HER FASHION SENSE IS ICONIC, BUT NOT AS EFFORTLESS AS IT APPEARS

Jazmyn Wajd

After she switched from private to public school, senior Jazmyn Wajd started experimenting with her style. She calls it “streetwear chique.”

Wajd is known amongst her friends as a “fashion icon” and upholds her title by not coming to school “raggedy,” she said.

This means that Wajd does not to come to school wearing sweat pants and a hoodie but rather goes the extra mile to coordinate props to students who choose to come to school rocking the lounge wear.

With a shelf on top and a dresser at the base, Wajd’s closet is structured to her liking, making it easier for her to grab and choices out where as other days she decides on her look the day before.

Wajd’s process for picking out her Instagram explore page. “I take inspiration from the different people I follow on by include famous Youtubers such as Derra and Instagram models such as Larah Celeste.

Finding the perfect pieces doesn’t come easy. Usually when Wajd imagines the different shirts and pants together, the image in her mind falls through and the looks ends up not coming out as she had hoped.

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

that I’m looking for and I put it together it doesn’t snap like how it’s supposed to,” she said.

Wajd purchases her graphic tees from the men’s sections of various stores because they “always have the better ones,” she said. Wajd’s pants are also purchased from the men’s section but gets a size XS because pants usually run bigger if you are a girl shopping for them. Wajds favorite stores include Jurly, Fashion Nova, and Pretty Little Thing. But she enjoys online shopping more.

“I like shopping online more cause you’ll have more options than if you shop in the store, “ Wajd said.

23

Walking to the school’s entrance along the main entrance’s walkaway, a solitary oak sapling grows on the left.

The clock tower guards the sampling, it was planted there to succeed a stump next to it.

In the dark and breezy mornings, until the gloaming, it gets watered every day, without exception. The tree is not hers, but she waters it with a loving smile and the thought that it will become a stately tree, one that the shade of its great branches can be enjoyed by future terriers.

She also takes care of a colorful garden, full of life and es. The air there is thick with come from time to time, even a three-legged cat takes naps all day in the serene garden. Most who have seen it have felt calmer, and those who enter it, have felt that they are in a different world apart from the bricks and the clock tower.

Nurture is often used by many to describe her, she likes to take care of things, and the garden is a testament to that, as well as her position as a nurse.

She might have her bad days at her job, or things don’t go as planned at her garden but she is always determined to look after the students and plants at the school without a second thought.

Janice Vogt, commonly known as Nurse Janice, has left her imprint on the school.

She is the heart of Positive Park.

She has been caring for the hidden garden for as long as she has worked there, and her name can be found in the Terrier Hall of Fame because of it.

But before being known as the school’s nurse today, she 24

The Red and Black Winter 2022

as part of the staff. Although her job during the school day consists of making sure the LOYAL ALUMNA IS students who aren’t feeling THE HEART OF OUR well are looked after, she is POSITIVE PARK also well known for her love and work in Positive Park.

BY MATHEW MORENO Nurse Janice has shared her garden with others at school, PHOTOGRAPH BY some more than others. Some MATHEW MORENO teachers like Johana Wright have a small patch in the back of the garden that is kept by her students. Many events was a student at the Big Red. were held in Positive Park Attending school back then through the years, it was said was very different than it is to be former principal Gary now. Smoking was allowed Brady’s favorite part of the for both students and staff in school during his tenure. Even school, the cafeteria served cats live in the garden. Trifresh home-cooked meals and, pod, Orange Cat and Black there even was a milkshake Cat, named by Ty Davis and line. There was no A/C and the his students in room 128, are building that is now Memorial sometimes fed some turkey by Middle school was still part Nurse Janice. of the school. Her homeroom Her involvement at Positive teacher was no other than Mrs. Park, startCooks, a very “I’VE ALWAYS LIKED ed when her famous Endaughter, Jessiglish teacher in TAKING CARE OF ca Vogt, attendher time. Mrs. PEOPLE. I TOOK ed the school Cooks was the CARE OF MY SICK in ‘03. She original “GerMOM WHEN I WAS volunteered as a ber Baby.” She GROWING UP, AND parent with her graduated from THAT SEEMED LIKE A daughter, who high school in NATURAL THING TO later became 1975. president of the DO” She had the Environmental opportunity to Awareness club. go to school for free after the The park was cared for by company she worked for, Maas the Environmental Awareness Brothers, closed. She took Club but everything changed a questionnaire that told her around 15 years ago. After nursing was what she would be the school was gutted and good at. remodeled, Positive Park was “I’ve always liked taking trampled down. Used as storcare of people. I took care age for lawn equipment, with of my sick mom when I was trash out, and no plants, it was growing up, and that seemed a complete mess. like a natural thing to do,” she said. tant, was quickly convinced, After working for a middle and to this day she is still the school as a nurse for some sponsor of the Environmental time, she came back to her Awareness Club. Her love alma mater 24 years ago, now

Janic

ce Harvey Vogt

for gardening took over and pushed her to renovate.

