2024 Documentary Magazine Vol 1

Freestyle Academy

2024 Junior Documentary Articles Vol. 1

Cover design by Ash Dillon

Freestyle Academy proudly presents

2024 Documentary Articles

Junior students were challenged with:

“How do you creatively and truthfully portray a significant person, group, place, idea, or issue in the community?”

For the Junior Documentary Project, students portray an intriguing person, group, place, idea, or issue, gathering primary and secondary research sources to develop a distinct perspective about their subject’s significance in the community and/or world. The research-based paper from English serves as the copy for the magazine articles in this publication. This unit emphasizes narrative-style journalism.

Students in Digital Media learned to use Adobe InDesign for article layout, Adobe Photoshop of image editing, and Adobe Illustrator for graphic design to produce these articles. Each student in Digital Media also produced a documentary website.

Film students additionally produced a Documentary Film. Animation students additionally produced an Animated Documentary. Design students additionally produced a Documentary Book.

All documentary productions can be viewed through https://freestyleacademy.rocks/documentaries

Contributing Authors

Alex Sakamoto

Growing Roots

In the heart of tech, there lives a garden that grows a spectrum of flowers of every shape and color. Glowing pink dahlias spring out of the bushes and equally vibrant blooms of variegated petals creep out into the cozy space. Countless blossom varieties are grown from the dry earth beneath. Looking into the nursery of flowers, it’s as if one had walked into a rainbow of riches. Each flower represents hours of love and care required to grow from the soil of Los Altos Hills. From the climbing windows of the estate, the view is littered with bursts of color that speckle the grounds. At the center of it all lies Charmaine Turbow, the Head Farmette of Turbow Farms — practicing chiropractor, mother, and wife. She, much like the flowers she cultivates, draws you to escape the real world with her charming personality and razorsharp wit. From the early mornings into the late afternoons, Charmaine lovingly tends to her plot with occasional help with her family of five. Sporting a handmade Turbow Farms hoodie and signature green leggings, she begins her harvest as the

Alex Sakamoto

doors to jam-packed office buildings creak open just 15 minutes away.

Today, especially in Silicon Valley, the addiction to screens and constant, competitive work culture plague thousands. This hustle culture is centered around maximizing productivity, ignoring the resulting stress and burnout that isolates workers, and perpetuates a sense of constant competition. Turbow notes the similarities to the chronic pain her chiropractic patients experience, with the stress of constantly trying to hustle in the workplace: “We all kind of grin and bear it and our bodies have just gotten used to accommodating the pain and just moving forward and moving on…”

In contrast, Turbow’s micro farm challenges the industry giants that surround her through her community-centered events that promote togetherness and relaxation. At Turbow Farms, all one needs to worry about is tending to the garden — nourishing the plant life, and in return, nourishing themselves. She explains that, similar

Floral arrangement by Turbow

“We all kind of grin and bear it and our bodies have just gotten used to accommodating the pain and just moving forward and moving on…”

to her chiropractic practice, that her farm serves the same purpose of reinvigorating oneself. Turbow notes, “Like when people come here, it’s like they have a little transformation in who they are.”

At its surface, the bouquets are simply a combination of dirt, nutrients, soil, and other organic matter. However, like most things in her life, Turbow pushes others to look beyond. Her flowers are a culmination of unique varieties just like the people she helps bring together. Her assortments represent each and every individual not as a singular person, but as a blend of the people, events, and memories that have shaped them. To her, Turbow Farms represents healing and a sense of comradery of all who came before us, and all who will come in the future — the seeds of what will soon become a beautiful community garden.

Step One: Seed

Professionally, Turbow began as a chiropractor at a local practice for over 20 years. The medical field, much like the corporate jobs in the Bay Area, tend to have a rigorous work culture and schedule that often burns out their employees. However, it wasn’t until the tragic death of her best friend and her mother-in-law until she first planted the seeds of what would become Turbow Farms. Everyone in her tight-knit family felt the weight of these losses, and with it, a new perspective on how to live life to the fullest. Her husband’s second cousin, in particular, was integral to forming Turbow’s out-of-the-box outlook on

life and how it should be spent. Charmaine recalls his inspirational words, reminding her of her own role as a mother, guardian, and protector: “So what you’re going to do is spend time with your kids. You’re going to do things with your kids that matter.’” With newfound motivation and dedication to create a space that would emulate just that environment, Turbow, her husband, Dan, and children began to cultivate what was to become Turbow Farms.

Living in the headquarters of technology, Turbow’s decision to pivot towards farm life certainly turned heads. Though extremely proud of her business and what it has accomplished, she recalls the fear of judgment and offhanded looks of other parents in the school pick-up line. Due to Silicon Valley’s emphasis on all things STEM, many people do not hold respect for time, effort, and labor that is not related to the discipline. However, this did not deter Turbow — she understood that there was meaning in the work she was beginning to do. Despite hardships and uncertainties, she persevered forward towards actualizing her dream. From her own healing journey, Turbow invites others

“One of the big things for me was to get people grounded again. It’s not just cutting flowers or designing”

to become part of a community that is there to support and uplift one another, just as she had in a time of need. Through hosting team-building events — held in-house— Turbow seeks to allow individuals to decompress, opening themselves to unlock creative freedom, as well as granting access to a larger community of connection. Her goal: to break up the machine-like monotony and grow a place

Turbow harvesting flowers

Turbow and her giant arrangement

where people come to escape.

Step Two: Sprout

The infamous work culture and stress that has come to be synonymous with Silicon Valley is not without reason. This clustering of tech giants have championed a corporate model that aims to blend work and personal life alongside generous pay, flooding their buildings with talent and other hopeful hires. Allured by the promise of a sustainable work-life balance with bountiful pay, this model was quickly popularized across Santa Clara County. However, this bred a highly competitive environment that sacrificed factors like job security and quality health insurance (Lyons). Additionally, “Stack ranking”, a practice that ranks the performance of employees against the whole workforce, have been reported in large companies like Amazon and Meta (Rawlinson). Although these companies are wildly successful in the eye of the public, this is not remotely reflective of what their employees feel. Stack ranking tends to foster a culture that centers around isolation instead of community. It tends to

“ a lot of them come in very uncertain but by the time they leave, they’re all smiling.”

pit workers against one another, dissolving any sense of cooperation or collaboration in the workplace, and leading to unfulfilled and a stressed out workforce (Lyons). In fact, the US Department of Labor states that roughly 65% of US workers classify work as a significant source of stress (OSHA) .

Turbow, through her workshops, aims to alleviate the corporate-induced chaos of constantly overworking, while fostering togetherness and connection that is so glaringly absent in the workplace. Green spaces, areas generally reserved for plant life in urban cities, have been linked to being critical parts of human development and public health in general (Roy). Increased interaction with such spaces has proven beneficial, positive effects on mental health and overall wellbeing. These areas have also been described as potential buffers against stressors such as job insecurity, heavy workload, long hours, and various other demands (Lee et al.). Much like watering her seedlings and sprouting plants, Turbow enjoys nurturing the creative sides of those who visit her farm, hoping that they will together reap the benefits of

increased mental and physical health in the process.

Last November, a team of about 40 CISCO employees booked one of Turbow Farm’s workshops as a team-bonding event. Once they arrived at the farm, it was clear to Turbow that this was a group filled with “typeA’s,” who are highly proactive individuals that struggle to relax. Nevertheless, they all expressed interest at the idea of trying something new (and admittedly, not related to their actual employment). Through these workshops, Turbow aims not to completely overhaul the meticulous nature of these people, but rather give them space to freely express themselves. She instructs them to simply “set that (their emotional baggage, their anxieties) all aside and let go,” an objective that is often easier said than done. From this small escape cultivated by Turbow, connection sprouts both during and after their visit. There is a newfound sense of accomplishment, teamwork, and joy that is achieved through this unique experience with nature.

A lot of what keeps Turbow going is seeing the community that forms as these individuals begin to learn about their peers. She sees the small things — like when she gets complete strangers to share bits about themselves, when suddenly, another head excitedly pops

“People who are in these really, really high production-type jobs, they actually need this space,”

Turbow tending to the garden

up and shares something similar. Even outside her farm, Turbow still creates a sense of community that uplifts every party involved. “People who are in these really, really high production-type jobs, they actually need this space,” Turbow recounts with pride, “ a lot of them come in very uncertain but by the time they leave, they’re all smiling.”

Step Three: Nurture

Marie Clifton, a former psychologist at Amdahl Corporation (now Fujitsu Corp), volunteer at Turbow farms, and dear friend to Charmaine Turbow shares her experiences in the delicate art of balancing work and life. Clifton’s professional journey began at 11 years old and blossomed into creating health programs for company executives and employees. Later, she noticed an increase in mental and emotional health issues that led her to pursue her PhD in order to better help her patients. She met Turbow after ordering flowers for pick-up online — upon arrival, Clifton was entranced by the oasis that is Turbow Farms. Now, they meet together at the farm regularly, indulging in their tea tradition where Clifton and Turbow sit down, drink, and talk before tackling the plants. At the start, Clifton recounts the seedling trays being a source of worry. Clifton vividly remembers her anxiety surrounding the seeds sprouting under the grow lights then ensuring they take root into the ground where they

“she can grow a community, she brings people together…I think it’s beautiful, the legacy she brings…she really instills confidence in you”

will reside. Seeing this, Turbow reassured Clifton’s anxieties, reminding her that mother nature will decide what lives and what doesn’t, that it is impossible to control everything, and to simply live in the moment. Clifton continues to help out on the farm, looking forward to their time together each week. “She is definitely a grower,” Clifton remarks excitedly, “she can grow a community, she brings people together…I think it’s beautiful, the legacy she brings…she really instills confidence in you”.

