Fare You Well Redwood – Lucas de Lima

The final article written by the Redwood Gigantea’s 2024-2025 Managing Editor, Lucas de Lima, ’25.

By: Lucas de Lima

If you would have told freshman year Lucas that he would be the Managing Editor of Visalia’s premier high school newspaper, he would have immediately doubted you.

“We have a newspaper? And what even is a Gigantea?”

It’s funny how time changes everything.

After getting exposed to its existence my first year on Redwood’s campus, I got motivated to sign up for the introduction class for the Gigantea, Journalism 1, for my sophomore year by my great friend and current Sports Editor, Ryan Harris, ’25.

Signing up for the class ended up being the single greatest decision I made during my time at Redwood High School.

I always had a passion for writing about something I truly cared about, in this case sports, and joining the Gigantea gave me an opportunity to cover the countless successful athletic programs here at Redwood. I had already been reading sports articles for years before I joined the Gigantea, so to begin writing them myself was a smooth transition.

Making the transition even easier was the fact that I had the freedom to write whatever story I wanted to. I quickly gravitated to Sports, but I could have been a Clubs & Lifestyles writer, an Arts & Entertainment writer, or even a News writer. The freedom of choosing what you want to write is one liberty that you gain as a member of the Gigantea.

Another privilege that you earn is the ability to interview whoever you want. Obviously, your interviewee should have a connection to your assigned story, but if you pick up a story about the previous water polo game, and one of your best friends so happens to be on the team, then you got yourself an easy interview.

That’s how my first interview went. For my first story back in August of 2022, Varsity Boys Water Polo cruise to 16-3 preseason win over Liberty, the first person that came to my mind to interview was now-reigning EYL (East Yosemite League) MVP (Most Valuable Player) and Champion, and Redwood’s leading goal scorer in the 2024 season, David Ross, ’25. That postgame interview was the first of the over 80 I would conduct during my three years as a writer.

Some of my most memorable interviews come right after the game. That’s when you catch the players at their emotional peak following the game’s events.

In one of my favorite articles I’ve ever written, Redwood Boys Varsity Soccer Hand Porterville First Loss in 2-1 Thriller, capturing the raw emotion of the players following their last-minute victory in my favorite sport is something I’ll never forget.

Getting Andres Gutierrez, ’24, to say, “It feels good, It feels better because we were the underdogs. Everyone thought they were going to sh*t on us. We didn’t let that get to us, we just played us. We played with heart, and that’s what got us the win,” was an awesome moment that showcased the pride that Rangers have every time that they play with their teammates/closest friends and for their school. (Side note, I’ve found that cursing in interviews is quite rare, but it is completely allowed and even encouraged in order to really capture the genuine emotions at hand).

Pride for Redwood is something I’ve always had since I first stepped foot on campus. Loyalty to a team and a school is something I carried over from my lifetime of sports fandom.

But with Redwood, being loyal and proud to the school came easy.

Sure, Redwood isn’t a perfect school. I’ve had all types of teachers, from ones that have literally changed my life forever (thank you Mr. Coon and Mr. Miller), to ones that made me question if they even truly cared about their daily profession, the kids they worked with, and if they showed up just for the paycheck. (Although that can be applied to any school).

The overcrowding is a clear issue, with walking over the bridge becoming a task that gets more difficult by the day. This overcrowding issue reaches the sports programs, with so many kids trying out for the varsity sports teams that extremely talented individuals may not even get a roster spot. This in turn causes many kids to transfer to the other high schools in town just to get playing time in the sport they love.

I was lucky enough to play for Redwood’s Varsity Boys Tennis team, and playing with the R on my chest every match was an honor.

And although I see the thought process in switching schools purely for athletic reasons, I know I couldn’t have done the same, even after I quit my true sport of choice, basketball, partly due to the deep talent pool at the varsity level.

Transferring from Redwood is a thought that never crossed my mind.

This school has some intangible feeling that makes it feel like home. I am extremely grateful that my life path, from São Joao da Boa Vista, São Paulo, Brazil, to Exeter, California, to Winter Haven, Florida, and back to California in Visalia, eventually led me to Redwood. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

This school has given me every opportunity to be my best self and to choose whichever path I desired. The countless outlets that you can dedicate your time to here at Redwood is astounding, with dedicated mentors and adults at every turn wanting to see you succeed in whatever you choose.

This school has a naturalistic beauty to it, with a campus that surpasses all I’ve ever seen in terms of visual appeal. Following the dissolution of Visalia Union High School, while the maroon school took the mascot and colors, Redwood kept the beautiful campus and gave it a name that it could be proud of.

This school has an authenticity that can’t be denied, and in a world full of fake news and fake people, it’s refreshing to have a place that is real to lean on. Redwood’s storied history and past are what makes it truly special and unique in the face of the Central Valley, and it is only getting stronger by the year. I can’t wait to see what Redwood accomplishes in the future.

My parents often mention how if they would have had the funds, then they would have sent me to the private Christian high school in town instead of Redwood.

I thank God that everything worked out the way that it did.

Fare You Well Redwood. I love you more than words can tell.

Tags: clubs & lifestyles, Lucas De Lima, rangers, Redwood, redwood gigantea, redwood high school, redwood journalism, redwood Lucas de lima, redwood rangers, redwood sports, rhs, RHS Lucas de Lima, visalia ca