I knew there would be no stopping myself to restore that garden,” Vogt said.

In 2009, with the help of William Orr, former principal of the school, and 50 students who were passionate about working in the garden restored the park to its former shape with a year-worth of work. That’s when Positive Park became the park we see today in name and form. She also joined and became part of the Alumni Association board at the school.

Each year since, Nurse Janice and the EAC clean and maintain the garden, and on Earth Day, they hold a party, where they release live butsure is Nurse Janice’s favorite thing about the year.

Since then, Nurse Janice expert in the school. Many faculty and students seek after her when they have green questions.

“Everything about gardening, go into the clinic and [I’ll] answer it.” Vogt said.

Positive Park in a way is a memorial garden. Nurse Janice has been asked many times by the Alumni Assoplants to honor many of its members that have passed away.

As for the sapling, it was paid by the Colonel Dames for the former IB French teacher Kathryn Rizzo, who is part of the Alumni Association. Nurse Janice was asked to water it, and she accepted gladly.

25

Stefanie Zimmerman HER COMMITMENT HOLDS THE SOCCER TEAM TOGETHER

It’s Game Day. Fast paced music seeps from the speakers, the latest on her Spotify playlist. Scribbles of writing riddle the white board, entailing of a game plan.

Goal 1: “Stay positive” Goal 2: “Make them werk” Goal 3: “Stay aware” She’s established this pregame routine. A playlist is chosen, the starting lineup is announced, and the room quiets in concentration.

English teacher would be too broad of a term used to label Stefanie Zimmerman.

After all, she sponsors SGA, teaches AP Literature and Freshman English, while also coaching the Girls’ Soccer team after school.

Zimmerman can’t say for sure what lead to her unrivaled involvement, but rather what maintains her place in it.

Culture.

“It’s the most important thing for a team,” she said.

This means that there’s no tolerance for draman’s maintained this policy and has fostered well known camaraderie.

Girls’ Soccer and SGA allows her another method to interact with students in a different capacity than just teaching.

“I get to really build some great relationships that I wouldn’t normally get to build otherwise, and so I really enjoy both,” Zimmerman said.

With her soccer team, Zimmerman’s coaching may be seen as unconventional.

Growth – not winning- is what matters.

“I don’t think the score is always an accurate representation to how the game goes,” she said.

At times, a well-played game might result in a loss, yet all the goals set during pregame were absolutely met.

Zimmerman’s objective this year, is to develop every player’s skill to the best of her ability.

The relaxation of COVID-19 guidelines have

26

The Red and Black Winter 2022

also made team bonding more possible, which is essential to team relationships.

“I really have a great time coaching,” Zimmerman said.

With her love of the game, coaching, and the players, Zimmerman is likely to continue her robust involvement due to the connections that are fostered.

It’s important to them and that inspires her.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW MORENO STORY BY VICTORIA BILE

Dr. Ginn Brian Ginn

By: ShyamB

Despite having to learn rigorous Calculus, there are few days that Dr. Brian Ginn’s students don’t look forward to his class. Whether its when students bring him rocks to identify, or peer into the recycling bin on the way to their seats know that with each class comes a new adventure. Ginn unwas once one who was passionate about geology and ambitious for the future. But at the same time, he knows the curve balls life is willing to throw at every one of us.

As a student, Ginn always wanted to be a professor. After attending both the University of Florida and Notre to research environmental chemistry. During this time, share his research on nuclear heavy metals in Japan, a topic that normally doesn’t get the emphasis it deserves.

Ginn has experienced hardships throughout his career, for example, when the subprime mortgage crisis occurred in 2007. To accommodate for the recession science funding was cut in all areas by the government, leaving him unemployed for a year. This was like a reset button for him, so he decided to return home to the sunshine state. Knowing he still wanted to be a professor, he became the next best thing, a teacher.

Often being a teacher is frowned upon as it’s not considered a prestigious job compared to others in he knew the impact he would make as a teacher and that’s chemistry, but, as he learned more about the education system

MATH TEACHER, ROCK CONNOISSEUR, COCA-COLA FANATIC

and the vacancies found in the mathematics department, he rethought his decision. His passion for science stemmed from the intellectual challenge it presented and found he found that same concept in mathematics. In addition, he imagined he would enjoy teaching Calculus, due to its close connection to the concepts found in Chemistry.

