Profiles
The Ups and Downs of Being a Basketball Player by Katie Murphy-Quinn
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rom a broken finger to having a loved one step out of the game, Dolce Mazariegoz has seen the ups and downs of being a basketball player. She began playing when she was just five years old, as her mother would also play. “My mom would play, so I just wanted to be like her,” Dolce said. Playing basketball with her mother was a norm for her; that is, until her mother had to make room for a baby. “It felt kind of weird,” Dolce said. “We were so used to going every Sunday to games, and, I don’t know, it just stopped.” But, despite this obstacle, Dolce kept playing basketball - until another barrier came up. She broke her finger, making her unable to play basketball.“It was kind of
frustrating because I would be home all day with nothing to do and I hate not being able to do anything,” she said. But, eventually, Dolce healed and was
Dolce aspires to be a therapist or nurse when she leaves Tam. She said she wanted to “return the help” that she got when she was young, as she received help controlling her anger and other issues, in particular, channelling her energy through basketball. Basketball has been a big part of Dolce’s life since she was young, though there have been broken fingers and new additions to her family holding her back. However, she continues to love her hobby and keeps playing through whatever’s thrown at her. “It feels good because...I’m not thinking about schoolwork, anything like that,” Dolce said. ♦
“It was like a family, everybody knew, we weren’t all perfect and we learned from each other” able to play basketball again. “It felt good because I was finally doing something,” she said. Dolce feels close to her teammates. “It was like a family, everybody knew, we weren’t all perfect and we learned from each other,” she said.
Academic Adventures by Sarah Chrichton
Academy (WCA), his favorite teacher was Roy Baker. Baker has been a teacher in WCA for five years. Baker has taught middle school English and history. Mamoon’s favorite Willow Creek memory was working in Mr. Devol’s woodshop, “That was the best part,” he said. Carter Devol is the middle school science teacher at WCA. He has worked in Willow Creek for six years. A couple years back, Devol organized a wood workshop class where students could build things like birdfeeders out of wood. Many students like Faizan enjoyed working with Devol. Mamoon’s favorite subject at Tam is science, “I really like the teacher, he’s really fun, exciting,” he said. In between classes, Mamoon enjoys hanging out with friends
and playing soccer. “I picked Tam because all my family and my cousins went to Tam. All my friends were also going here, so I decided I would go to Tam,” he said. Mamoon mentioned the biggest difference between WCA and Tam was the change in dress code, the many classes, and the different schedule, “It’s a different environment,” he said. When asked about the differences in people and communities Mamoon said, “I haven’t seen many differences, there’s the same people from WCA, all my friends are the same.” Mamoon is not sure about his college choices yet, but said he’d be interested in joining fashion design or the fashion industry. Mamoon’s advice for incoming freshmen was to “try new things, play a sport or join any clubs, just participate.” ♦
“Try new things, play a sport or join any clubs, just participate”
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aizan Mamoon is a sophomore at Tam High. He spent his earlier years in Willow Creek Academy. Back at Willow Creek
Willow Creek News
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