December 2016 Nighthawk News Magazine

Champions!

– Details on the Nighthawks’ storybook journey, plus more news for the FFHS and OBX community

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ON THE COVER

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edemption. When our men’s soccer team won against Carrboro on Nov.15 and it was official the Nighthawks were heading to the state championship, I couldn’t help but remember when they did the same thing in 2013.

I don’t remember a ton about my freshman year – it was a bit of a blur – but the memories from our successful soccer season are crystal clear. Going to the games, screaming and ringing a cowbell like crazy, sending the team off to Raleigh by standing along the main hallway and cheering while they made their way to the bus. And, finally, attending the championship game.

It was freezing cold, but we hardly noticed, too hyped up on adrenaline to care. Our team was so close to winning it all. That’s what made the loss so devastating.

Now, three years later and fresh off of this year’s state championship win, it feels as though everything has come full circle. It was only right to make it our cover story this edition. Sports editor Byrde Wells attended the game as both a fan and a reporter. He live-tweeted the event and also wrote a story the next day that we posted on our

website. Shorelines Yearbook staff member Leslie Jennings talked to Wells about his game experience.

“I had to celebrate for like five seconds, then immediately go on my phone and tweet the information out,” Wells said. “What I realized was, since the game was in Raleigh, the majority of the people who would go to a home game weren’t there, so the tweets had more of a meaning to them.

Everyone had to know and I had to get the information to them.”

Also in attendance was photographer Dea Celaj, who not only shot our cover photo at the Carrboro game but covered the state championship as well.

“When I got there, everything was so alive. Everyone was screaming and cheering. It was amazing,” Celaj said. “Being able to get a pass, go on the track, hear the soccer players talk to each other – just being behind that goal was the biggest honor, especially since I am a senior now. It’s just a joy being able to capture people’s proudest moments.”

There’s plenty of be proud of around FFHS, and we hope you enjoy all our content in this issue.

– From the Editor

Photo by Dea Celaj/Nighthawk News Senior Dylan Owens takes a swig of his water during the Nov. 15 Carrboro game. The team captain won the sportsmanship award from the NCHSAA.

WHAT’S INSIDE 4-5 – Soccer celebrates state championship 6-7 – Inspirational Sproul overcomes injuries 8-9 – Winter concert sneak peek; meet Wayne Barry 10-11 – From Panama to FFHS; Scout navigates runway 12-13 – Art students create meaningful pieces of history 14-15 – Artists in the Spotlight 16-17 – ‘Rogue One’ sparks new trend in Star Wars saga 18-19 – Crafty teacher makes memories; gifts on a budget 20-21 – Staff editorial sums up 2016; Hawk Talk 22-23 – The great debate: Real or fake Christmas trees?

24-25 – She rules the mat; new indoor track team 26-27 – Take a ride with Trevor; skating brings out her best 28-29 – Taína-kwon-do; surfers brave winter weather 30-31 – Nighthawk Sports Cards: Collect them all!

NIGHTHAWK News Magazine / / table of contents

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ighthawk News Magazine will be published four times this year by the journalism classes at First Flight High School. The publication is distributed free to the FFHS student body, faculty and staff and to First Flight Middle. Approximately 4,000 copies are inserted in the Outer Banks Sentinel, while another 1,000 will be distributed in various retail outlets on the Outer Banks.

The Nighthawk News staff strives to provide informative and accurate coverage of individuals and events within the school and the Dare County community.

The opinion pages serve as a forum for the publications staff and community.

Views expressed in Nighthawk News do not represent the opinions of the faculty or administration, the Dare County School Board or its administration. Editorials represent the views of the staff, while bylined columns are the opinion of the authors.

Readers are encouraged to write letters to the editor on matters of concern. Letters may be mailed to FFHS or delivered to Room B-214. They must be signed. We reserve the right to edit letters for length, grammatical errors or libelous content.

You can reach the Nighthawk News staff by mail at 100 Veterans Drive, Kill Devil Hills, N.C. 27948, by phone at (252) 449-7000 ext. 2437 or by e-mail at hanfst@daretolearn.org. Advertising inquiries can be made by phone or email.

Nighthawk News is a member of North Carolina Scholastic Media and the Columbia Scholastic, National Scholastic, and Southern Interscholastic press associations. Our stories also are published online at NighthawkNews.com. Follow us on Twitter @FFNighthawkNews, Facebook.com/NighthawkNews and Instagram @FFHSNighthawkNews.

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Champs at last!

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Photos by Dea Celaj/Nighthawk News Seniors Grayson Shier and Tommy Scott (13) acknowledge the crowd (top) as they celebrate their championship game victory in Raleigh. Sophomore Trent Powell (17) moves up the field while being defended Chase High School’s Luis Vasquez.

By Byrde Wells and Brayleigh Jones Nighthawk News/Shorelines Yearbook

mid the rambunctious fans, pink and gold sky and the brisk November cold, the Nighthawks proved to be too overwhelming for the Chase Trojans, dominating all facets of the game en route to a 4-0 victory. The third time was a charm, as First Flight capitalized on its third trip to the NCHSAA 2-A championship soccer game in the past four years.

“There were definitely tears shed in all three state games, but this year’s was joyful and the others were not,” senior Grayson Shier said.