Although being a math teacher was not his goal when he matched. This dedication is rooted in the difference he’s making in a younger generation. There are some parts of teaching that he doesn’t like, such as the tight standards that prevent students from understanding the necessary real-life application material. Being able to provide students with the knowledge that they will apply to their everyday lives, rather than just meeting benchmarks, is a vital part of education in the eyes of Ginn. Every morning when he steps into his classroom, he holds this value close to his heart and as when his students grow, both intellectually and in maturity, he knows he’s succeeding.

In the end, he has found a home at Hillsborough High School, doing something he that there is more to life than just making money. It is about making difference.

STORY BY SHYAM PATEL

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW MORENO

27

DIGITAL ARTIST

One day, nine-year-old Anavut Synakorn was sitting at their kitchen table, doodling objects in the room around them with a pencil and a piece of scrap paper, when their aunt, a Ringling college graduate, asked them about their drawing. The next day, she came back with a sketchbook for them. After that, they started to really love art.

They started by drawing characters from their favorite TV shows and videogames, including the popular Pokemon. Synakorn developed an anime art style, obsessed with how the characters’ eyes and hairstyles were drawn. These features are what replicate in their artwork.

During quarantine, while scrolling through the web, the sophomore animals. With this discovery, they started to render adaptions with a more anime-type style. They also began to switch mostly to digital art, which is “the art of the future,” as they remarked, “since a lot of want, hopefully the new norm.” With digital art, there are tools that simulate brush and marker patterns in every color. All the artist has to do is pay for the app instead of expensive materials, and once they have it they can select whatever they need, making it easier to focus on the drawing itself.

Anavut Synakorn ON CREATING NOT ONLY THE ART, BUT THE CHARACTERS TOO

BY ISOLDE RAYMAN-MOORE

Synakorn eventually started to create their own characters, not with just certain poses or eye colors, but developing and writing the background of the character to make it more lifelike. Before they draw a character, they draw the world they live in, the general personality and the theme, taking theme ideas from seasons of nature, music, YouTube, and their favorite anime TV shows.

One character, a deer named Kiyomi, is based on the month May. Kiyomi is drawn with spring like characteristics. She lives in a studying nature and learning about her environment. So, she has

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

deepness of her background in the picture. She is an extroverted introvert who enjoys spending time with the people close to her, just like Synakorn. She has no problem with standing her ground and speaking up, although she likes to be alone and work on her own projects. Synakorn added a lot of complexity into her character, to make her more realistic. let school friends know about their ‘furry’ artwork, because it is looked down upon by society, but now that they are in high school, have opinions and that’s valid, as long as they don’t try and hurt someone just for an art style,” Synkorn said.

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29

BY DIEGO RODRIGUEZ

Junior Ethan Casillas interacts with the HIS CEREBRAL PALSY DOESN’T DEFINE WHO HE IS world around him slightly differently than

Ethan Casillas

others. This is due to his brain’s approach Cerebral Palsy gives him a unique identity and perspective as to what should truly be considered a disability and on whether more public discourse on the topic is a good idea.

Cerebral Palsy is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain posture. It is the most common motor disability in children. The condidisease which means something happened to the brain during its developmental period that caused damage or lessening of

Anywhere you search for information doesn’t agree with this terminology.

“Cerebral Palsy isn’t as much of a con-

and I walk another way.” This is a unique seem to oppose. They aim to marginalize and categorize all non-status quo attributes Ethan is living a completely normal life placed on him by medical groups.

Ethan is able to live a completely normal life thanks to the very low severity

legs give out easier under constant stress.

“I’d consider it mainly a cosmetic effect

His day-to-day consists of spending time

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The Red and Black Winter 2022

naps at home whenever given the chance.

His trait doesn’t stop him from living an shape or form.

BY JADEN MANCINI

HE LOVES THE TWISTS AND TURNS THAT LIFE HAS TO OFFER

Itai Aarons

seeing the beauty of such massive feats on engineering is awe-inspiring. smaller coasters like Scorpion and eventually became a full-on enthusiast around the age of 14. social media page about roller coastacross accounts that took photos of wanted to try it on his own.

His older brother was kind enough at Busch Gardens. He posted them to his new Instagram page to share his unique photos as well as his love for coasters. Not only does he post pictures of different theme park attraccludes captions with facts and thoughts about the coasters. the page has grown to 3.5 thousand YouTube channel called “Theme Park videos predicting upcoming roller coasters as well as general information about coasters and the coaster enthubreak from making videos in order to concentrate on his junior year.

Aarons often plans trips around the country to visit iconic American theme parks with his friends. This past theme park in Indiana with his friends where he was able to ride coasters for -

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

asts from around the country.

31

For Fatima Al-Ziyad, the hijab is an assertion of identity as much as an adherence to faith.

