Miles Largoza - Journalist

I joined the Gigantea in 2022 and work as a journalist for the Arts section.  I really enjoy writing artist spotlights, but have also reviewed a school play. I have learned that there are a lot of artists around the school campus that are never recognized outside of their art communities, and so my artist spotlights allow their work to be seen by a larger audience.  I am particularly proud of my artist spotlight on Devin Calderone, his work has a huge impact on the Redwood Band, yet he is rarely acknowledged by the school.  He is my best example of an important artist that I was able to reveal and highlight to the Gigantea's readers.

Semester 1 Stories

Artist Spotlight: Devin Calderon

This story highlights Devin Calderon, '23, and his musical talents. He is someone with perfect pitch(about 5 in 10,000 people), which means he is able to listen to music and mentally recognize the played notes. He uses this to arrange popular songs into music pieces for the band. This story was written off of one of my best interviews. When interviewing Devin, I ended up learning a lot more than I expected, which allowed me to have a more thorough and impactful story.

This story matters because it highlights the work of an artist that isn't formally recognized but puts on a lot of work behind the scenes of the Redwood band. It also allows our readers to see the background behind iconic songs that are heard at the weekly Redwood Football games.

"Space Princess Wars" A Comedic Bridge Between The Princess Bride and Star Wars

This is a story I wrote for this year's fall play, which is performed annually by the Redwood Theatre Department. The play's overall storyline is a simple meshing of the two movies A Princess Bride and Star Wars: Episode 4, however, each character had their own quirks that made the play enjoyable and unique.  This showed my ability to see stories from the perspectives of both a writer and a reader, so that I could see both the enjoyable and critical sides of the play.

This story matters because of the stigmas that may surround school plays. They can be seen as low effort and amateurish, which is false, especially when regarding Redwood performances. By writing this story, I am allowing readers to see some of the behind-the-scenes of these productions.

Bye Bye Birdie: Who Are the Leads?

This is a story I wrote for this year's Redwood Musical. There were a lot of talented students trying out for a role in the musical. My story highlights and discusses the leads of the musical and their theater backgrounds.  This shows my interviewing skills. I am pretty good at getting people to talk about their backstories.

This story matters because of the individual actors that are putting on these shows. They are not always recognized by the audience body. By highlighting these actors with my story, I am allowing our readers to see the histories of these students.

Artist Spotlight: Jasmine Mondragon-Rivas

This is a story I wrote for one of the artists on the Redwood campus. There are many students in the art classes here on Redwood campus, and there are many that are never recognized for their abilities. My story highlights and discusses the artwork of Mondragon-Rivas. This shows my writing skills. I am pretty good at creating a story about an individual in a way that they enjoy and feel makes them feel recognized.

This story matters because it is unlikely that this artist would have been recognized outside the art room. By highlighting this artist with my story, I am allowing our readers to see the artistic abilities of students on campus.

Reflection

Where have I been?

When I signed up for Journalism, I expected to join a very laid-back and fun class. Now that I have experienced it, I can confidently say that it is a fun class, but also self-paced, and requires effort on my part. Everyone works independently of each other to run the website and ensure that there is a daily output of new stories.

Where am I now?

I can interview other students in a professional and comfortable manner. I can set my own timelines for releasing stories. I can accurately relay stories through my writing, without over editorializing.

Where am I going?

  1. To write more and be more proactive when looking for stories.
  2. To collaborate with my section members more often.
  3. To cover the Arts events in more depth.