The Nighthawks got off to a quick start after juniors Quinn Douglas and Vega Sproul delivered in the seventh and 27th minutes, respectively. Senior Tommy Scott tacked on two more goals in the second half, ending the game 4-0.

“It really took the pressure off me and it made me glad that all the hard work had finally paid off in the biggest game of my lifetime,” junior Quinn Douglas said. “I just did it for the boys back home.”

First Flight was persistent and aggressive heading into the second half, which not only gave the Nighthawks momentum, but put pressure on the Chase attack.

“We didn’t expect that (being down 2-0),” Chase coach Greg Deshommes said. “We would like to congratulate First Flight for a very good game. They deserve it. They were better, and they won.”

The Nighthawks’ defense was smothering all game, breaking up any attempts made down field and rarely having the ball deep in their own territory. This win was a testament to the players’ hard work exhibited every day in practice and being defensively sound.

“Complete euphoria – I achieved my goal,” senior Dylan Owens said when asked after the game to describe how he felt. “Four years, this has been my goal. I have worked so hard all those summer practices when I’ve been just thinking about this.”

Sophomore Wilmer Andino didn’t let the fact that this was his first time starting a varsity game get in the way of letting the rival team score against him. Andino recorded his

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Photos by Dea Celaj and Jocelyn Ratti (Clockwise from top) Senior Samuel Kitchin maneuvers around two Currituck defenders during a conference match. Coach Juan Ramirez watches his team before the championship. First Flight fans cheer the Nighthawks on to victory in Raleigh. Sophomore Wilmer Andino deflects a shot during warm-ups. first shutout when he stepped in for Shier, who injured his collarbone in the east regional championship bout against Carrboro.

“The first time I went in felt awesome because it was a great game for me,” Andino said. “I was so happy because we made it, we had won.”

First Flight obtained its first undefeated season ever, finishing with a 21-0-2 overall record. In his 12th year, coach Juan Ramirez finally achieved his career goal of winning a state championship. He wasn’t going to let the opportunity for a state title get away from the team.

“There’s no reason to come into this game without the thought of winning,” Ramirez said. “(I feel) just phenomenal, delighted and so happy for the team. We played so well, just a great group of men.”

Senior Byrde Wells and junior Brayleigh Jones can be reached at wellsje1210@daretolearn.org and jonesbr1017@ daretolearn.org.

Nighthawk News Magazine / / news

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Sproul sparks title

By Arabella Saunders Features Editor

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s the varsity athlete shifts in his seat and waits for his name to be called, his mind drifts to soccer. The hours of conditioning and drills, the oddly satisfying sting of sore muscles, the jokes and jabs shared on long bus rides to away games, the smell of fresh grass mingled with the lingering stench of sweat that never seems to leave his jersey, the flood of joy he feels after scoring a goal and the embrace of teammates accompanied by the roar of the crowd.

“Vega Sproul!” calls a seemingly forced sing-songy voice.

He glances up and is launched back into reality as he sees the nurse standing in the open doorway, feels his father grip the handles of his Commercial & Residential wheelchair and avoids the sympathetic eyes of other patients in the lobby. As quickly as they came, his pleasant memories are clouded by feelings of uncertainty and frustration.

Sproul first noticed a pain in his left knee after going for a run in May of 2015.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and my knee was the size of a balloon,” the junior said. “I went to the doctor the next day and they sent me to CHKD (Children’s Hospital of the King’s Daughters) to get an MRI and that’s when they told me I had osteochondritis dissecans.”

Osteochondritis dissecans, or OCD, is a condition characterized by a lack of blood flow to the joints, causing the bone to decompose and the joint and cartilage to break apart. In many cases such as Sproul’s, the fragmentation limits joint mobility and causes persistent pain that can only be treated through surgery.

“I got surgery two weeks later, after wearing a brace for two weeks,” Sproul said. “The day after surgery was when it really sunk in. It was a feeling of being alone, having no control over the situation and not knowing what lies ahead that really sent me over the edge.”

Come November – despite the hardships he faced during his recovery period – Sproul was back on the field and eager to tap back into his passion for soccer. However, after almost six months of diligent practicing, Sproul began to experience a similar pain in both of his ankles.

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Following another trip to CHKD, the varsity player was diagnosed with OCD for the second time. His surgery was scheduled for May 20, 2016.

“I was devastated,” Sproul said.

“I went home and started breaking things. I just kept throwing inanimate objects around the house and I punted some soccer balls into the woods. It was just a way for me to release all this pressure that was building up inside of me.”

Over the course of the next four months, Sproul’s pent-up frustration was heightened by a number of physical obstacles. The inability to place weight on his ankles for a period of 12 weeks left him dependent on a wheelchair.

“All the soccer boys went to UNC for soccer camp and I couldn’t play or anything at the time,” Sproul said. “It sucked because I remembered going off as a freshman to play soccer at UNCW with the high school team. Just seeing all of them was really upsetting, all having a good time and stuff while I had to sit inside and use a wheelchair to get around.”

As a tenacious athlete, coping with the lack of control over his body served as a significant hurdle for Sproul.

“They told me a part of me wasn’t working and it was just disappointing,” Sproul said. “It just makes you feel bad about yourself. It’s so far out of your control, like there’s nothing winter / / 2016

chase

you can do about it.”