The Quran, the central religious text of Islam, instructs both men and women to observe modesty in their dress and behavior. The hijab represents style and wearing it has become an integral part of her morning routine.

The hijab has been a focal point for attention throughout her life. She’s observed people instinctively associate her with Islam while disregarding her other traits. For this reason, she disconnects religion as a which leads those around her to not take her as religious.

But those who have become acquainted Al-Ziyad know that this is far from true. She prays every day and delivers each verse in the Quran with particular relish. Her faith shapes her values and experiences every day.

“If I was asked for my spirit animal, I would always say giraffe because I stand out,” she said.

Al-Ziyad’s immediate family consists of her mother, father, and older brother. She shares the same Islamic values as them and believes Islam has brought them closer together.

For instance, during Ramadan, they would fast and break their fast together, which strengthens their familial bonds.

Her relationship with Islam is largely the product of careful deliberation. When she was younger, she wouldn’t wear the hijab and would inquire whether God was real. She was born in Iraq but was raised in the UK and attended a Christian school.

Her friends were overwhelm32

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ON CONFIDENCE, FAITH, AND FACING PREJUIDCE

BY ROHIT RAMASWAMY

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

also wouldn’t wear her hijab as frequently to avoid confrontation.

“People would be like, ‘oh, what are you wearing?’ and make fun of it,” she said.

“They’d say stuff like ‘ha-ha, you’re wearing a towel on your head.’”

However, Al-Ziyad doesn’t the way she lives and continues to practice her religion in a myriad of ways. She enjoys celebrating Eid, which marks the end of the month-long fasting of Ramadan. After fasting, Muslims gather with their family and friends to enjoy a large feast. She also reads the Quran and prays every day.

ingly Christian, and it wasn’t always apparent how she was any different from them.

“What if [my friends] were right? There’s also so many other religions like Buddhism, Hinduism,” Al-Ziyad acknowledged. “But as I grew up, I started studying [Islam] and editing videos, and hanging reading the Quran. This is right. out with her friends. She wants It all just made sense.” to be a psychiatrist when she She attended Arabic school grows up, recognizing the each Saturday, using this deterioration of mental health opportunity to especially in become closer to Arab countries.

“BUT AS I GREW her religion, but However, her UP, I STARTED also to practice mother isn’t STUDYING [ISLAM] her Arabic. She fully supportive speaks Arabic at AND READING THE of her endeavQURAN. THIS IS home, but she ors, which she admits her writ- RIGHT. IT ALL JUST attributes to ing skills trailed MADE SENSE.” her traditional behind her peers. upbringing.

She would “When I ask face linguistic discrimination my mom about mental health, during her time in the UK. she’s like ‘It’s not real, it’s Al-Ziyad and her mother were fake. Go pray and it’ll be gone. shopping when they were agYou don’t have depression,’” gressively accosted by a man. she said.

He had overheard their converAl-Ziyad would travel Iraq sation, and when he realized frequently before the onset of they were speaking Arabic, he Covid-19. She usually visits her began harassing them. “This is dad’s hometown of Al Diwannot an Arabic country, speak iyah, where she would observe English,” he said. modernity, tourism, and diverShe moved to the US in her sity of religion. She believes 6th grade. She had effectively that the media’s portrayal of eschewed her British accent Iraq as a constant war state after being bullied for it. She isn’t entirely accurate, and that

Fatim

ma Al-Ziyad

insurgent activity from terrorist groups such as ISIS have unfortunately eclipsed the beauty and splendor of Iraqi culture in the minds of many Americans.

However, she admits she does experience some degree of culture shock when visiting her mother’s hometown of Samawah. She remembers the stringent clothing policies: only clothes long to her toes, which meant she couldn’t wear her usual jeans.

Al-Ziyad’s unique experience shapes her values and those around her. She is very outgoing, a characteristic that her friend Paige Boykins can easily attest to.

“I grew up around White people, Black people, Hispanic, but never Muslims. [Our friendship] opens my eyes to how other people think. It’s interesting to see the different perspectives,” Boykins said.

But while Al-Ziyad is grateful for her culture and religion, she wishes for the same privilege afforded to those around her. Her mother has gotten denied from numerous jobs due to her hijab, which was claimed would make her coworkers “feel unsafe”.

However, in face of blatant islamophobia, Al-Ziyad continues to persist.

“If you’re a minority, you have to be strong,” she said.

33

BY KAYLEE ROBINSON

TEACHING DANCE STEP-BY-STEP

Keeley Seymour

After school on Monday and Wednesday as well as Saturday mornings, junior Keeley Seymour teaches dance at the Wayne C. Papy Center also known as Tampa Gymnastics and Dance.