As a consumer and a propagator of Turbow’s vision of relaxation and grounding oneself in nature, she provides a glimpse into the effect that Turbow Farm’s philosophy has had on Clifton’s physical and mental health. Translating this outwards, Clifton is more mindful of the people in her periphery, wondering how she can help make someone, anyone’s day better. “And so being able to help an individual, it’s a larger community. I’d be going like, ‘oh my God, I can help her.’ The exact way my interns helped me develop my programs years ago at the hospital.” With just one chance encounter with Turbow, Clifton has now found herself all the richer — she is now with a lifelong friendship, enjoying improved mental and physical health, and continues to be mindful of how to help out the people surrounding her life.

Step Four: Germinate

In the end, the value of Charmaine Turbow’s work is underlined in her ability to germinate true, meaningful connection between individuals that emerges into a

Above the Turbow Farms workshop

Turbow preparing flowers

community that is as healing and rejuvenating as the one that she had in a time of need. Marie Clifton, just one of the many that Turbow has affected, adds to the web of connection that Turbow Farms spins. In her shared tea tradition, in her volunteering, and in her actions, she reflects the values of what Turbow has created within her home. Certainly, Clifton is only one of many unique individuals that Turbow has touched with her farm, her workshops, and her nurturing guidance.

Turbow continues her commitment to grow and nurture the community around her with blog posts, helpful online videos, and lively workshops. With family and friends by her side she works to “create a magical space for people to come and escape to” (Turbow). Though boxed

in by the tech-dominated world nearby, Turbow remains dedicated to her philosophy of helping and healing others through her humor, flowers, and mindset. From seed to sprouting plant, she continues to tend her flowers, which are unique and special as the people who walk through her doors.

“What’s really remarkable to me is that when people are feeling better, they are nicer to everybody else around them, right? They’re kinder”

About the Author

Alex Sakamoto is a Junior at Mountain View High School and design student at Freestyle Academy. She lives in Los Altos with her parents, older sibling, younger brother, and Noodle, her dog. She is part of the Varsity Volleyball team at Mountain View and continues to play on a club team. When not at school, she enjoys watching movies, rainy days, long drives with the windows down, napping, and going out with friends.

Check out Turbow Farms!

Ashley Dillon

THE WILL TO PROTECT AND SERVE

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE A POLICE OFFICER?

Explore what the role of local police looks like in Mountain View, California. What are common problems and past events that have caused trouble for local police departments, and how can Police departments and their local communities work together to keep people safe from harm?

SAUL JAEGER

Saul Jaeger, Captain of the Mountain View Police Department, somberly observes the funeral procession of his fellow officer, Bill Crawford. During the funeral, Jaeger was overwhelmeWd by the large number of mourners of all ages in attendance, many of whom became close to Crawford when he served in the Youth Services Unit, where he quickly became known for his compassionate approach to police work. Jaeger thinks, “That says something, right, that he affected these kids’ lives, like all the way up until their adulthood.” Crawford’s positive impact and personal connection to the community represents the very core of why Jaeger became a police officer many years ago: to protect and serve the community. As an adult, Jaeger finds purpose in his childhood dream job, now made a reality.

COMMUNITY RELATIONS

Over the past several years, the perception of the police and their mission has been tested and questioned. Jaeger’s story matters because it helps us to understand the fundamental reasons many police officers choose to become public servants. It also shows us how many officers have managed through recent adversity by remaining true to their underlying purpose and meaning. Jaeger is able to provide a unique perspective on what it is like to be a law enforcement officer. The partnership Jaeger and his coworkers have with their local community is a positive example of what a healthy community-police relationship should look like. Maintaining a healthy relationship between law enforcement and communities is crucial, given its positive impact on society. Jaeger encouraged and even led a variety of community programs with the goal of connecting with the citizens of Mountain View. When asked about what Mountain View’s relationship with its police department looks like, Jaeger stated, “It doesn’t feel like it’s us vs. the community,

“IT FEELS LIKE A PARTNERSHIP AND THAT’S REALLY HOW IT SHOULD BE, RIGHT?”

INSPIRATION

As for the moment Jaeger became inspired to pursue a

career in policing, it unfortunately was not a joyous occasion. After dropping his daughter off at daycare, he was driving to work when a news flash came on the radio. Jaeger’s confusion grew as he listened, learning that a plane had crashed into the World Trade Center in New York. As the terrorist attack that would later be known as 9/11 occurred, he pulled his car to the side of the road in shock. Describing the event much later, Jaeger reflected on how the moment drove him to leave his old job and pursue his current occupation as a police officer. He explained that while his previous job as a business manager in Santa Clara had paid him well, he didn’t feel like there was a greater purpose to it. “I was just a salesperson and I didn’t really like it,” he remarked. “I didn’t feel anything while in that position. And it was at that moment that I was very clearly like, I need to do something different.”

THE ATTACKS OF 9/11

The attacks on 9/11 had a profound impact on the lives of most Americans, across all ages, ethnicities, and genders. Like Jaeger, millions of Americans watched in horror as the terrorist attacks of 9/11 left nearly 3,000 people dead in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. “A year after the attacks, in an open-ended question, most Americans – 80% – cited 9/11 as the most important event that had occurred in the country during the previous year. (Hartig). The events of 9/11 not only had a profound impact on Americans, they also stirred deep feelings and acts of patriotism. “Patriotic sentiment surged in the aftermath of 9/11. After the U.S. and its allies launched airstrikes against Taliban and al-Qaeda forces in early October 2001, 79% of adults said they had displayed an American flag” (Hartig). For many Americans, these feelings of patriotism after 9/11 drove them to pursue careers rooted in purpose. “In the year that followed, more than 254,000 young people answered the call to serve in the military” (Clark). Many others, including Saul, pursued careers as police officers and public servants, driven by a deep sense of purpose and commitment to community. For Jaeger, like most police officers, the process of becoming an officer is long and arduous. Even if they are chosen, applicants often don’t become fully fledged officers until 2+ years later. After a thorough and extremely intrusive background check, applicants are sent to academies to train. The days they encounter there are physically and mentally taxing. Many people fail out of the academy, and those who graduate endure more training when they become fully-fledged officers. Despite the difficulties, Jaeger succeeded in becoming a police officer. Over time, he was promoted to Captain and joined the Mountain View Police Department (MVPD) in 2003. However, life has difficult times in store for everyone, especially for those with dangerous jobs like policing. Jaeger’s story is no exception.

THE COVID PANDEMIC

In 2019, the COVID pandemic began and transformed the lives of people around the world, including the more than 800,000 police officers in the US who committed to protect and serve their communities. According to the World Health Organization, “Over 760 million cases and 6.9 million deaths have been recorded worldwide since December 2019, but the actual number is thought to be higher” (“Coronavirus disease”). As senior leader

in the police department, Jaeger and his team had their own difficulties during the pandemic. Serving as a peacekeeper during such an uncertain time became more difficult, and Jaeger needed to rely on his north star of serving the community to guide his actions. Jaeger explained, “The job itself is hard during good times. So when COVID hit, we were not prepared. I never thought that I would be having to deal with logistics issues for that kind of stuff.” Since a pandemic of this scale had never happened before, there were no laws or guidelines for law enforcement to follow while attempting to do their jobs. Jaeger led his officers through extraordinary uncertainty by responding to questions like, “Am I meant to arrest someone who doesn’t want to wear a mandated mask?” or “How am I meant to control the rationing of toilet paper of all things?”. Additionally, police officers worried about bringing COVID into their homes or infecting loved ones after possibly contracting the disease during the day. Stress levels were high within the police force, and they were about to increase even further.

TURMOIL OVER POLICE VIOLENCE

On May 25, 2020, George Floyd, a Black American man was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota. In combination with the Black Lives Matter movement, the killing of George Floyd resulted in widespread demand to address police violence against Black Americans, including in Mountain View. “In response to these community-led movements—many of which rallied around calls to “Defund the Police”—cities and counties have begun restructuring how local budgets and law enforcement are deployed in service of public safety” (Arzy). For example, Austin, Los Angeles, and at least 12 other cities pledged to cut police budgets with plans to reinvest in community programs.” (Arzy, Leily) Jaeger described the citizens of Mountain View as having been fairly appreciative of first responders before the incident occurred. “But then George Floyd happened,” Jaeger stated, “The officer murdered George Floyd. And that, overnight, shot down any community trust in things that we had before and had been building and working on for decades. It was all gone.”

After George Floyd’s death, Jaeger began to see evidence of the newfound distrust in police officers. People holding signs with messages like “ACAB” or “F*** the Police’’ began to appear in places Jaeger had not seen them before. There were protests about the presence of officers on school campuses. The jobs of police officers became more difficult. In addition to affecting their work lives, the conflict over law enforcement bled into officer’s home lives. Family members would sometimes take sides, causing safe

places to become rife with mistrust and paranoia. Jaeger reminisced that the sudden opposition to law enforcement perplexed him. He explained that the communities’ mentality “was really confusing because that (George Floyd’s murder) didn’t happen here... in Mountain View, we didn’t do that, that wasn’t the Mountain View Police.” It’s easy to imagine how disheartened police officers were when the people they were risking their lives to protect wanted them gone, especially when they were not involved in the Floyd murder. Frustrated, Jaeger and his colleagues looked for ways to connect with the public and earn back their trust.

REBUILDING WITH MVPDX

In 2021, after managing through several challenging years, Jaeger and his team realized that they needed to strengthen their connection with the community. Jaeger and his team decided to launch a Community Outreach Program and, “invite people who are vocal and who want to make changes in policing. Let’s bring them in, not to change their mind, but to provide them the right information...because we work for the community,” Jaeger said. The Program was called MVPDX, and comprised a series of ten zoom meetings in which a cohort of diverse participants from the community would be able to learn about and discuss how the MVPD functions in the community. The participants discussed topics like; community partnerships, school resource officers, incident debriefs, internal affairs and complaint investigations, a deep-dive into data collection and research, implicit bias, and mental health responses. The community cohort spent time with police officers and visited the station to experience what it was like to be one. The MVPD had no obligation to offer the program, and yet Jaeger and his peers aimed to understand and collaborate with their local community, rather than react badly or feel threatened. This act of reaching out allowed the MVPD to work together with local advocates in their community to determine the best steps to take for the future of policing.