A loss of control coupled with superfluous comparisons furthered Sproul’s frustration. He recalls the discontent he felt while in public.

“It was frustrating when people thought they understood, but really they had no clue,” Sproul said.

“Wherever I went, people would always try to compare it to other things like, ‘Oh yeah, I broke my wrist last month.’ It just made me feel worse.”

On days when Sproul’s frustration reached its peak, he questioned whether he would ever return to the sport.

“On my worst days, I thought by the time I was done with rehab I wouldn’t even want to play soccer anymore,” Sproul said. “I would just imagine all the things I could be doing instead of being trapped inside.”

Though there were times in which it seemed he would never play soccer again, on his good days, Sproul fastened a tight mental grip on his love of soccer and exhibited a positive attitude characterized by hope.

“Even though he was injured, he was probably one of the most positive people I’ve seen,” junior teammate Quinn Douglas said. “I never saw him sad. He always had a smile.”

Sproul’s passion for the sport was evident even as he observed games and practices from the sidelines.

Nighthawk News Magazine / / news

“He was always hungry to come back,” senior captain Dylan Owens said. “All he could think about was coming back.”

Six months after his last surgery, Sproul’s unfaltering determination to play soccer again left him standing tall as a starter and one of the top scorers for the championship-winning First Flight varsity soccer team.

“Vega’s ability to play at such a high level so quickly after his injuries is so impressive,” assistant coach Jay Hawes said. “I am completely blown away at how this young man handled these situations and how he came out on top. There is something very special about this young student-athlete, and I’m honored to be one of his coaches.”

Sproul showcased his quick recovery in Raleigh in the NCHSAA 2-A state championship game, when the Nighthawks defeated Chase High School 4-0. Not only was he able to return to the sport with the same intensity he possessed prior to his injuries, his experiences have transformed his outlook on life.

“People should cherish their time of being a teenager and their time at high school,” Sproul said. “Just don’t take it for granted, because not everyone has it and you can lose it at anytime. Kind of like carpe diem – seize the day.”

Junior Arabella Saunders can be reached at saundersar0214@daretolearn.org.

Photos by Dea Celaj and Amy Wrenn/Nighthawk News Junior Vega Sproul overcame his injuries to assist the Nighthawks in a 4-0 victory over Chase High School in the NCHSAA 2-A state championship match.

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FOR Club warms hearts with warm clothes

By Anna Beasley Special to Nighthawk News

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ophomore Taylor Farmer walks up to the school doors with clothes in her hand, the chilly November air tickling her neck. Walking in, she immediately spots the orange box in the rotunda. Dropping the clothes in the box, she knows she has done her part in helping the people in Hatteras.

First Flight’s Friends of Rachel Club sponsored a community-wide warm clothing drive for people who live in Hatteras who suffered losses of homes, cars and belongings during Hurricane Matthew. The members made posters and boxes that coordinated with the class colors for each grade level. Each piece of clothing also counted toward spirit points.

The AVID teacher at FFHS, Lisa Duke, came up with the idea to do the warm clothing drive.

“I was a teacher at Cape Hatteras. I ran into a former colleague who told me about how bad things were down (in Hatteras), and since I recently was flooded out due to the storm, it really tugged at my heart,” Duke said. “I sent out an email to several schools asking for people to consider doing their holiday projects in support of the Cape

Photo by Jocelyn Ratti/Shorelines Yearbook Senior Jacob Poli and school counselor Lisa Wheless gather and sort clothes for the FOR Club clothing drive.

Hatteras community.”

One of Cape Hatteras Secondary School’s counselors, Karla Smith, gave some insight to all the damage caused by the hurricane.

“Between our elementary and secondary schools, we have eight staff members who had their houses flooded, five of which are still displaced. Many others had minor damage to their house, like myself, but lost their cars to the flood.

Some lost all. Many of our students had their houses flooded and some are still displaced,” Smith said. “I

know of two of our families at the secondary school who had their homes flooded both in Hermine, a month before Matthew, and then again in Matthew.”

Farmer, who was in the FOR Club last year, felt like this fundraiser was different from past ones.

“I don’t think this is like anything we’ve done before,” Farmer said. “Last year we did the money for Kai-Von (Baxter) and his family and the Lifesavers for Mrs. Danielle (James), but the warm clothing drive is a lot different.”

Farmer also created the GoFundMe page for people in the community to donate money to help. The site raised about $300.

Farmer said she was inspired to use GoFundMe after seeing how much money the Outer Banks community raised last year following the death of Bri Blumenthal in a bike accident.

“It seemed to be spread quicker, rather than somebody going to a business, asking for money, and getting shot down,” Farmer said.

School counselor Lisa Wheless, who leads the FOR Club, said she is very happy with what the club was able to do. Nearly 1,800 clothing articles were collected by the FOR Club throughout November and will arrive in Hatteras before Christmas.

“When you get kids involved, whether it’s community service or whether it’s some sort of activity to help others, they rise to the occasion,” Wheless said. “People are quick to say that our youth is self-absorbed, but I don’t see that with the group of kids I have in the FOR Club. I see kids that are eager to make a difference.”

Freshman Anna Beasley wrote this story for her Introduction to Publications project. She can be reached at beasleyan1213@daretolearn.org.