Seymour has been dancing since she was two years old when her mom put her in classes at the studio her mom worked at, but she didn’t start teaching till recently. She teaches Hip Hop, Ballet, and Tap dance to a range of age levels with her youngest students being preschoolers and her oldest being high schoolers.

Through teaching, she has learned several lessons from her classes of about ten students. Most importantly, how to keep her students engaged and maintain their attention. She does this by playing upbeat music, keeping things short, having fun breaks, having candy or stamps as incentives, and offering a fun game such as musical four squares at the end of class if the students were on task.

“My favorite part of teaching dance is when I get to see the kids perform on stage it’s so rewarding to see all the work they have put in and see how much they have achieved,” Seymour said.

The Wayne C. Papy Center has a show in October and a show in December meaning her students have about a month and a half to learn their dance and work on their skills during class. Following those two performances is recital season, which Seymour describes as a big commitment in which the students will further their skills and learn one to two dances depending on the class they take from January to June.

Aside from the recitals Seymour enjoys the daily lessons partly because of the outlandish questions she sometimes gets from her students. For example she has been asked if she has been to jail or if she was planning on going bald.

While Seymour plans on continuing to teach dance throughout high school and wants to work her way up in the dance industry, she is unsure if being a dance

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN 34

The Red and Black Winter 2022

hopes to keep dance in her life regardless.

D

BY KAYLEE ROBINSON

SHE DRAWS TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE HARD TIMES

Danielle Castro

Sitting alone in her room, Apple pencil and iPad in hand with the sounds of Chase Atlantic and the Weekend playing in the back ground, junior Danielle Castro puts piece of digital art.

While Castro has always enjoyed creating art, she didn’t start getting serious till sixth grade when she decided that she wanted to improve her art skills in hopes of following an art career.

She began digital art after watching a few animators on Youtube. “I was interested in digital art and decided to further my skills and soon found that I preferred digital art over traditional,” Castro said. she didn’t have any fancy equipment and and work on her digital pieces. While it took a while to get used to it, her art skills improved because of it. In ninth grade she started researching drawing tablets made iPad as she wanted something she could use for multiple purpose which she bought for herself.

Castro sees art as much more than a fun hobby and uses it as a way to get through hard and stressful times. Like many students during the pandemic she took to online learning which proposed a number of problems and became a daily stressor for her. Drawing and creating art was one of the few ways she could vent and escape from the same daily routine of joining zooms and missing assignments.

Castro draws inspiration from a number of things such as anime ,video games and artists on youtube and instagram. She was particularly inspired by an artist named Rebecca Param who owns an animation channel on youtube called “Let Me Explain Studios” which inspired her to pursue animation as a future career completely changing her view on art as a career path.

She describes her art style as anime with a twist as when she draws body portions, characters, and faces they are deeply

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

Slayer and Genshin impact.

Castro has many ambitions and hopes to gets accepted to Ringling College of Art and Design so that she can make a name for herself in the world of art.

35

At only six years old, senior Rebekah Diaz was introduced to softball. Since her father is an ex-baseball player, she was encouraged by him to experiment with different sports to see what she was skilled at. To this day, he remains to be the driving force behind Diaz’s dedication and passion for the sport.

Before she even stepped gave tennis, swim, and dance a try with the local club organizations, but none of them practice with her softball team, she threw a perfect throw to second base and surprised herself. That same day, the coaches noticed Diaz’s potential and recommended her the pitching position for the league. the community was really supportive. Everyone I was with there was new, so I felt safer when I was trying out the other sports, everyone had some sort of experience already,’ Diaz said.

It was the beginning of middle school when Diaz’s relationship with softball became more serious. As soon as the dismissal bell rang, she was off to practice with either her personal coach or with her club.

Her weekdays quickly turned into back-to-back practices for pitching, batting, and a variety of drills while her weekends were dedicated to tournaments.

Diaz’s participation in these competitive tournaments was because she was introduced to travel ball by the Sickles High School’s softball coach, it’s a highly competitive game of softball that holds rigorous standards regarding skill levels. The coach recognized her talents through his connections at the Citrus Park league she played with and encouraged her to join a travel ball team for more experience if she 36

The Red and Black Winter 2022

worries since the game season ended early, her long break made her feel detached from AT THE END OF HER the game SOFTBALL RUN “Once I started high sch ool, it was me juggling my travel team, school, and my

BY TAMMY NYUYEN high school team…I knew the program was going to be rigorous and really time consuming, PHOTOGRAPH BY but softball was always there at TAMMY NGUYEN the school if I wanted to play and I managed it all until the pandemic hit,” Diaz said.

Diaz knew no one would wear a mask at practice, and that concerned her and her family. She stopped playing for the school and waited a little wanted to play at the collegiate bit longer for the number of cases to decrease before returnlevel later. ing to travel ball.