MVPDX: COMMUNITY OUTREACH PROGRAM

Karin Dillon, a member of the Mountain View community was placed in the 2nd MVPDx cohort. According to Dillon, the other people in her cohort included activists, members of nonprofits, local university students, and homeowners in Mountain View. The goal of MVPDx was to “achieve best practices locally to not only keep our residents safe now, but to also work in collaboration on what policing may look like here in the future.” (City of Mountain View) During the program, Dillon observed that “there were individuals who came into it saying, I do not support the police department and you should not be able to harm individuals who are at risk. I noticed in the discussion that they

A Mountain View Police Department patrol car parked at the station.

Cameras that MVPD officers are required to wear on their vests while patrolling being reharged at their stations

would soften their viewpoints to actually create a dialogue versus us just shouting over each other or having a debate versus a discussion.” She remarked on how the program encouraged thoughtful discussion, and how the participants were still able to have respectful conversations while disagreeing. When describing the officers and leaders of the program, Dillon said, “I just was so impressed by a group of people who chose a profession that is extremely hard, puts their well-being at risk, puts their lives on the line... I felt like they genuinely wanted to hear what the community had to say, no matter the viewpoint.” Jaeger’s community program is slowly rebuilding the trust with the people of Mountain View.

STRUGGLES OFFICERS FACE

While the relationship between the residents of Mountain View and the local police continues to improve, police officers struggle with physical and mental well-being. Jaeger cares deeply about the well-being of his fellow officers at the MVPD.

stress and physically relax his constantly tense muscles. Going forwards, Jaeger strives to answer the question, “how do you introduce and celebrate a lifestyle that’s healthy into a culture that might be resistant to that?” In the future, Saul Jaeger hopes to encourage his officers to practice self care in the form of meal planning, meditation, and yoga, to name just a few.

WORKING TOGETHER FOR A BETTER FUTURE

However, in order to ensure that an extremely taxing job does not get even more difficult, Jaeger needs ongoing support from the local community. When trust between a city and their police force is lost, it can have dire consequences if not handled correctly. As Jaeger described, “We have the same struggles as anybody else. This is not an us versus them, this is a job. And the demands on it might be a little bit different than other people’s jobs. It’s frustrating sometimes where we’re expected to be perfect, when nobody is perfect.” Despite the difficulties that occurred during COVID, the Mountain View community is beginning to thrive once more, as is its police force. To this day, Jaeger and his officers attempt to nurture the community-police relationship by connecting with their city at every opportunity. Things like “coffee with a cop”, active MVPD social media platforms, school resource officers, and community programs like MVPDX are evidence of their efforts to create a safe space for their local community. Despite past challenges, the MVPD has been present to protect and serve the people of their city. If Mountain View ever faces challenges in regards to the purpose of its police force again, Jaeger has one thing to ask of its people, “Don’t just jump to conclusions, be curious. Because cops, most cops, the vast majority of most cops, they feel noble in what they’re doing and they want to help.

“THEY JUST WANT PEOPLE TO BE GOOD” “THIS IS NOT AN US VS. THEM, THIS IS A JOB.”

Jaeger stated, “and the demands on it might be a little bit different than other people’s jobs.” Jaeger described the issue he is most passionate about as “employee wellness”. Police officers face a wide array of dangers to their physical, emotional, and mental health. According to a 2004-2009 BCOPS (the Buffalo Cardio-Metabolic Occupational Police Stress) study, “The percent of officers with depression was nearly double (12.0% vs. 6.8%) and officers were nearly four times more likely to sleep less than six hours in a 24-hour period than the general population (33.0% vs. 8.0%)” (National Library of Medicine). In addition to this, police officers also have up to double the risk of developing cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, and other stress-induced illnesses. Experts agree that police officers experience things like “long hours under high-risk and uncontrolled environments,” and the “need to make on-the-spot decisions in complex situations”. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention). Jaeger has observed these effects on himself and his fellow officers firsthand. While participating in MVPDx, Karin Dillon asked a patrol officer what he was concerned about while on the job. The officer responded, “I’m just so used to everybody staring at me. It drives this level of paranoia that I’m like, I can’t relax when I’m in uniform because everyone’s looking at me.” The officer then explained how he had taken up yoga in an attempt to release

Special thanks to Saul Jaeger for the oppurtunity to interveiw and meet with him about the importance of policing in Mountain View City. Keep doing what you do best Mr. Jaeger!

A thank you note adressed to MVPD officers, hung up at the police station in Downtown Mountain View

Ashley Dillon (left) and Saul jaeger (right)

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Please scan the above QR code if you would like to view Ashley’s Documentary webpage, on her personal website.

Ashley Dillon is a Junior at Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy. She is currently enrolled in Freestyle’s Animation elective, and plans to pursue the subject later in college. In addition to animation/visual arts, Ashley enjoy learning about scientific subjects such as anatomy & physiology or pyschology. She has a cat named Tiki that enjoys stealing hair ties and tormenting small animals, in addition to cuddling with her owners. Some of Ashley’s hobbies include skiing, practicing martial arts, eating sushi, ramen, or dim sum, and making a massive amount of art in her free time. Ashley is extremely thankful for the amazing oppurtunities she has encountered while at Freestyle, and is excited to continue growing throughout her time there.

Charlie Schwartz

Investing in the Future

By Charlie Schwartz

When you look at Lenny Hoschild, a father of three, CEO, and overall nice guy, you wouldn’t think he would be involved in one of the greatest business scandals in American history. Growing up in New York, Hoschild was introduced to the commodity business very early on, through both his father and uncle, who worked in the metal industry. Despite his fascination for the commodities industry, Hoschild believed that he was going to become a lawyer, taking various internships involving criminal and business law. However, after being

involved in a murder case in London with a guilty suspect, he decided that criminal law was not for him, eventually making his way back into the business world through other corporate and business internships.

Thats how I got my foot in the door into the energy business

“What I realized was I thought the international trade part was fascinating, but I wasn’t quite as interested in the legal aspect, but more in the business,”

(Hoschild)

Now hooked on commodities once again, in the 90’s, Hoschild went to work in London and then for his father in New York, however he felt that he could do more. “I wanted to see what I could do by myself, and at the time, there was this company called Enron… it was a very prestigious place to get a job if you’re in the commodities trading business.”(Hoschild) He would make his way into the coal trading part of the business, despite knowing nearly nothing about it, or its effects, “That’s how I got my foot in the

door into the energy business.(Hoschild)”

No model had mapped out if

everybody

stops driving at the same time.

At the time, the world was getting introduced to Climate Change, and the environmental factors of industrialization, which is when Enron began trading Environmental Certificates. Environmental Certificates are essentially credits based on a company’s limit of Carbon Emissions, which can be redeemed in the form of payment by the government. While things seemed to be going well for Hoschild at Enron, a huge scandal regarding embezzlement of many senior members at the company caused it to close down and file for bankruptcy which had been the largest amount of assets seized in US history at the time amounting to over 60 billion dollars according to britannica.com. While Lenny had no idea about the scandal , he recalled describing the financial process

to his father previous to the scandal who had told Lenny that he believed something weird was going on. Despite his warning, Lenny continued to work at Enron, until they filed for Bankruptcy in 2001.

Post-Enron, Lenny went to work at a large energy company called American Electric, giving the majority of the US its electricity at the time. He focused on the environmental commodities part of the business, eventually leaving it for an environmental based brokerage firm, traveling around the world and meeting new people for over 16 years, says Hoschild.

After trading and building his client list, who would become close friends, Hoschild along with his co-founders would decide to start their

own business in 2017 called Environmental Commodity Partners. Made up of just 8 employees, his company specializes in the use of Carbon Credits, which is the “Generation of one unit of clean energy,” according to Hoschild. It can also be accounted for by the reduction of carbon emissions from energy companies and

Hopefully younger kids, your age will be able to see that progress is being made.

mass producers. “This ensures that one ton of Greenhouse Gasses has not gone into the atmosphere [per carbon credit].”(Hoschild) His company also specializes in working with companies and separate investors to fund environmentally friendly projects. He prioritizes both making money for himself and his investors and also benefiting the climate crisis. Specifically, Len-

ny along with his two co-founders are responsible for a number of things including hiring and managing employees, investment and business decisions, and doing right by their investors, to name a few.

“It’s basically just being a small business Entrepreneur.”(Hoschild)

California has a very large program to reduce greenhouse gasses and emissions in comparison to other states and countries. Costs for such credits and certificates depend on activity of this type of commodity business along with how much a government is funding and supporting environmental impact support.

“The most interesting piece is trying to understand why there are so many different prices for all these different markets.”(Hoschild)

Another unique part about Lenny’s business is that he did not start his company with any large backer investment, but had to gradually earn investments. Kim Stienman, a long time friend of Hoschild, and fellow CEO said that she thinks he has informed and helped her improve her Carbon footprint dramatically.

“We took a big leap of faith and really took a risk and so far, so good.”(Hoschild)

After growing his company for numerous years, the COVID-19 pandemic emerged almost causing Lenny to lose his company.

“No model had mapped out t if everybody stops driv- ing at the same time.”(Hoschild)

The price of the Carbon Credits collapsed within one day over 40 percent, and Lenny said his company was not positioned for that. Environmental Commodity Partners nearly lost one of their major funds that they managed, which would had been catastrophic to the company. According to the Department of Transportation, driving had hit an all time low in a matter of days, since industrialization 200 years prior, which had dramatically decreased the amount of carbon emissions being put out. This was both good for the planet and bad for Lenny, as his business relied on people who usually would emit, not

emitting.