Music and more – shopping! – on tap for winter concert

By Jayne Walker Staff Writer

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and director Bob Ebert has promised one surprise for the annual winter concert: “I am not going to share the details,” he said.

“They will have to come and find out.”

Another surprise will be on tap Thursday, Dec. 15, for music fans in need of the perfect Christmas present: The First Flight PTSO is sponsoring a special shopping event on the second floor of the rotunda from 3:15 until 7:30 p.m., allowing local vendors a chance to interact with music fans before and after the concert band, honors choir, Nighthawk choir, orchestra, and honors jazz

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Photo by Amy Wrenn/Nighthawk News Sophomores Grace Sullivan (top left), Chyla Huber and Caroline Jenkins, along with freshman James LaCroix, practice their music for the upcoming winter concert. ensemble perform at 6 p.m.

The concert band will be performing five pieces, including “Sleigh Ride” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”

“My favorite part of the winter concert is working with the new students,” Ebert said. “Just putting the

music together with a new band, because the same band never runs twice, so it is a little different from year to year with a bunch of different personalities and you have to find the music that fits them.”

Chorus and orchestra di-

rector John Buford is enjoying his first year being the only chorus teacher after replacing Cezette Barnes.

“Making all of the decisions is a little different, but it’s kind of nice to be able to choose the music.

I really enjoyed finding just the right pieces for my choir,” he said. “Since last year, the difficulty level in honors has stepped up.”

Buford also slightly changed a piece the chorus sang every year with Barnes: “Peace on Earth.”

The honors choir is performing three songs, one being an a cappella version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

“It was arranged by the guy who wrote a lot of the pieces from ‘Pitch Perfect,’ ” Buford said.

The Nighthawk choir will be singing three arrangements as well. The orchestra is performing four pieces, including “Silent Night,” which features a solo by freshman Emmy Trivette.

Admission is free, and the honors jazz ensemble will be playing in the rotunda after the main concert as shoppers make their final purchases from the vendors.

“It’s free and it is going to be really good music this year,” Ebert said. “It’s just a nice way to kick off the holiday season.”

Juniors Alex Rodman and Arabella Saunders contributed to this report. Sophomore Jayne Walker can be reached at walkerja0213@ daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

Wayne Barry guides students through turbulent times

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By Beverly Murry Business Manager

iddle school. The uncomfortable feeling of everything from not knowing “who you are” or what your body is doing in the ever-popular time of puberty. Some students have little to no grip on their emotions during these turbulent times, making it seem like they could be suffering from psychological issues.

This is where Wayne Barry comes in as the newest addition to the Dare County Schools’ psychologist family. Barry works to bridge the gap between middle and high school in diagnosing students and helping create specialized education plans.

Barry is one of five school psychologists in Dare County, serving Manteo High and First Flight Middle and High schools. Barry is an essential tool, coming to the schools several times a week to meet with faculty and students.

“He comes here at least three to four days a week, which is extremely helpful because if we have questions about procedures and laws regarding exceptional children, he’s there to help answer questions,” school counselor Lisa Wheless said. “He has also helped with students emotionally. We will refer students to him if we feel they need his expertise.”

Barry was not always a school psychologist, getting his start as a juvenile probations officer.

While working, he found that diagnosing disorders should occur before ninth or 10th grade.

Several striking events prompted Barry to look into his theory, including one significant case with a young student.

The seventh-grader was brought by his father into the juvenile probation office wanting “something” done with him. As Barry and his colleagues investigated the case, they discovered that this youngster had been picked up by his father at the airport. He had run away from home in the Tidewater, Virginia, area and was found at the Port Authority building in New York City.

“In reviewing the child, he was an extremely gifted seventh-grade student, a very, very bright kid,” Barry said. “He felt unjustly and severely

Photo by Amy Wrenn/Nighthawk News Wayne Barry, the newest addition to the DCS school psychologist family, enjoys a casual visit with senior Morgan Brinkley in the counseling center. Barry is available for confidential counseling needs and encourages students to reach out to him via email at barrywa@daretolearn.org. disciplined by his parents putting restrictions on for what seemed like almost forever; but getting below that, it was a very dysfunctional family situation and this kid just thought, ‘I’ve had enough and I’m out of here.’ ” This case caused Barry to have his “aha moment,” and after meeting with a school psychologist he realized that this was the way to help students. Later, he learned of a training program for the specialty and has been involved in the field for 22 years.

In an attempt to work toward the root of the issues facing his students, Barry even studied theology, believing that churches would build healthy families fostering good behavior for children to grow into.

“It got my attention how schools and courts work in society for us: How do we work togeth-

er?” Barry asked. “In that process I became aware of a school psychologist and I was exposed to what she did and I thought that might be the meeting point (of the two).”

Today, Barry focuses on addressing the issues of students with staff members, working on education plans, and advising how to cope with student behaviors. He also spends two to three hours daily meeting with students to assess their needs and how to help them.

Barry’s peers believe in his proactive approach: “He helps students not only with testing but with emotional help,” Wheless said.

“He’s very open to working with students with educational and emotional needs. I think he will be a wonderful addition to our team.”

Junior Beverly Murry can be reached at murrybe0316@daretolearn.org

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Gale’s tales inspire students

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By Byrde Wells Sports Editor

pring of 1992. It’s 10 o’clock on a Friday night and a plane has just landed in Miami. The majority of the passengers have family they’re planning to see, a business meeting to attend or a whole agenda of activities to tackle.