“At that point I picked up As Diaz integrated herself a routine of team practices, back into the game little by litindividual lessons, and tourtle, scouting season was around naments on top of school. I the corner. She dedicated more ‘sorry I can’t time pracIF I WASN’T PLAYsleep over I ticing and got softball ING THE SPORT, emailing practice’ type MY INTROVERTED coaches priof person,” she or to tourSIDE WOULD’VE laughed. naments so TAKEN OVER AND Throughout they could I WOULDN’T HAVE those years, watch her she has had to THROWN MYSELF AT leave and join NEW OPPORTUNITIES. play. She received different clubs IT ALLOWED ME TO for a variety offers from GAIN THE COURAGE of reasons, the Florida TO BE OPEN MINDED primary one Memorial TO NEW CHALLENGUniversity concerns. The ES” and Wesleyharsh reality an College to the sport is in Georgia. that the practices with private When the increasing workcoaches, tournament money, load from school and her and other necessities, money dues accumulate quickly. It be- loss of passion for the game came common knowledge for clashed, Diaz was faced with players to move teams often the big decision of continuing or quitting softball. Her time Before quarantine, Diaz away from her team and abrupt broke her ankle and was on ending to her hectic schedule crutches for several weeks before surgery. She felt an imcult to get back into the groove mense pressure on her shoulders. Even though the pandem- of things.

In the end, Diaz decided to ic gave her a break from these

Rebe

ekah Diaz

stop playing. She wanted to dedicate more time to passing her IB exams and getting the diploma. a permanent effect on methe whole experience. For example, it played into how I express myself and work with others… if I wasn’t playing the sport, my introverted side would’ve taken over and I wouldn’t have thrown myself at new opportunities. It allowed me to gain the courage to be open minded to new challenges,” Diaz said.

37

BY ISHA MODHA

FROM HER SAIL BOAT, SHE FINDS INDEPENDENCE

Annslee Maloy

Senior Annslee Maloy parts waves on her C420. She’s earned the title of skipper, or captain of her ship. This one is only manned by two people, her and her mate. She controls her boat, shouting orders and making calculated jusgements about the ship.

Maloy has taken after her grandparents, who introduced her father to sailing. She laughs, saying it’s the only thing she talks about, that it’s become her whole personality.

Her Wednesday and Sundays consist of long practices, though, she wishes she had more time to allocate for sailing.

“I want to have more time to spend event planning, more involvement with the Sea Scouts, and doing the actual activity. The only way to get better is to keep practicing, especially with racing,” Maloy said.

Over the years, Maloy has created a mental plan for how she aims to improve. Self-described as motivated, she says all the pressure comes from herself. Maloy wants to start a ship when she goes to college. After college, Maloy dreams of being a National Oceanic and This includes traveling the world and communication with scientists to map coastlines and helps governments create legislation regarding As soon as Maloy gets on her boat she feels hair, the salt on her skin, Maloy becomes a different woman.

“When you’re out there on this vessel with seven other girls, you’re the boss. There’s a lot of responsibility and independence that comes with it,” she said. As skipper, Maloy orders her crewmates around and ensures the boat stays Her teams will go maritime hopping and often picnics on the mangrove islands of the Bay. They also sometimes take two weeks trips sailing to the Keys, which Maloy feels improves the skill of her crew. “It’s the best feeling in the world to sit on the bough of your ship and watch the sunset with your friends. You always come back with a bunch of stories,” she said.

Maloy’s advisor says, “Sailing is for people who think.” The sport requires the ability to be

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN

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The Red and Black Winter 2022

sometimes reaching 10 knots, must be maneuvered correctly to avoid collisions with other boats. Still, Maloy says it’s okay to occasionally break a boat, having broken a few herself.

Maloy emphasized the relationships she’s made with her crewmates. Some have known her since the beginning, watching her progress over the years, while Maloy has had the opportunity to guide newer members. She takes on an almost “older sister” type of role, giving advice and watching her crew improve.

BY MEREDITH YEN

GIRL SCOUTS TAUGHT HER IMPORTANT SKILLS FOR LIFE

Rutwa Shah

Senior Rutwa Shah has been a girl scout since kindergarten.

Originally joining girl scouts with her sister, Shah is now in her last year of Girl Scouts with Troop 47. lating sales.

“When I was in kindergarten, cookies me had to do math with that uneven number in my head... If someone ordered more guess every total,” Shah said.

Another challenge that Shah faced as a young girl scout was her meals at summer camp. Shah has a strict Jain vegetarian diet. She would pile every type of vegetable on her plate from the little the salad bar offered, making the other kids look at her weird. As an eight year old, she felt shy about asking for the vegetarian option.