“We almost didn’t survive in March of 2020.”(Hoschild)

Despite troubles through the pandemic, Lenny’s company was able to make a full recovery, marking their profits at nearly half a billion dollars, Lenny said.

We took a big leap of faith and really took a risk, and so far, so good.

“We want to raise a billion dollars. You know, we ’re kind of just under halfway there at the moment. “(Hoschild)

Environmental Commodity partners are now focused on two major things; “a good return for our investors on a risk adjusted base,” (Hoschild), and impacting the environment in a positive way.

“Hopefully, leave a company behind that continues to survive and thrive beyond myself and my two co founders.”(Hoschild)

Lenny says that if he can benefit the environment while still maintaining a profit for himself and his investors, then he has really achieved his goals.

“Hopefully, young kids, right, your age will be able to see that progress is being made.”

Lenny also believes

that despite the common bad news that is heard regarding climate change, we as a society are making huge progress in the right direction. This includes fascinating news that China built more solar panels last year than ever before in the entire world.

According to Climate. org, while the temperature of the earth is still rising, we have made significant progress, and possibly have peaked our emissions years before schedule.

“A lot of people are now beginning to think we might already be reaching peak emissions for the world decades ahead of time, so there’s actually a lot of hope…it’s definitely not all bad news and sometimes positive change happens faster than you think.”(Hoschild)

If you would like to learn more about Lenny and his business, scan the QR code to his website.

About the Author:

Charlie is a junior at Mountain View High School who enjoys sking, playing Lacrosse, and writing for the school newspaper, The Oracle. In his free time, he likes to hang out with friends, cook for his family, play with is three dogs and sun bathe. Charlie was inspired to write this story after hearing overhearing Lenny talk about his experience with the Enron scandal. Lenny and Charlie have known eachother for Charlie’s whole life, as Charlie’s mom and him grew up together in New York.

Dhrithi Vishwa

COMPOSITION CLASSROOM of a

A Silicon Valley orchestra teacher’s unique approach to education.

By Dhrithi Vishwa

It was a chilly Monday morning, and Johanna “Jo” Nilsson was still in her office. Chatty high school students in Packard Hall busied themselves with their usual routine of setting up the room for orchestra rehearsal. Discussions ranged from favorite video game characters to upcoming exam topics; in Packard, students could express themselves freely. At 8:40 AM, with a gentle smile on her face and a cup of coffee in her hand, Jo finally emerged from her office. Jo’s students did not hesitate to include her in their conversations, cracking jokes and making small exchanges with her even after class officially began. Though the weather outside was cold, the atmosphere in the room felt warm.

Jo’s interest in music was sparked when she was just a toddler, and since then she has been involved with music for over 20 years. As a high schooler, she

was heavily involved in Mountain View High School’s music program (where she now teaches orchestra) and always dedicated time to music practice. However, music wasn’t her only passion. Growing up, Jo found herself in mentoring roles in several of the groups she was in; the skill of teaching came to her naturally.

Today, she is not only perceived by her students as an exceptional educator but also as an approachable one. While many public school educators take traditional approaches to teaching, Jo extends her methods beyond the music sheets. In the cutthroat landscape of Silicon Valley’s public school system, she puts her students’ well-being first by fostering a positive classroom culture, supporting them through personal challenges, and fostering an inclusive community in the context of music education.

As academic pressures intensify in American high schools, student mental health suffers a toll. A recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that 61% of teens feel a lot of pressure to get good grades, while 70% recognize that anxiety and depression are major problems among their peers (Horowitz and Graf). In Mountain View High School, one of the top public high schools in Silicon Valley, the pressure to excel endures. Relentless grind culture, high parental expectations, and dwindling college acceptance rates drive students to take on crammed schedules in pursuit of achievement, often at the expense of rest and social activities. Amidst their tedious schooldays, Jo’s class serves as a refuge for tense students.

In most classes, students are occupied by stress-inducing assignments, lectures, and exams. When teachers give them time for discussion, it is often for purely academic purposes. In contrast, Jo believes that giving unstructured talking time to her students helps create a comfortable learning space. She expresses that the nature of orchestra is inherently “less conversational” than academic classes, so “you have to balance time for folks to just chit chat, while also having an efficient rehearsal.”

Jo’s teaching style was partly shaped by the music instructors she studied under as a student in Silicon Valley. What struck her most was their commitment to building genuine connections with their students and creating positive learning environments. Lara Fernando, one of Jo’s former students and president of Mountain View High School’s music council, attests that Jo takes the time to get to know each of her students and their passions. “She could tell you what I do outside of orchestra,” says Lara, “and she knows me well enough to understand what’s going on in my life.”

While Jo appreciates some aspects of her past instructors’ teaching styles, she has mixed feelings about their approaches to assignments and assessments. For example, despite their common appearance in her music classes growing up, she avoids assigning practice logs–sheets where students are required to record their weekly practice hours and have signed off by their parents. Jo acknowledges that practice logs can increase the level of personal accountability that students feel towards their music program. However, she also recognizes that they can be challenging for those who struggle with assignment submissions: “They would get a worse grade because they didn’t turn in their practice log, and I know they’re practicing because I see them practice.”

Comfort Support

To Jo, forming positive connections with her students and encouraging them to bond with one another is crucial to creating a classroom where they feel secure enough to take risks. Failure to establish a safe space for taking risks can lead students to withdraw and avoid participation because they’re afraid of making mistakes in front of others. This is why Jo prefers to give feedback to individual students privately instead of pointing out errors in front of their classmates. When providing feedback in a group setting, she addresses it to either a section of the ensemble or the orchestra as a whole. This allows students to learn without feeling insecure and also makes risk-taking seem less scary. In a results-focused place like Silicon Valley, Jo has created an atmosphere where students feel at ease taking risks and making mistakes.

As a high schooler, Jo was diagnosed with severe depression. In her junior year, she decided to drop out of all her academic classes, yet she continued to at-

Above: One of Jo’s students practicing.

page: Jo checking her music score while teaching.

tend her music classes. It was her bond with music that gave her motivation to show up to school, and it was her peers and music teachers who kept her “anchored” in the community. Reflecting on this period, Jo shares that, if she didn’t have those musical communities, she “might have not come back to high school or decided to not pursue college.”

Jo’s openness about her experience enables her music students who are facing similar struggles at Mountain View High School to connect with her on a deeper level. When Lara experienced a setback in her career path due to a brain injury, she found inspiration in Jo’s resilience. “Knowing she had something similar happen to her made me feel like it will be okay,” says Lara, “sometimes redirection can turn into something really positive.”

Lara also recalls another instance where Jo’s support helped her cope emotionally. As she was preparing for an upcoming concert, Lara received news that her middle school music director was hospitalized for cancer. Lara’s middle school music director had taken her under her wing and taught her how to conduct, so the news deeply affected her. Despite being unaware of Lara’s trouble, Jo allowed Lara the opportunity to conduct a piece for the concert. The day following the concert, Lara learned of her music director’s passing. To this day, Lara maintains gratitude for Jo’s support: “She was willing to try something new with me, and it was really helpful in healing from the loss of someone who had been a critical part of my life.”

Jo also recognizes that many teenagers “go

through a tumultuous time emotionally and hormonally,” an experience similar to hers as a high schooler. According to a 2021 report by the CDC, 42% of American high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of hopelessness or sadness. Furthermore, 22% seriously considered attempting suicide, and 10% attempted, indicating a concerning rise in mental health issues among teenagers over the past decade.

In Silicon Valley, poor mental health in teenagers can often be traced back to achievement culture: pressure to “stand out” for elite universities undermines students’ well-being, leading them to measure their self-worth by their achievements. However, as award-winning journalist and New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Breheny Wallace points out, “It’s not the prestige of a college that matters; it’s how students fit into their environment and feel valued in a meaningful way.” This sentiment is echoed by Jo, who believes that parental pressure for students to join top-level ensembles should be avoided. “Emphasizing prestige negatively impacts students’ experiences in the class,” says Jo, “and I think that if we can instead focus on why we love making music and participating in the community, then students are more likely to persist with the music program and enjoy it.” Breheny Wallace highlights that many of the students who struggle most feel like

Jo writing a concert schedule for her students.

Basses in the instrument storage room.

A viola belonging to one of Jo’s students.

their value is “contingent on their performance,” so Jo underscoring the importance of valuing enjoyment over achievement offers a vital strategy educators can take to support their students amidst Silicon Valley’s demanding academic climate.

JInclusion

o not only supports her students’ emotional well-being but also makes them feel included by considering where they each fit into the orchestra, accepting student input, and promoting collaboration. In selecting concert pieces, for instance, Jo thoughtfully considers the musicians’ skill levels and their enjoyment. Lara notes that “she can find music that’s a good balance” between a suitable challenge for an experienced player, and something accessible for a beginner. This approach encourages new members to join the orchestra while also keeping older members engaged. Additionally, Jo makes sure to balance the melody of the music among different instrument parts. Often in orchestral music, violists may find their parts less significant. But Jo makes an effort to select pieces that highlight the viola section–a choice that violists like Lara have come to greatly appreciate. Furthermore, Jo’s approach to musical selection is highly inclusive of student input. In one class, Jo played a professional recording of “Hungarian Dance No. 5” for the students–a piece they were preparing for a concert. After hearing a glissando–a technique where a string player will slide upward or downward between two notes–a student pointed out its usage by the

performers in the recording. Jo then asked the student to demonstrate a glissando to the class and opened the floor to the other students for discussion on its inclusion in their performance. Rather than simply instructing the students to use the glissando, Jo actively engaged her students in a conversation surrounding the technique. She explains, “I think those conversations increase a sense of ownership and enhance the collaboration that’s already happening.”

Jo further encourages student collaboration by scheduling sectionals as part of the class’s weekly activities. During sectionals, students who play the same instrument work together to improve on specific segments of the concert repertoire. While there may sometimes be a designated section leader, the environment of a sectional is typically more of a “collaborative give-and-take conversation” where students can freely exchange ideas on how to approach certain passages and the best techniques to use. This practice not only benefits the students’ musical skills but also strengthens their interpersonal bonds as they develop teamwork skills.