For one passenger, however, the only thing on her mind is to find work immediately. Not only will these be her first steps on American soil, but her first steps into a new life and new journey.

By Saturday night, this passenger already has found a job through a determined attitude that originated 20 years earlier in the country of Panama.

This passenger’s name is Nitzia Gale.

Gale, known by her students as Señora Gale, has been a Spanish teacher at First Flight since 2008 and has told a plethora of life stories along the way. From funny tales of living in Hong Kong, teaching at a 4-A high school or how she found her husband through a blind date, Gale is never short of experiences to share.

What many people don’t know, however, is the adversity she overcame to make her experiences come to life.

Growing up in Panama in the early 1970s, Gale had to learn early on about the hardships of life.

“When I was a little baby my parents abandoned me, so I grew up with a foster family,” Gale said.

“I lived with one family until I was 10. After, I spent a year in the city without any supervision. I got a job as a nanny making $30 a month and missed a year of school. After a period of time I felt I knew so many things, so I looked in the newspaper for another job, and I found a job for cooking, which was paying $100 per month. I went to apply for the job and the lady asked if I was looking for a job for my mother and I said, ‘No, the job is for me, I was 12,’ and something beautiful happened – they took me in as a part of the family.”

With the new family came a new focus on education to make up for her missing year. Gale had to attend school from 6 to 11:30 at night with grownups, but was constantly deemed educationally “unqualified” during middle and high school due to her missing year.

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Photo submitted by Nitzia Gale Spanish teacher Nitzia Gale is pictured with her biological family during a visit back to Panama. ‘This is just part of my family,’ she said. ‘This is just one part of my family. I have two more foster families.’

Her high school counselors told her she wasn’t college material, so Gale was placed in a track to learn a trade. This allowed her to further her cooking prowess.

“I learned my cooking skills during high school time,” she said.

“When I graduated from high school I had a title that I was a chef.”

After graduating high school, Gale came across the opportunity of a lifetime in the Panama City newspaper: a job opening for a cook to work in Hong Kong.

Despite harsh backlash from her foster family, Gale pursued the job opening with open arms.

“I went to interview and there were 22 other people applying for the job, older people with lots of experience,” Gale said. “The lady that was hiring, she asked about what things I could make and if I was willing to travel and I said yes. So she asked me if I could wait outside in the lobby and I waited until 5 in the morning. I didn’t eat or move from that spot and at 5 o’clock she came out and said, ‘Are you ready to go to Hong Kong? I went back to my foster family and they said I was crazy, ‘You don’t know those people.’ ” After working in Hong Kong for three years, Gale’s contract ended and her boss recommended she move to the United States because people “die to go there.” Gale wasn’t hesitant about the decision at all, finding a job as a chef immediately, and was constantly chasing a more lucrative opportunity.

At 23, she worked as a private chef for a family, then got another

job with a person from Egypt as a personal chef and assistant, then found another family that was paying more: a single mom and three kids who lived in western Florida.

It was around this time that Gale met her future husband, Ian. She called it a blind date, but it was a “non-verbal” date, as well.

“I spoke very little English, but I had a friend that would go on dates (with us) who was Colombian and translated for me,” Gale said. “(We) ended up getting married a year later in Fort Lauderdale.”

Gale and her husband eventually moved to the Outer Banks in 1995 and Gale quickly picked up a job at the local Pizza Hut, working there for three years. She took classes for English at College of the Albemarle, and a couple of years later started working at Fishbones restaurant in Duck.

In the early 2000s, they made a move so Gale could pursue her dream of being a teacher.

“I went to Clayton, North Carolina, and Campbell University and got my teaching degree and started teaching at West Johnston High School in 2006,” Gale said. “When I was a little kid living in the village, the only great job where I saw ‘I want to be like that person’ was teaching, and my first-grade teacher Ismeralda, I always wanted to be like her.”

After teaching at West Johnston for two years, Gale and her husband decided to make the move back to the Outer Banks when Gale was able to find a job at First Flight.

“I like the community because

you get to know almost everyone, like at games there’s lots of people, teachers are friendly here,” Gale said.

Since Gale started teaching Spanish at First Flight in 2008, she has become notorious for her interesting stories and the hobbies she partakes in, such as her obsession with running.

“When I was 17, I went to church and some guy said, ‘Oh, are you expecting a baby?’ and that’s when I knew I was overweight and started running,” Gale said.

“I always work out five to six days a week and it wasn’t up until last June that I signed up for my first half-marathon that I ran more than five miles. I have ran two marathons and two half-marathons and one ultra that was 52 miles over 24 hours.”

Gale is even thinking about a 340-mile run in the next year that will span from Missouri to Georgia.

No doubt that will lead to more great stories for Gale to share in her classroom. She loves her new community and her role in the classroom, especially when it comes to connecting with students of Latino descent.

“It is very easy (to teach them) because I talk to them in Spanish,” Gale said. “I connect and help and advise them and encourage them to keep going and succeed, and also help them understand why a person does certain things because of cultural differences. I can understand it.”

Senior Byrde Wells can be reached at wellsje1210@daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

Scouted for the catwalk

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By Chloe Futrell Staff Writer

cout Landry was in for quite the surprise when she looked into the mirror before her first big runway show. “They dyed my hair orange and yellow. It was only two streaks, so it wasn’t that hard to fix, but it was really scary,” the sophomore said.