However, her limited diet did not get in the way of her passion for attending girl scouts every summer and eventually, with the aid of her counselors, she was able to overcome her shyness of communicating with the chef.

When Shah was a Counselor-In-Training at summer camp, a young camper learned that she too had the same diet when Shah opted for the less popular granola bars instead of gelatin gummies. The camper asked Shahs for help getting the vegetarian option.

“It felt really cool to see that there were now people like me in girl scout camps and I could help her,” Shah said. grade when Shah was at girl scout camp for a week during the summer. After trying into the water continuously, she didn’t want to do it again since she hated being soaked.

However, a few years later Shah was back at the waterfront and decided to try it again.

She was balanced and able to stand until a few of the campers decided to push her and took over her board.

PHOTOGRAPH BY MATHEW MORENO

learned how to paddleboard and messing around with the campers and making them laugh as I fell in, made it worth being soaked for the rest of the afternoon,” Shah said.

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Oksanna Smith THE ONLY SOPHOMORE THIS YEAR THAT GOT INTO THE ALL-COUNTY ENSEMBLE

As she arrives back home, she starts the preparations for the big moment. This was the last practice before the All-County band concert, and she performed really well. She changes into a formal black dress, gathers all of her music and puts it in her binder, grabs her tuba, and heads to Bloomingdale High School. It’s a long drive, and she feels a mix of nervousness and excitement. When she gets there, she joins the other members of the band, and they make sure the chairs and stands are all properly set up.

After the band director gives them ready to start playing. There are a lot of people watching, eager to hear the talented musicians that are part of this advanced band. Blended in the crowd, her family, also very involved with music, awaits her performance. She is nervous, yet not too nervous. She knows her music.

Oksanna Smith was the only sophomore this year who made it to the All-County band, which consists of the top musicians of high schools in Hillsborough County.

Although to many this might sound nerve-racking, this is nothing new to her, as this is her fourth time practicing and performing along with this advanced band. Her journey as a tuba player started back in the sixth grade, when the big and shiny instrument caught her attention during the elective wheel. “It just seemed interesting,” Smith said. Since then, she has auditioned for and got into the All-County ensemble every year and looks forward to keeping the streak for the rest of her high school journey.

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The Red and Black Winter 2022

STORY BY CAROLINA TORTORELLI

PHOTOGRAPHS BY RALYN DYE AND TAMMY NGUYEN

However, music has been present in Smith’s life way before middle school. Growing up, she was always listening to different music genres on her own or joining her family in the audience of her older siblings’ musical performances. She has ten siblings, all involved with music, that play different instruments from brass to woodwind. This passion for music that runs throughout her family started with her father, who played the clarinet for Hillsborough High School, and even led the band as drum major, years ago.

“I remember seeing her formed at Walker [Magnet Middle School] and I was so proud of her,” her brother, senior Ian Smith said. “I like helping her because I want her to maintain her status as the best tuba player at Hillsborough, even though sometimes she hates when I hound her. I love that we both share a passion for music.”

Smith really enjoys the people in the band, and looks up to the upperclassmen, such as the brass section leader junior Keeley Seymour. “She always teaches us anything we might need help on and makes sure that everyone is included whether that is with band or outside of band,” Smith said. She hopes to step up and get a leader position as equipment manager of the band next year.

“Oksanna is such a great tuba player and hard worker.

I love having her in my section. My favorite memory with her is when we put face paint on each other, made tiktoks, and just had such a good time during the homecoming game,” Seymour said.

In order to keep improving her skills, Smith has

private lessons every other week for about 30 minutes. her own on the weekends as well. “The hardest part is using a lot of air,” she said about playing such a big instrument. The challenge gets even harder during marching band season, when besides playing she must marching band equivalent is the sousaphone, which is around the body for her to while playing. She often feels pain from the weight of the instrument on her shoulders, but regardless, Smith says she enjoys marching at football games over concert band, since it is more laid back and fun.

Being part of both for the All-County band very different from the school band. “The players are a lot more experienced and the director too. They expect you to know more stuff,” she said about All-County.

During her experience in the band she learned higher level music, which although was sometimes stressful, she overall enjoyed, being especially fond of meeting new people and stumbling upon some of her old middle school band friends that also joined All-County. “The band director made a really fun experience,” she added.

Moving forward, although she does not plan to pursue music in college, she hopes to continue feeding her artistic vein with another one of her big interests: fashion. Smith loves trying new things and seeks to keep on

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WEIGHTLIFTING GIVES HIM A RELIEF FROM DAILY LIFE

BY JACK WILKINS

Mason Saunders

Mason Saunders has been skinny for all of his life.