For Jo, collaboration in an orchestra serves as a metaphor for teamwork in life. “If the student next to you is playing completely wrong notes, while you’re playing all the right notes, it’s not going to average out to the middle,” Jo explains, “Our ear is going to pick up the wrong notes.” This orchestra principle applies to a broad spectrum of scenarios. From group projects to relationships, effective collaboration can’t happen before individuals take on self-responsibility. It’s only then that individuals can develop an awareness of how they fit into the whole.

As an orchestra teacher at Mountain View High School, Jo has grown to cherish the vibrant community of students and educators that make up the music program. In the relentless academic climate of Silicon Valley, she is dedicated to supporting her students, but just musically but also emotionally and socially. Jo’s goal is for her students in the music program to feel safe and included in the musical community, and she aspires for them to “leave the music program with a lasting love for music.”

Music guided Jo to where she is today. But it’s her love for her students that has brought them closer to the world of music.

“I get a kick out of hanging out with my students and making music with my students, and I love it when they just can’t stop practicing.”

ABOUT the AUTHOR

Dhrithi Vishwa is a junior at Mountain View High School and a Design student at Freestyle Academy. Outside of school, Dhrithi is often found designing spreads for Mountain View’s student-run social justice and culture magazine. A vice president of her Girl Scout troop, Dhrithi is also involved in community service and advocates for social change. She also plays the viola in her high school’s string orchestra. In her downtime, Dhrithi enjoys reading comics, making playlists, and napping. She lives in Mountain View with her parents and sister. Dhrithi is looking forward to growing as an artist, designer, and individual, and is excited to see what the future holds.

Elai Tsur

The Depressingly Funny World of Raphael Bob-Waksberg

By Elai T

Raphael Bob-Waksberg describes the first house he lived in LA. It was a beautiful mansion in the Hollywood Hills. He remembers being told that it was the third-highest elevated house in all of Hollywood. However, his room was a glorified closet. “There was a little extra room that I guess that they realized they could monetize if they called it a bedroom,” Bob-Waksberg says. The house was accessible only by car as it was on a very long and windy road.

Unfortunately, soon after moving in, Bob-Waksberg got into a car accident which left him stranded in the house. “I just remember feeling so trapped up there and so isolated. And I remember looking out of the deck and feeling like I was literally, like, on top of the world, but also more alone and isolated than I’d ever been” . This experience was part of the inspiration for his most famous character, BoJack Horseman. “It was someone who lived in a house like that and seemingly had everything but still couldn’t find a way to be happy” .

Raphael Bob-Waksberg is a writer who finds humor in everyday suffering. He is primarily known for creating the Netflix series BoJack Horseman, as well as co-creating the Amazon Prime series Undone. In collaboration with Bojack Horseman production designer Lisa Hanawalt, he executive produced her show, Tuca & Bertie. Bob-Waksberg has also written a short story anthology called Someone Who Will Love You in All Your Damaged Glory. Bob-Waksberg’s work follows his idea of “Finding the comedy in sadness, but also finding the sadness in comedy.”

Bob-Waksberg grew up in Palo Alto, California, minutes away from Hanawalt. They both attended Gunn High School, which Hanawalt described in a California Sunday interview as, “One of those schools where if you didn’t take five AP classes and get 1600 on your SATs, you were considered subpar”.

Apparently, he was known more for his humor than for his academic performance because he was voted “class clown.” However, he did not win “Funniest”, which he believed better represented his subtle wit.

Humor runs in the family, as his mother, Ellen Bob, explains: “What I do know is that I will do almost anything for a laugh. And he got that from me. And then his father’s ability to tell a funny story, he got that from

him. And it was a problem for him in school because he enjoyed making people laugh and he would get bored and to entertain himself, he would try to make the whole class laugh”.

Bob-Waksberg grew up in a very Jewish household. Both of his parents were highly active in the local Jewish community. He once described his parents as “two professional Jews”. His mother, Ellen, ran a Jewish book store with his grandmother, and later joined Congregation Etz Chayim in Palo Alto as their Executive Director. His father, David Waksberg, was involved in the movement to free Soviet Jewry, and CEO of Jewish LearningWorks from 2005-2020.

Bob-Waksberg feels his Jewish upbringing deeply influenced his humor: “For me, my Jewish upbringing was everything. The way I think about comedy is definitely influenced by the kind of comedy that I grew up with, which I think was very Jewish comedy.” To illustrate, Bob-Waksberg tells one of his father’s favorite jokes. He clarifies that the joke is not his number one favorite joke, just a joke that he likes.

“My Jewish upbringing was everything”

“A Nazi officer is driving through the streets of Germany and he sees a Jewish man with a long beard and he decides to have a little fun. So he rolls down his window and he says, ‘Who are the enemy of the German people?’ And the Jew knows the correct answer. And so he says, ‘The Jews and the bicycle riders.’ And the German officer is confused. And he says, ‘Why the bicycle riders?’ And the Jew says, ‘Why the Jews?’” .

He notes the combination of humor and sorrow in his dad’s joke. “That is a joke that I think is funny. But there’s a lot of pain in it, right? There’s a lot of sadness” . His mother, Ellen, adds, “We weren’t big on fart jokes and we weren’t big on ‘slipping on a banana’ like slapstick jokes, right? They were all sort of, you know, the ‘deeply difficult situation of Jews historically’ jokes. I’m sure there were jokes that were Jewish jokes told at the table.”.

Bob-Waksberg is following a long-standing tradition of Jewish humor laughing at the darkness. As Jason Zinoman, an author and a critic for the New York Times, explains, “Some artists argue that making light of prejudice, or turning purveyors of it into absurdities, robs hatred of power.”

Bob-Waksberg took this Jewish outlook with him to Bard College, where he majored in playwriting. He

recalls how he decided on his major. As a senior project, acting majors would have to act in a play and write a long paper, but playwriting majors only had to write a play, and, as he put it, “That seemed easier to me than writing a research paper and so I guess I became a writer because I wanted to write less.” . While at Bard College, he founded the sketch comedy group Olde English with his friends, including his roommate and later on, collaborator, Adam Conover.

“I guess I became a writer because I wanted to write less.”

After graduating, he spent his time writing very serious plays, while also making goofy sketch comedy videos with his friends as part of Olde English. They did live shows, but also posted their videos online. As time went by and they began to gain some recognition, he started to miss telling the longer, more serious stories. He sent his manager a spec pilot, and that was his way into television. “I was thinking about how can I combine some of the skills I learned in sketch comedy and some of the skills I learned as a playwriting major and do something kind of in the middle” .

The road from staring out across the deck of that Hollywood mansion to the final character of Bojack Horseman illustrates Bob-Waksberg’s creative process. While talking about his creative process, he shared a compelling analogy to a video game from his childhood, Katamari Damacy: “It was this video game where you’re a little guy with, like, a ball and you’re running around collecting things and things are sticking to your ball, right?” he explained. “So you’ll be, like, running around my desk, say, and, like, this piece of tape will get picked up by the ball and this clip, and this pen, and suddenly your ball is a little bigger. And now you can pick up bigger things like this computer mouse. And eventually you could pick up the whole computer and the ball’s getting bigger and bigger and you start picking up chairs and tables and office furniture and before you know it, you have a ball that’s the size of a city” .

He says this snowballing process was how he created BoJack Horse-

man. “First, I kind of have this idea of, like, ‘Oh, I want to do something with these animal people.’ And I kind of like roll that around a little bit and I collect things and I go ‘Oh, maybe there’s something here about the way that I was feeling while I was, you know, on the deck of this house in the Hollywood Hills.’ And I keep rolling it around and I go, ‘Oh, maybe this guy was, like, a professional actor. And now he’s like, kind of washed up’” . He completes the analogy: “It’s asking questions and then coming up with answers and you are, like, accumulating this thing like it’s bigger and bigger and you bring more people into it, right? Like my friend Lisa draws the characters. I bring in a staff of writers who we can collaborate together and talk about. We bring in directors and animators and actors, and so it becomes this collaborative, growing, growing thing. But if I had to think at the beginning like, what is this whole thing going to look like, you know, soup to nuts, that’s really intimidating and scary. And so I think really you have to kind of look at like, what is today’s work? And today’s work is just kind of rolling this little ball around and just seeing what you can accumulate” .

Bob-Waksberg says the process of writing his shows is 8 or 9 writers bouncing ideas around and asking questions: “Why is this character like this? Or what’s the dynamic between these two characters? What are some fun stories that could illustrate that, or what are some funny things that could happen? …We talk about our own lives, our own days, like what’s bugging us right now, what’s a weird thing that happened to us on the way to work and kind of spin out from that.” He continues, “Instead of… cutting that guy off in traffic, [what if] you just, you know, swerved in front of and just sat there and made him wait, you know, what kind of character would do something like that? How would he react, or how would you react if someone did that?” . As they narrow down these ideas, the writers figure out the story beats, the motivations of the characters, and the cause and effect. They go through that process over and over again, refining these loose ideas into episode structures. Bob-Waksberg describes it like taking a cup of water and pouring it into a new cup every time: “Just the act of pouring it, you know, the literal act is like rewriting it on the board. But in rewriting it, you’re kind of revising it.”

For example, in a season 1 episode 0f BoJack Horseman, BoJack steals the “D” from the Hollywood sign in a drunken stupor. While this alone made for a fun episode, as BoJack tries to cover up his crime, Bob-Waksberg and his team returned to this joke re-

peatedly throughout the rest of the show. Hollywood had officially been renamed to “Hollywoo”, but nobody acknowledged this absurd change.