Landry’s first day as a runway model is for sure not going to be forgotten. With those streaks of orange and yellow in her hair, that first walk down the runway was a rush.

“We practiced what we were going to do on the runway and what we were going to wear,” Landry said. “The next day we did the runway with our hair. So they prepped us – brushed our hair – and put us in our outfits and we went on stage.”

Of course, at a Joico hair show there will be professionals, and this show was no exception.

Right after the show, the models lined up and waited for the hairdressers to come admire all of the hair, including Landry’s streaks of yellow and orange.

“All of the people came up and kind of brushed our hair and messed with our hair,” Landry said.

That runway show allowed Landry to experience something she had been dreaming about ever since she was younger. The dream really started to take off about two years ago, when she was 14.

“I was recruited at a pageant that I did by a celebrity that did a modeling and acting workshop,” Landry said.

The workshop was one where many agencies would go to and pick people they wanted to work for them. It was here that Landry got a start in her dream career.

“It was really satisfying and it made me really happy, because this was the start of something new,” Landry said. “I have always wanted to do this and I am finally getting where I want to go.”

Fashion and modeling has allowed Landry to show who she really is.

“You can express yourself through your clothes and be unique. If you are shy, then your clothes can sort of show your personality,” Landry said.

Landry admitted that she is shy and enjoys showing her true colors through her clothes so people can get a sense of her personality. In a world of judgment and opinion, it can often be hard to express yourself, but the modeling world helps with that: It is full of opinion – and rejection.

“It is hard because you get rejected a lot and you only get some jobs, but you have to accept the rejection,” Landry said.

Nighthawk News Magazine / / features

Photo submitted by Scout Landry Scout Landry poses for the camera in front of the subway in New York City. The sophomore has enjoyed several modeling jobs in the last two years as she navigates her way through the challenging career field.

One of Landry’s biggest inspirations is supermodel and actor Cara Delevingne. One of the reasons is their one similar facial feature: eyebrows.

“I have big eyebrows and she has big eyebrows,” Landry said with a laugh. “She is really confident in what she does and she doesn’t change herself for any job or anything. I have learned that you shouldn’t change yourself for the job because sometimes they aren’t looking for that, they are looking for who you were before.”

Like Delevigne, Landry also wants to pursue acting as another career option.

As Landry makes her way through the early stages of her career, she knows she isn’t in this alone. She has her mom – or her “momager,” as she calls her – with her every step along the way.

“She has been really supportive and she is really there for me and is willing to get someone to cover for her at her job,” Landry said.

Landry has a long way to go before making it big, but she has plans to not let anything stop her. Who knew that a hair show in Winston-Salem could be Landry’s start of something new?

Sophomore Chloe Futrell can be reached at futrellch1114@daretolearn.org.

11

Art students bring Christmas cheer to Colombia

By Arabella Saunders Features Editor

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crolling through your camera roll, imagine all the pictures of yourself you come across. Pictures with your family, funny pictures of you and your friends, pictures from homecoming and prom and the tailgate before the football game.

For thousands of children around the world, pictures like this will never exist. In an effort to preserve the youth of 14 orphaned children from a small village in Colombia, First Flight’s Art III students have teamed with The Memory Project to create unique and meaningful Christmas gifts.

The Memory Project is a non-profit organization that allows artists to create portraits of children from around the world who have experienced abuse, neglect, loss of parents, extreme poverty and other challenges.

“The purpose of The Memory Project is to make a meaningful piece of history to make children feel loved and to show that more people other than the ones in their surrounding area care about them,” art teacher Alice Baldwin said.

“They get to see themselves through a piece of artwork and as they grow, it’s something they keep a hold of.”

Baldwin was first introduced to The Memory Project four years ago while student-teaching at Manteo High School. While sorting through her mail, she came across a pamphlet from the organization and realized the project would be a meaningful way to expand on her students’ artistic abilities.

“I had a chance of teaching the upper levels this year and knew that there was a class that would absolutely fit with it, and that was Art III,” Baldwin said. “They needed an opportunity to work with colored pencils, Prismacolors, in a realistic way, and it fit right in.”

The task of creating the portraits was originally presented as a choice, but the class’ unanimous agreement to participate reinforced Baldwin’s belief that Art III was the perfect group to tackle the project.

“They were really excited when the pictures came in so they could actually see the children they were going to draw,” Baldwin said. “I was just excited about all of it.”

In order to ensure fairness, the students blindly chose their subjects, and were also encouraged to employ all the techniques they had

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Photos submitted by Alice Baldwin Art III students pose with their portraits before sending them to the children in Colombia for The Memory Project. Junior Tavia Whisner (below) puts the finishing touches on her portrait using Prismacolors to create different skin tones. been taught regarding Prismacolors. Creating the portrait of a child was a daunting task.

“I was very nervous,” junior Lauren Kerlin said. “The hardest part was definitely making the portrait look as realistic as possible.

Children don’t have much form in their face, so you really had to work well with highlights and shadows to make it look not just like a blob of skin color.”

Despite the initial hesitation, the artists quickly grew to love the project and the meaning behind it.