He was teased in elementary and middle school but he was never bothered by it. But in quarantine, Saunders’s found the desire to become stronger. Saunders’s Dad preferred simple calisthenic workouts like push-ups and sit-ups. But over time, Saunders would come to love

PHOTOGRAPH BY TAMMY NGUYEN the process of becoming healthier.

Saunders eventually began to use the weight set supplied by his father, starting with small weights doing dumbbell workouts, but he wasn’t seeing any growth. After quarantine ended, Saunders bought on Hillsborough and developed a passion for going to the gym with his friends, seniors Brady Johnson and Jorge Piña.

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The Red and Black Winter 2022

After discovering social media personalities like Chris Bumstead, Saunders found the motivation to lift heavier and embrace a healthier diet. Saunders has altered his eating habits to incorporate more protein and carbs to help him build muscle.

Foods like chicken and rice, steak and potatoes, and other foods with lots of protein have become staples in his diet. Saunders is eating calorhe has resulted to eating his meals in portions at various times throughout the day.

Saunders’s infatuation for weightlifting has motivated him to pursue his dream career in personal training.

“I’d love to train people of all shapes, sizes, and ages, I’d like to train NFL players and celebrities as

well as just everyday people,” he said.

One of his idols, “ C BUM”, has inspired him to build a social media page for his lifting and a place to source clients for training and mentoring. Despite being self-trained, Saunders believes mentors are a crucial part of lifting and going to the gym. “Having a mentor is an important part of starting to work out and lifting weights. It’s good because they can teach you the proper form, which can help avoid injuries,” he said.

Saunders has found a change in his mental health due to working out.

“Working out has been great for me and has allowed me to develop daily habits that have helped me he said.

Senior Ashley Mejia counts her calories. 100... 101...102. Two calories over her limit means that she’ll skip her next meal. She’ll drink an energy drink and exercise in its place. to Mejia.

This is what an eating disorder looks like.

Mejia has dealt with three eating disorders throughout her time in high school. She’s been subjugated to binge-eating and bulimia, but it wasn’t until her most recent struggle with anorexia when she realized she needed help.

It was August of last year, roughly two weeks into the school year. What started off as a normal day quickly went haywire when her breath started shortening. Suddenly, she felt like her heart was giving out. It was abundantly obvious she needed help, so she devised an escape plan from school.

“That was the day I felt like I was going to die,” Mejia said.

The next day, she went to the doctor, where she confessed about her eating disorder demons. She knew there wasn’t any point in lying to a trained specialist. However, the situation had already reached a state of criticality; there wasn’t any leeway time, so the doctor sent her directly to the hospital.

When Mejia arrived at the hospital, a tube was administered to go through her nose directly into her stomach for feeding. They would give her protein supplementals from Ensure three times a day to increase her weight. If she missed a day, the amount would be accounted for in the next serving, which scared her.

Ashley Mejia HER STRUGGLES WITH EATING DISORDERS SHAPED HER LIFE, NOW SHES ON THE PATH TO RECOVERY

BY ROHIT RAMASWAMY

She never enjoyed the luxury of choosing her meals at the hospital. For breakfast, she would usually eat cereal, milk, and fruit. For lunch, she remembers eating chicken for dinner, the hospital would provide pizza and sandwiches. This cycle continued each day.

Mejia still asks herself how she developed the eating disorder. She thinks it could be related to her childhood. She remembers being called “chubby” by her peers and how this contributed to her poor self-esteem and body-image.

“I started comparing myself to everyone that was skinnier than me,” she said. “I was saying to myself, ‘When I grow up, I want to be like those girls everyone likes because they were skinny.’”

She also believes her struggle was exacerbated by the pandemic. She recalls information surfacing on the internet and social media during the onset of Covid-19, which claimed that it was the “ideal time” to start dieting and exercising to lose weight. This correlated with when her bulimia settled in.

Mejia feels much better today, which she attributes to the help she sought and received; her mother would take her to the hospital each day. She’s at a healthy weight and she’s eating three meals a day. She has also stopped counting calories but admits most of her meals.

One outlet she’s found as a coping mechanism is spirituality. She enjoys doing tarot card readings and meditation, and she feels more peaceful and closer to loving herself and her surroundings.

“My advice is to let people help you, because even if you think you don’t really have a problem, you do have it, and that’s why they worry,” Mejia said. “And just to keep going because even when you’re in recovery, you have those days where you want to give up and start over again. I had the mindset that I was going to starve myself again when I got out. Don’t let the thoughts of your eating disorder guide you, because the eating disorder is not your friend.”

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A SPECIAL EDITION OF THE [R&B] FLORIDA’S FIRST HIGH SCHOOL NEWSPAPER HILLSBOROUGH HIGH SCHOOL 5000 N. CENTRAL AVENUE TAMPA FLORIDA 33603 WINTER 2022 VOLUME 123 ISSUE 2