Behind the Screen

By: Alyssa Cantu and Mackinley Dennewith

Room 207 is where Redwood’s Gigantea is made. Journalism is an elective that some Redwood students are involved in. In Journalism there are 4 main categories; lifestyles and clubs, sports, government and politics, and entertainment. Along with these four, Journalism also does photo galleries, podcast, and opinion pieces. This year everyone has made a huge impact on campus for students to see what’s going on at Redwood. Krissy Hetherington and Valeria Rojas, this years editors, have worked together to create stories, newspapers, and overall, the Journalism class a whole. From freshman to seniors, we all have worked on stories we are proud of. But now it’s our turn to show the side of the screen you don’t get to see.

Government/Politics

Colin Watamura, ’19, a first year journalism student, says that his favorite part about the class is hearing other people talk about what they’re passionate about, along with working on the magazine. “I wanted to have an outlet to talk about things that I cared about in a way that I could fully express myself.” Watamura added on, “I also wanted to help people understand the perspectives of others.”

Johan Satorre, ‘20, another first year journalism student, said “I took this class because I had a free period, and it seemed more interesting than video.” Satorre continued on by saying, “My favorite part of the class has been the freedoms we have.”

SPORTS

Sydney Brammer, ‘22, says that her favorite part of the year has been going around campus and meeting new people. Brammer says she chose Journalism because “I like to meet new people and i’m always curious to see what’s going on around campus.”

Ella Carney, ‘22, said “I joined Journalism because I’ve always been interested in writing, and this class gives me the opportunity to expand my knowledge. Not being held back by the rules is also something I really enjoy about this class.”

Lily Stetson, ‘21, says she enjoys journalism because it gives her a lot of freedom. Along with the freedom, Stetson believes that having the ability to make your own decisions is another good quality about this class.

Ciera Sesock, ‘22, a freshman, joined Journalism because “it seemed like a great experience, especially if you enjoy writing.” Sesock likes journalism because it gives her the freedom to express her writing in a unique way.

Kadynn Porterfield, ‘22, took Journalism in middle school and wanted to continue on into high school. “This class is different from all of my other ones because you get to have so much freedom.”

Brandon Teela, ‘21, is a sports editor and writer. Teela’s favorite part about Journalism is “the involvement and the good atmosphere brought to class each day.”

CLUBS AND LIFESTYLES

Sameh Esmaeili, ‘21, is a co-editor for the clubs and lifestyles section. “I like how we get the opportunity to talk to so many people, I don’t really like talking to people, but Journalism took me out of that and now I actually really enjoy talking to everyone we meet.”

Yaslin Ponce, ‘19, is a senior at Redwood. “I took this class because I had extra space in my schedule, and it seemed interesting.” Ponce went on to say, “This class is a good start to the day, everyone makes it really enjoyable.”

Stephanie Sandoval, ‘19, says her favorite part of the class is building a point of view for other students at Redwood. “I love being able to help spread Redwood’s news around campus.”

Kenzie Collins, ‘19, is a co-editor for the clubs and lifestyles section. “Someone recommended me to this class, and I decided to take it.” Collins’ favorite part of the class, is her fan, coffee, and going fast and breaking stuff.

ENTERTAINMENT

Caleb Feliz, ‘22, says Journalism gave him the opportunity to use his voice to give insight to others. “What I really like about Journalism is how it gave me to chance to be heard and also grants me the autonomy to do so.”

Ryan Pendleton, ‘20, is a first year Journalism student. Pendleton says “The atmosphere is very natural.” He continued on to say, “I wanted to take this class to further my writing abilities, and to help inform people of what’s going on around campus.”

Arianna Vargas, ‘19, says she joined Journalism because she needed to extra credits, but ended up enjoying the class a lot more than she initially thought she would. “My favorite part of journalism is how everyone can converse freely. We don’t have to be so uptight, like our other classes. Having the ability to do as needed, freely, makes all the more difference.”

EDITORS

Krissy Hetherington, ‘21, is one of the co-editors for the Gigantea. “My cousin was a senior editor before I came to Redwood, and told me to fill my schedule with a fun and easy class. I ended up choosing Journalism.” Hetherington continued on, “I love the amount of freedom we get, and how we, as a class, have the ultimate choice in what we get to publish for everyone to read and choose what we want to write about.”

Valeria Rojas, ‘19, is also a co-editor of the Gigantea. “I joined this class because I wanted to be a part of something. I’m not very outgoing, so Journalism was the perfect way for me to be able to express myself without being put on the spot.” Rojas’ favorite part about Journalism, is the independence that the students receive.

Everyone has made Gigantea what it is today on the team of 2018-2019. Sydney Brammer, Abigail Miller, Lily Stetson, Vincent Aldridge, Johan Satorre, Kristilyn Hetherington, Kadynn Porterfield, Sophia Boudakian, Alyssa Cantu, Ella Carney, Ryan Pendleton, Leah Navarro, Ciera Sesock, Sameh Esmaeili Babadi, Caleb Feliz, Madison Navarrette, Kaleah Syvirathphan, Brandon Teela, and Annabelle Williamson are freshmen-juniors who make up the bulk of the class and potentilly will be a part of the team next year as well.

Along with everyone named there were many seniors who dedicated their last year of high school to be apart of Redwood’s Gigantea. Excluding; Mackinley Dennewith, Estrella McDaniels, Stephanie Sandoval-Rodriguez, Anissa Garcia, Angelina Gomez, Mackenzie Collins, Mackenzie Potts, Arianna Vargas, Helen Webb, Yaslin Ponce, Natalie Bugajski, Savanna Silva, Valeria Rojas, Amanda See, and Colin Watamura. From the whole team thank you to everyone who made this year memorable and farewell to all the seniors. We hope your dreams are full of ambition and desire.

Additionally, a special thank you to Mr. Miller that shaped us and taught us lessons we will always remember. Also, for making room 207 a place we all love and feel like home away from home.