“I was glad that she chose our class so I could be part of it,” junior Maddie Ball said. “I think it’s a real good feeling for them because they get something of their own.

Especially the kids that have gone through neglect, just to know that somebody cares and has created this for them.”

Between spending whole class periods blending various shades of colored pencils to create the perfect skin tone to late nights perfecting intricate facial details, junior Jeremiah Derby felt that the project has fostered a special bond between himself and the child.

“Artistically, I learned just to focus on the small things like how far should the cheekbone be or how dark you should shade,” Derby said.

“But morally, I’d say just being able to create a bond with someone re-

ally far away and give them something special was really cool.”

In addition to supplying art teachers with a digital and hard copy of each child’s photo, name and their favorite color, The Memory Project records each delivery and sends the videos back to the artists.

“I am so excited to see the video,” Kerlin said. “When we finished the project I made sure to ask Mrs. B that we would get a video of our kids receiving their portraits. I just wanna pick out little Juan David and make sure he likes it.”

While the students are looking

forward to seeing the children’s reactions, the project also has left a lasting impact on how they can use their skills to benefit others. And Baldwin has been inspired to make the project an annual tradition.

“I think it helped the students realize there are less-fortunate people in the world and anything you have that is a skill that you could lend to someone is great,” she said. “And it was so nice to see them use their artistic skill to make someone else feel good.”

Junior Arabella Saunders can be reached at saundersar0214@daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

Business signs turn with the weather

M

By Ashlee Geraghty Staff Writer

ost people can agree that trying to visit your favorite summer go-to spots in the offseason and seeing them all closed up is a very upsetting feeling. Living in a community with such a tourist-based economy like the Outer Banks takes a toll on many businesses and its employees, which can make it a real struggle when trying to provide income for yourself in the winter.

When working at a place that relies on the income of the summer visitors to help get them through the rest of the year, it takes some planning ahead for handling the offseason. Local business owner Buddy Falzon can relate. Falzon has owned Food Dudes Kitchen for two years, but has worked there for 10.

When it comes to the offseason, it takes a lot of hard work throughout the rest of the year in order to be able to close in the winter.

“The biggest struggle about closing is maintaining my money till we reopen, and also having the money to reopen,” Falzon said Even though it is hard to be able to close, it is a nice break for everyone working the long hours in the prime season.

“I close in the winter not just to keep my sanity, but also the sanity of my crew,” Falzon said.

First Flight math teacher Melissa Frye can

also agree that the off season can sometimes be difficult. Even though she has the income from teaching, she also misses her summer income working for Twiddy.

Twiddy is a real estate and vacation rental company, where Frye has worked as a cottage inspector since 2007.

“Basically I go in and make sure the cottages are secure and clean and ready for the next rental,” she said.

Frye usually begins her season at Twiddy in April and goes through September, working weekends during the school season.

“The money is really good, and it keeps me from being bored in the summertime,” Frye said. “On the weekends it’s hard to get out and about because the traffic’s so bad, so I figured why not go and make a little extra money.”

The offseason also takes a toll on many students. Junior Lindsay Kerlin was expecting a few more shifts at Booty Treats before the store was forced to end its season earlier than expected due to the effects of Hurricane Matthew.

Booty Treats is one of many businesses to experience severe damage from the storm.

Although it was already planning to close in the winter, renovations and repairs made it close earlier.

Kerlin started working at Booty Treats last summer and had been recently saving for an upcoming trip to Hawaii in June of 2017.

Photo by Dea Celaj/Nighthawk News Signs around the Outer Banks such as this one at John’s show the unique aspect of operating a business in a tourist economy.

However, due to Booty Treats closing, she has found herself without a weekly paycheck.

“I planned on having a job until the end of November because I’m saving money to go to Hawaii, so it’s been rough that I didn’t have a job and didn’t have income,” she said.

Junior Ashlee Geraghty can be reached at geraghtyas0916@daretolearn.org.

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13

Artists in the spotlight: From pianos to paintbrushes,

By Mack Doebler Online Editor

H

e sits and draws a deep breath, propping up his cell phone on the built-in music stand. The classroom is mostly quiet except for band director Bob Ebert looking over grades and a student jotting down notes onto staff paper.

He is senior Joe Sawin and he’s about to play the piano. A chord structure he came up with the night before is written out on his phone’s memo app and he uses it as a jumping-off point. The chords come easy and his own flare comes in strides until the pitches and frequencies blend to paint a picture unique to each listener.

It is art.

It is not as if Sawin sat down at the piano last week and immediately played as well as he does.

In fact, it’s quite the opposite.

Sawin began playing piano in second grade but it only lasted for two months because his teacher’s house burned down. Thus began Sawin’s first hiatus.

He returned to music in 2010 when he joined the middle school band.

“It was sixth grade when I went into band. I played the trombone.

Yeah, I was killing it back then,” Sawin said.

He also started taking piano lessons again, this time sticking to it.

“When I started out I was reading and I couldn’t do anything because it was so hard,” he recalled.

“I just kept doing it and eventually I got to a point where I could just ... like, I did so much that I just started feeling certain things in my hand.”

These “things” were the patterns that music comes in. Different organizations of isolated notes or built-up chords that produce sound to delight the human ear. As Sawin progressed, these patterns became more and more ingrained.

“Nowadays I don’t read as much. I just sit down and come up with a chord progression or series of notes that sound good together,” Sawin said.