With a new show just now beginning, he’s started up the process of bringing in collaborators. Soon, he’ll be back in the writers room, going through the process of creating the show. “I’m sure some of it’s gonna come back to me like riding a bicycle, and some I’m going to have to relearn” . He isn’t quite ready to break the story yet, as the show hasn’t been officially announced, but he’s rolling out the little Katamari ball again.

Drawing on his experience and his background of Jewish resilience, Bob-Waksberg gives this advice to young and aspiring writers: “If you want to be a writer, write. If you want to make stuff, make stuff. You don’t have to wait for someone to give you permission… I think it’s easy to kind of daydream and think like, ‘someday I’m going to, I’m going to be a writer or a filmmaker or an actor,’ and you don’t have to wait for someday… The act of making it is going to make you smarter and better and more interesting” .

About the Author Elai Tsur

Elai Tsur is currently a junior at Los Altos High School. He also attends Freestyle Academy, where he is studying Film. He enjoys playing games in his free time, as well as collecting LEGO. Elai finds writing about himself in the third person incredibly odd and confusing, but will manage for the sake of this article.

Evan Madsen

BreakingtheCycle

By: Evan Madsen

Intro

Thefirst glimmers of a new day are just now starting to peek through the pines of the Santa Cruz Mountains. The air finally begins to warm, and the smooth blanket of fog lifts from the treeline, replaced with orange hues. The sun is rising, and with it go a small group of cyclists, huffing their way up a steep, winding hill. They’ve already been riding for two hours and won’t reach the top for another four. This ride is physically torturous for most people, but for Jon Madsen and the rest of his biking crew it is the exact opposite. To them, every turn of the pedal, every hum of the spokes, and every crank of the gears, is a crucial part of their routine; all in an effort to keep a cool head in the midst of the bustling and booming Silicon Valley.

History

Likemany of his peers, Jon Madsen was not always a road biker. For the longest time, he had actually steered completely clear of it. “As a kid, I actually used to love to go downhill really fast, and I used to love the mountain bike,” he recalled. Jon would regularly take trips to Colorado, where he could take the ski lifts up to the top of mountains, and then mountain bike the rough terrain all the way down, not having to climb for a single foot of pavement. However, this would change when he first moved out to the Bay Area from his original home in the flat suburbs of Chicago. In a new place, with

a daunting new job, it was almost a given that increased pressure was going to be a part of his life for a while. On a constant grind, he was in need of a new way to manage his stress. While contrary to most typical forms of relaxation, extreme biking would actually become exactly what Jon needed. Although the inception for his love of biking was somewhat of an accident (he got a road bike off Craigslist meant for a triathlon that never happened), it truly was the start of a lifelong passion for cycling that helped with much more than just physical health. According to Jon: “It’s meditative, [it] allows you to organize your thoughts, get rid of the stress, and clear your head.” Road biking would quickly become something that Jon

relied upon to keep his mind healthy, and he would go on rides 4-5 times each week. This habit hasn’t changed since he first moved to the Silicon Valley in 1999. To this day, biking remains a given in his weekly agenda.

Purpose

Since its rise in the COVID 19 pandemic, Jon has shared the road with many other cyclists looking for exercise without the availability of gyms. In the Bay Area, “It is not unusual

to find chief executives here clearing their meeting schedules for a midday race through Palo Alto”(Sengupta). However, Jon’s motivation extends far beyond just getting out for a little exercise. He has found numerous benefits that go beyond this throughout his years of pedaling, all of which fueled his ever growing passion for the sport. For him, biking has been a gateway to immense personal growth, community service, and improved mental health.

Mental Health

While he rides for many different reasons today, the reason he began going regularly was to keep a clear head in the bustling Silicon Valley workspace. “You know, it’s kind of a pressure cooker here in Silicon Valley, everybody’s working pretty hard. So everybody is looking for ways to unwind and relax”. Jon himself is one of these people, with his wife Deidre revealing that “I like him to go biking because if he doesn’t, he gets grumpy.” And the benefits aren’t just imagined: research has shown that biking, as well as other high endurance activities, are directly connected with reduced stress, as they force you to regulate your breathing and also breathe deeper, both

Jon cycling uphill

of which being proven methods to reduce stress. In addition, the continued expansion of your lungs releases pressure off the central nervous system, which also helps with stress. Jon is certainly making the most of these benefits, as he makes sure that at least 3 short,10-20 mile, rides, and one long, 50-100 mile, ride will fit into his 60 hour work week. He also skips any flat or downhill rides, preferring to ride all of his miles going uphill;

“I try to find the steepest hills”

Technology

Over the years, Jon has developed a strong passion for self-improvement when it comes to his biking performance. Coincidentally, much of his grit may have come from the new technologies that have been developed throughout the time he’s been in the Bay Area. He is constantly using his virtual bike ride trainer, which puts resistance on the pedals, and simulates an actual ride, even including a mixed reality display to immerse the rider. Another contributing factor was the creation of the fitness app STRAVA, first founded in 2009. While it began as just a small startup in San Francisco,

the platform, now being used by tens of millions cyclists and other athletes, has become a staple of the biking community in the Bay Area, as well as one for Jon Madsen. “I like to use Strava because I can track all my activities, follow my friends, and try to get King of the mountain”. Before all of his rides, Jon makes sure to begin his STRAVA tracking so that he can time himself, measure the amount of climbing done, and post the results for his friends following him to see. Naturally, the cycling community and the developers themselves have transformed STRAVA into something of a competition: “who was fastest climbing a certain hill, how many miles had one cyclist clocked relative to another, whose heart raced fastest on this Tuesday?”. However, Jon is more concerned with using it to challenge himself:“You can see how you did today versus where you were at the same point last year. . . so it’s useful to keep you motivated”. He also added that:

“Strava is just something, the real competition is with yourself”

Pushing Limits

Themindset of always wanting to improve has also led Jon to embark on some extreme challenges on his bike. Jon has made it an annual tradition of taking a weeklong biking trip throughout Europe. Last year, he took on the massive challenge of competing in the Tour Des Stations.

Jon riding his virtual training bike

Jon’s STRAVA interface

The event is an endurance race that takes place in the middle of the Swiss Alps. It goes from mountain-top to mountain-top, passing by Ski Stations (hence the name), with a total of 11 peaks. During the race, the riders will traverse 150 miles, and climb the height of Mount Everest (2900 feet), all while trying to make the time cuts to complete the race. “It’s very difficult. . . I started at 4 a.m. and I finished at 8:30 p.m., so I was on the bike for a very long time”. Even within this gargantuan task, Jon still found that same enjoyment and stress relief that got him into biking. Reflecting on the experience, he noted that: “It was just very memorable. Lots of very cool little towns that you rode through and cool people that you meet along the way. . . as well as beautiful scenery, just amazing scenery.” This challenge, and the many others like it that Jon has participated in, are a large source of his motivation to always stay consistent. He treats the whole rest of the year like

Jon cycling in the Tour Des Stations

training for these rides, and it helps him keep in great fitness year-round. “He’s developed a real passion for it, and he’s actually very good at it as well. . . even in his late 40s, he’s keeping up with some of the younger guys,” said his wife, Deidre.

Charity

Jon

loves to ride for himself, and when he goes biking, it’s usually with the goal of self-improvement. However, his passion for the sport has also extended past himself, and in coalition with his company, he often chooses to ride for others as well. Every year Jon participates in the Tour De Cure, and is his company’s sponsor for this ride. The ride itself is a fundraising event done by the American Diabetes Association in an effort to raise money to fund Diabetes research as well as make insulin available to everybody. Within the ride, there are certain people with red colored jerseys, known as “Red Riders” that are participating and also live with diabetes. “It’s really good to see those folks out on the course, and they’re super grateful for everybody out there supporting the cause as well.”. Over the years, the event

has raised well over 3 million dollars. “ It’s great because you are supporting a great cause, and also getting some exercise at the same time”. Jon also consistently participates in the Habitat for Humanity charity race, all with the end goal of translating his passion into tangible changes for good causes.

To Jon, biking is a way of life. He puts it aside for very few things, and has no plans of stopping anytime soon. “The good thing about biking is it’s low impact on your knees, so you can bike until you’re quite old. I hope I can bike well into my 80s or 90s and keep doing it for a long time”.

About the Author

I’m Evan. I go to Mountain View High School. I also attend Freestyle Academy, where this article was made. I like to play volleyball, and also poker. I always lose at poker. It’s ok though, I’m bound to win eventually. One of my special talents is making a mean quesadilla. I’m also pretty good at singing angelically, physics, and dance battles. While walking along, you might catch me hitting a jig unprovoked. If so, dont be afraid to join because positivity is the key to a better society, and if we all work together, we can make a disco out of nothing. If you want to learn more about the process of making this article, or the other stuff I’ve made at Freestyle Academy, visit:

Kajsa Hoffer

of MichaelHofer A Hundred Kilos

Heavy metal is the first thing you hear when entering Michael Hoffer’s garage— both the music and the sound of solid steel barbells hitting the floor. Posted up on the walls are signs reading ‘Do Not Give Up’ and exercise equipment is laid out on every inch of the room, having been made into Michael’s personal office and gym. Currently, he’s working on strengthening his upper body; back, core, and arms. He’d made a bet with his friends back in Sweden when they were younger, that they could only take their shirts off in the summer if they were able to bench press a hundred kilos every year. Their truce still stands, over thirty years later. It may seem like a peculiar promise, but it’s a symbol of pride between them; to be able to attain the same feats of strength you did in your prime, and challenging yourself enough to do so. Some turn away from the threat of pain working out gives them, but people like Michael find thrill in the promise of what that pain can give them, and where it can take them.

Michael is a professional trainer and track coach who strives to demystify the world of athletics to his clients, and to convince them that working out isn’t as scary as dealing your soul away to protein powder, steroids, and Planet Fitness. He’s worked as a pro athlete, having been ranked third in the NCAA, winning the Swedish Championships four times in Decathlon, and winning the Masters World Championships, among other things. He’s also had experience overcoming serious injuries, and wants to inspire others to change their lifestyles to have a longer health span; to remain healthy and prevent injury instead of working to rectify past injuries. He wants to show that being healthy is the result of a certain lifestyle, and that health is something you maintain, not something you can get back once lost.

G“I think the normal person would have stopped… [It’s about] being uncomfortable. Being able to be uncomfortable”

rowing up in Sweden, Michael had spent a lot of his time playing sports with his friends. He was introduced to track and field at fifteen, which was late in the game according to him. However, it was track that got him a scholarship at many schools in the U.S, Stanford being among them. Michael knew since high school that he’d wanted to move to America, because “it’s warmer. You can train year-round, and don’t need to worry about snow or storms.” (Hoffer). After graduating, he moved on to compete professionally and worked a more ‘normal’ job as an employee at a local gym. During his time there, Michael noticed that while the stereotype of Americans being obese and unhealthy was mostly untrue, there were certain aspects of their culture that warranted such titles. He realised that the job pool most sought after in his area, Silicon Valley,

was desk jobs. And with the unhealthy work ethic pushed upon those employees, spending the whole day sitting at a computer, and then going home and only having time to eat fast food, was not uncommon. The National Library of Medicine shows that the average American adult spends up to eight hours sedentary, which puts them at a higher risk of physical and mental ailments, like decreased blood circulation, and depression. Michael wanted to teach the people he helped at the gym that it was possible to get their activity in through more fun ways, like team sports or hikes. But he focused on himself at the time, centering his attention on his sport for a large majority of his life. He coached track and field at Stanford, and later went on to start his own business as a personal trainer.

At the time, it seemed like his career would continue to grow forever. But amidst his athletic journey, Michael suffered a debilitating break to his left leg in 2021, which he had to have multiple surgeries on. With intensive physical therapy, he managed to recover most of his mobility, and had hopes of competing in decathlon once more. But a year later from the first break, he shattered his right leg, this time much worse than the last. He spent a couple months in and out of the hospital, needing to have it operated on several times. Throughout, Michael had high hopes for his recovery, but “when you don’t know what to expect and [the doctors] say that you might be able to walk but most likely not run or jog again… It’s hard to comprehend when you’ve been doing that for your whole life. So accepting it is very, very hard.” (Hoffer). Once he was out of the hospital, he began physical therapy once again. Walking was incredibly challenging at first, and took almost four weeks just to walk up and down the street. One of his biggest challenges was that he had minimal sensation in his foot, and little control over its muscles. Running seemed like an impossible dream at that point, much less returning to

his normal training routine. But he supposed that just being able to walk again with little issue was a miracle enough.

Although he’d recovered most of his mobility once again, Michael wonders what would have been different if he were a “normal person”, like his clients. Many lead sedentary lifestyles punctuated by sporadic and infrequent physical activity by using their one or two hours with him as their only form of exercise. He mentions that even doing the little things, like walking instead of driving or standing at your desk, can greatly affect someone’s quality of life so long as it is kept up consistently. A study conducted by the Australian government showed that people over the age of 44 who sat for 11 hours a day had a 40% higher risk of death over the next three years, even if they worked out. The data shows that even those who work out can still be in poor health if they work out for one hour a day and don’t move for the other twenty three. Mi-

chael also recognises that if he led a “normal” life, his recovery would have been much different. He says that as an athlete, his body was accustomed to breaking down and building back up again, and that working out or pushing oneself physically is a skill that must be learned, just like anything else. If he had a desk job, like most individuals in the Bay Area, he believes that the process of recovering would have been much more challenging. He wouldn’t have had experience in recovering from injuries, nor the pain of rehabilitating muscles through physical therapy. In fact, if he were not an athlete, Michael never would have challenged himself to start training after the injuries. He never would have continued physical therapy at home, or worked on strengthening his legs again. And it was only because of his goals of challenging oneself physically that Michael was able to run again despite the doctors not having confidence he ever would. Almost a year after the last injury, he started jogging on the treadmill, and later around the neighbourhood.

Though it might seem impossible and unimaginable, the long journey of recovering his mobility had allowed him to discover the art of the body in everyday life. He also found that accepting one’s shortcomings can be the toughest challenge an athlete must face. But he realised his personal limitations don’t make him any less of an athlete, nor any less qualified a trainer. Track is in season for local high schools, and he’s focused on being a good coach for his kids. At the same time, he’s also working on many personal goals— in fact, celebrating April twenty-first, he’d finally gotten to bench a hundred kilos.

“My friends and I, we tend to compete in a lot of things, and I still like to do those things. I might not be as good as I used to, but still, I can still do a lot. I can do a lot.”

about the author

Scan to visit Kajsa’s website:

Kajsa Hoffer is a junior at Los Altos High School, and as a long-time enjoyer of the arts, is a part of the animation club and the school’s local fashion magazine as a photographer. Aside from that, Kajsa enjoys spending time with friends doing pretty much anything, like going on hikes, shopping, getting lunch, or hosting photoshoots.

Lucy Patron

Embracing Evolution

By: Lucy Patron

Many strong values and assertions of the past have played a significant role in shaping societies, cultures, and individual lives for centuries. However, when it comes to subjects like women’s rights and mental health, these ideas can often get complex and lost in translation. Linda LaCount, a retired artist, pursued a life of personal growth and authenticity by rebelling against traditional social norms for women.

The sun-kissed neighborhoods of 1970s Palo Alto were filled with excitement as the whimsical sound of Sunday church bells echoed through the air. Linda LaCount, a happily married 24 year-old dressed up her two daughters to go to church with her husband. From the outside, she appeared to be the epitome of the ideal mother. She demonstrated an image of contentment, embracing the societal norms of the housewife. Raised in a household where weekly church rituals were as routine as dinner, this was merely routine. Pray before dinner, before bed, and go to church on Sundays.

Unfortunately, growing up in environments like this seemed to contribute to the extreme stigmas associated with mental health and traditional women’s values. Growing up, Linda stated she believed she was depressed. Instead of being able to utilize the resources that we have today, you were forced to turn to god to help fix yourself. “Because in the culture I grew up, a prayer should have been the answer or, you know, your faith will bring it out.” (LaCount). The 1970s were also known for “blaming psychiatry for being repressive, coercive, and more damaging than helpful to patients.” (Rössler). Additionally, Linda was an ambitious individual, primarily indirectly through her husband, as suggested by LaCount’s reflection; “But I think I also was searching. I was searching for something. I think I was probably lonely.” Her ambitions were shaped by societal norms, as she expressed a desire to fulfill traditional roles as a housewife and

volunteer. She explained that her upbringing didn’t provide her with the skills to pursue a career outside the home, emphasizing her proficiency with typewriting as her primary skill. This ambition, intertwined with her journey, would later influence the dynamics within her marriage and contribute to the conflicts that arose. She explained that

In Linda’s own words, she expressed a desire to embrace traditional roles, aspiring to be a housewife and community volunteer. She remarked, “Well, that was my goal, just to be a, you know, a housewife.” She appoints this mindset to be raised thinking she didn’t possess the proper skills to work in the world. Having grown up around many intelligent people from the Bay Area, Linda felt a feeling of wanting to be with smart people. “And yet I never felt smart.” (LaCount).

One day, as she was speaking with her neighbors who were former Stanford psychology students, they referred her to a program called Arica. The Arica

School originated in 1950s when groups of philosophers formed to discuss and study the theory and methods of a man named Oscar Ichazo. Ichazo’s main theories are “Protoanalytical Theory, System and Method” (more commonly known as “Protoanalysis”). From the late 1950s to 1980, the term protoanalysis was misunderstood to be much narrower and was referred to specifically as a name for one of Ichazo’s theories of ego fixations, based on the Enneagram of Personality. “Every person is a unique representation of their type based on their own identity, culture, and experiences, yet the motivations and patterns of the nine types remain consistent” (“A Tool for Personal and Collective Transformation”)

. Oscar Ichazo is also extensively praised across the Arica Institute, having been awarded a research grant from the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health.

The Arica website outlines its programs as pathways to unlocking spiritual and transcendental knowledge, ultimately leading to higher levels of happiness, equilibrium, and understanding (www.arica.org/ trainings). But how did these broad ideals translate into daily changes and practices for participants?

After joining a 3-month long experiment from Arica, participants meditated together, did movements, and sat in mudras having group discussions. As part of the process, participants were frequently encouraged to open up about personal experiences, even about topics that might have been considered sensitive. LaCount recalls, “...you had to talk about these embarrassing things. And so you didn’t have many secrets anymore.” The culture of open communication fostered an environment of trust and transparency, allowing participants to embrace vulnerability and rid themselves of perceived barriers. Recent research from The American Psychological Association reveals how the process of sharing secrets activates brain regions associated with reward and relief as if our minds recognize the therapeutic value of unburdening ourselves (Weir).

They also changed aspects of their life such as nutrients, leaning towards a more vegetarian diet, and focusing on probiotics such as yogurt and sprouts. Linda also began to surround herself with new literature, including the Ms. magazine, founded by Gloria Steinem. It discussed many important women’s issues such as raising kids without parental sex roles and al-

One of her favorite peices of art, created in 2018 expiramenting with colors and textures

A page from “Mrs. Magazine” (We are the Crazy Lady)

lowing women to tell the truth about their abortions. It also featured many important feminist figures such as Sylvia Plath, a famous poet and writer. LaCount states she was exposed to things she had never experienced before;

“What I learned is to have experiences that nobody in my family had ever talked about.”

As she gradually reduced her church attendance in place of pursuing Arica, she began to realize some disparities between herself and her husband. Yearning to bridge the gap, she encouraged him to join her in attending, hoping for shared understanding and new connections. “So we’d have we could talk the same language or have the same experience.” (LaCount). As she began to attend programs regularly, she could no longer ignore the growing divide between her evolving values and her family’s established beliefs. One pivotal moment came when she did an exercise at her neighbor’s house, sent to spend two days isolated in a room with only white walls. Her daughters stayed right next door with their father. This experience highlighted the widening chasm between her and her family, foreshadowing the conflicts that would ultimately lead to their divorce.

Following her divorce, Linda was left to navigate the unfamiliar territory of single parenthood and adulthood. She began to have more time to focus on herself and discover her true values. Without the pressures to chase after the traditional markers of success, she could redefine what mattered most to her. She had more time to explore her interests such as art and cooking, and she began to pursue a more authentic life. This may be seen in the societal eye as a lack of ambition. Ambition, which is a driving power behind human achievement, is ingrained into the societal norm of being successful. Ambition is often credited for human developments whether it be space exploration, the invention of the wheel, or Benjamin Franklin with the key and a kite.

As she pursued an authentic life through creative avenues, she also experienced a transformation in the social aspects of her life. Growing up in the Bay

Area, she always felt the pressure to surround herself with people deemed ‘smart’ by societal standards. This desire had been implantedhad implanted in her where intelligence was often correlated with success and worth. However, as she matured and embraced her journey of self-discovery, Linda realized the limitations of this mindset and began to value diversity and perspectives in friendships. Through these, she realized she had discovered new sources of inspiration, learning, connection, and growth on a deeper level than she had ever experienced before. Her daughter, reflecting on Linda’s journey, encapsulated this sentiment: “From watching my mom change, I learned it’s important to be true to yourself and do what makes you happy, even if it’s different from what everyone else is doing.” (Patron).

In short, Linda’s journey of self-discovery and authenticity has led her to a profound realization: peace is the ultimate goal. As she navigated the clashing opinions of her childhood and broke free from society’s norms, she found comfort in embracing simplicity, creativity, and genuine connections. As she learned to acclimate to this new way of life, she reflected on what it’s like to be open about mental health, when it was so stigmatized in the 70s. “But it’s normalized. I guess it is normal. Yes, it’s scary. I mean, because obviously during the time it was like not I would never I would never have thought that was an option for me.” (LaCount). Linda’s story reminds us of the power of authenticity and the value of finding peace within ourselves amidst life’s challenges.

About the Author

Lucy Patron is a junior at Mountain View High School, who currently studies Film but plans to study Design next year at Freestyle Academy. She is the Vice President of the GreenTeam Club, board member for the TedX MVHS event, Public Relations for the MVHS 6th man club, and active member of the National Honors Society. Outside of school, she enjoys learning the guitar, thrifting, watching movies with her friends, and trying new foods.

Link to my doccumentary website!

Lulu Duarte

Maestro

Introduction

Graduation caps fly in the air, and students are cheering, laughing, and crying. Emotions run high as this moment marks the end of an arduous four-year journey before they move on to their own passions and dreams. Leonardo Duarte, an average height, dark-haired Hispanic man, walks towards the return line for rented caps and gowns, talking with his friends. They talk about his plans to attend college— as most of them would be working as tradespeople straight out of college—and wish him luck.

As Duarte reaches the end of the line to return his cap and gown, he sees Ms. Crawley, his junior year history teacher. She says to him, “What’s this I hear about you going to college?” Duarte says, “Yes I’m already enrolled for summer school at Fullerton’s Junior College”. She responds, “Leonard, you’ll just never make it. Even if by some miracle you were to make it through college, no one wants to hire a Mexican band director.” Duarte knew that Ms. Crawley could see the effect that her statement had on him in

his face, but he wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of letting it change his course. (Duarte) Throughout his life, he would end up using this conversation he had as fuel to keep going when things got tough–because he knew he had to prove her wrong.

Chapter One

Duartewent on to direct band, orchestra, and choir in various schools from 1960 up until 2003. He was honored as “My Favorite Teacher” in American Profile magazine, and the music building at Chico High School, where he taught for a big portion of his career, is named, Duarte Hall, in his honor. Leonardo Pérez Duarte is an example of a resilient, determined person who endured significant racism and opposition to his aspirations; yet, he has been able to be successful and fulfilled despite it. He proves that it is possible for people who are systematically and socially oppressed to live fulfilling lives.

Duarte was raised on a farm in Brawley, California and his parents were Mexican immigrants, much similar to a lot of the other families that lived nearby. Per the time, schooling was segregated up until when he was in the seventh grade. Because of segregation and his location, racism wasn’t as bad as it became later in his life. During this time, his family had to move up to the Bay Area in the summer to pick fruit so they could make money during the hot summer months. This migrant journey was challenging for their family; moving to earn money

meant Duarte often returned to school weeks after the year had started. Living on a farm also provided the stress of Duarte having to get up early and stay up late working on the farm, doing chores. Around this time in his life is when he heard the

school band playing, leading him to fall in love with music. This inspired him to join the band in 7th grade when a music program was created at his school. Duarte was forced to play the trombone, as that was the last available instrument due to him arriving at school late in the school year. Throughout 7th grade, Duarte kept playing and playing. He had a band teacher who handed him a book which Duarte refers to as the “Bible for trombone playing” (Duarte), and Duarte played through that book day after day. He would practice in the practice rooms at school for an hour each day until he went from beginning band in his first semester to advanced in the second.

Chapter Two

Throughout high school and college, Duarte went through great amounts of opposition, specifically racism. He came into high school when schools had just become integrated, so it was really difficult for not only him, but people of color in general. His ideas to simply go to college were shot down by many, Ms. Crawley being one of them–a figure he should have been able to look up to in his high school years. Duarte also had to endure racist jokes at school. Phyllis Duarte, Leonard Duarte’s wife, recalls how “he had a hard time, because at the time there was so much prejudice against Mexicans and that was the biggest thing” (Phyllis Duarte). Little undermining comments here and there, or “microaggressions”, hold more weight than most people perceive they do. The Association for Psychological Science, a nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching scientifically oriented psychology, states that “microaggressions reinforce White superiority in the United States by ‘othering’ people of color (e.g., treating people of color as if they are not true citizens) and communicating that they are inferior” (Association for Psychological Science). Microaggressions are often played off as jokes, yet their impact on the victim does not in any way mirror that point. Battling social and economic

oppression weighed heavily on Duarte—yet he was able to persevere and used the words he heard from Ms. Crawley as fuel to keep going. Every time he thought of giving up, he would hear her say “no one would ever hire a Mexican band director,” and he would just keep going.

Despite all of the racism Duarte faced throughout his life, he didn’t let it alter his path, dreams, and goals–instead, he used his opposition as a driving force to keep going. And instead of never looking back on these experiences, he used them as lessons to teach to his students, children, and eventually grandchildren. He taught them resilience and determination, and why it is important to not let other people affect your passions in life. Having an older role model is very beneficial to have in one’s life, and Duarte acts as one for his children and grandchildren. The Oregon Community Foundation did an initiative, in which they studied youth in a local k-12 school, and the effects of them having older rolemodels. They concluded that “youth with ‘mentor like’

relationships outside the home are less likely to have externalizing and internalizing problems like bullying and depression.” This shows a positive impact that an older role-model can have, and this is how Duarte acted not only towards his children and grandchildren, but the students he taught.

Duarte recalls that the “most important thing when [he] was teaching was to make sure that all of [his] students were progressing, getting better, becoming better musicians” (Duarte). Whereas his high school teacher Ms. Crawley

sought to bring him down and thought the worst of him, Duarte made sure he did everything he could to help his students learn as much as they could. In this way, he acted as an “illuminator”. According to journalist David Brooks, an “illuminator” is a person “seeing each person with reverence and respect.” Whereas a “diminisher”—for example Ms. Crawley— can be defined as someone who, once they “learn a fact about another individual, they create a series of assumptions about that person. This often does not lead to a positive experience” (“Think Better with David Brooks”). Duarte saw what was wrong with the way Ms. Crawley treated certain students based on certain prejudices she held, and he knew he wouldn’t treat his students like that—instead he would treat them with respect and wouldn’t look down upon any one of them.

Conclusion

Now,

“I wanted to become a music teacher, so I became one.”

-LeonardoDuarte

Duarte lives the “American Dream”, living peacefully at home, spending his days tending to his garden in his backyard, and composing music. He also spends time with his wife and dog, and is able to live a happy and comfortable life. This was all able to happen because of the fact that Duarte never let people’s perceptions of him affect his passions. He wouldn’t be the same today if he took what Ms. Crawley said, and gave up on his dreams of becoming a band director. He also wouldn’t have made the impact he did on the students he taught, or his family whom he taught those same values to. He lives this “American Dream”, with people he loves, by people he loves, and being able to do what he loves every day comfortably and without opposition. He proves that it is possible to be in a difficult situation and prevail, and be able to live your life freely despite people trying to stop you.

“I wanted to be a music teacher, so I became one” (Duarte).

About Me

LuluDuarte is a student at Mountain View High School, and a Design student at Freestyle Academy. She enjoys going to the beach, shopping, and sharing time with her family and friends. Her dog and cat take up a big portion of her time. Lulu loves art, specifically digital art through programs like Procreate and Illustrator, and plans on studying graphic design in college.

ABOUT THE COVER DESIGNER

Please scan the above QR code if you would like to view Ashley’s Documentary webpage, on her personal website.

Ashley Dillon is a Junior at Mountain View High School and Freestyle Academy. She is currently enrolled in Freestyle’s Animation elective, and plans to pursue the subject later in college. In addition to animation/visual arts, Ashley enjoy learning about scientific subjects such as anatomy & physiology or pyschology. She has a cat named Tiki that enjoys stealing hair ties and tormenting small animals, in addition to cuddling with her owners. Some of Ashley’s hobbies include skiing, practicing martial arts, eating sushi, ramen, or dim sum, and making a massive amount of art in her free time. Ashley is extremely thankful for the amazing oppurtunities she has encountered while at Freestyle, and is excited to continue growing throughout her time there.

https://freestyleacademy.rocks