This process eventually led to some of Sawin’s own original songs. He wrote his first song around freshman year and performed it at a piano recital.

“I wrote it about some girl I was crushing on back then, you know. I didn’t want her to hear it because I’d be embarrassed. I had so much

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Photo by Amy Wrenn/Nighthawk News Joe Sawin’s fingers fly across the keyboard as he plays piano on the auditorium stage. The senior now composes his own songs in an attempt to make his listeners feel the emotions music can spark. fun and all the people in the crowd of course thought that it was great because everyone says you are great at a piano recital for kids,” Sawin said. “The main thing I was interested in was that people were telling me that the music I wrote made them feel a specific way.”

Writing and playing music became a common pastime for him. He’d play after school and on weekends, even at school on occasion. Then he began discovering ways to record his work.

“I sit down at my piano and write songs and I’ve got so many lyrics saved and I just push them together to make a song and then I just record it with sample lyrics that don’t make any sense in a song but I use it to write melodies and stuff,” he said.

Gigging is no foreign concept to Sawin, as he currently plays in two bands. In one he is the frontman and the other he shares the lead with co-members. The band he fronts is involved with the Mustang Outreach Program.

“They fund local bands like us.

So the money we make from our shows we give to them. Some of the funding they give to our bands and the rest to the (Corolla) Wild Horse Fund,” Sawin said.

Sawin also has quite a wide variety of interest as far as listening to music goes. If there is a genre out there, he’s probably listened to it.

“I like so many genres, it’s crazy,” he said. “My goal in life is that if there is a genre I don’t like, my goal is to like it. Right now I’m mostly listening to old-school G funk ‘90s rap. The genres I usually come back to though are alternative rock and rap. I really like the Gorillaz and Phoenix and then of course Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole.”

In terms of genres he never thought he would like, Sawin has an interesting history with musicals.

“Mrs. (Erin) Basilone told me about this musical, ‘Hamilton.’ I was like, ‘Yeah whatever.’ At that point I thought they were dumb.”

Then he listened to the cast recordings.

“I thought it was awesome and

so I listened to some more,” Sawin said. “Right before the APUSH (Advanced Placement United States History) exam I listened to it the whole way through and realized I could recognize lyrics and I could sing along.”

At this point, he knew he liked “Hamilton”, but he couldn’t imagine enjoying anything else in the genre.

“I’m a lifeguard on the stands, so I’m on the beach eight hours a day. And so my main companion is music. I had to find a lot of music.

Something story-driven but still music because music lifts me up and keeps me going. Story things, though, keep your mind active,” Sawin said.

Musicals scratched the itch of both music and plot, but one can only take so much “Hamilton.”

Enter “In the Heights.”

“I was talking to my sister who was also big into ‘Hamilton’ and she listened to this other one by the same guy who wrote ‘Hamilton,’ Lin-Manuel Miranda. It’s called ‘In the Heights’ and that is how I got into Dominican Salsa because it takes place in Little Dominica in New York in Washington Heights,” he said.

From there, his interest in musicals spread until he was keeping time throughout his shifts as a lifeguard based upon what musical he was listening to at any particular moment.

When it comes to music, Sawin seems to know his way through every nook and cranny. But his overall thoughts on the art form?

“If after I play something someone comes up and says I reminded them of a memory or made them feel an emotion that they wouldn’t normally feel, I think I’ve succeeded,” he said. “That is because that’s what music was designed to do: to make an otherwise normal-feeling person change their thoughts with a specific set of noises that for some strange reason we find pleasurable. I know it sounds a bit disconnected and scientific, but I love writing music for the way it makes others feel, not me. If you have ever been moved or are moved by a piece of music, whether you are at your kid’s concert or listening to a local band at a coffee shop, let them know. I bet they’ll be glad you did.”

Senior Mack Doebler can be reached at doeblerma0930@daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

keys to the canvas, Sawin and Sullivan find art in life

By Sarah Skinner Opinion’s Editor “I don’t really have any favorite artists. I just see art and appreciate it – like, ‘Man, whoever drew that is great.’ ” enior Gabrielle Sullivan has been creating art – in and out of class – for as long as she can remember. “My mom always had me occupied drawing or painting, and I just kept doing it,” Sullivan said. “I’d say I do all kinds of art. I love drawing and painting, but recently I’ve been doing more digital art.”

Some of her favorite subjects include the otherworldly.

“I really love fantasy illustration and dark themes,” she explained. “I really like drawing characters.”

These illustrations include anatomy and gesture sketches, an area Sullivan has become very interested in lately. She uses a drawing tablet to create these digital pieces, or paper and art pencils if she wants a more physical piece.

“Prismacolor pencils are my lifesaver,” Sullivan exclaimed.

“They’re probably my top pick of medium, if I’m not feeling like doing digital art.”

Though she occasionally paints portraits or other works for friends, she mostly prefers creating for herself: “I always want it to be perfect, and I always want it to meet my

S

standards,” she said. “I’ve never really considered selling my art.”

This doesn’t stem from lack of merit, however. Sullivan has been honored with awards at the state level for her work.

Perhaps her talent comes from her artistic process, which is a bit different from most.

“I never plan anything,” Sullivan said. “In art class, I always have a horrible grade for planning, because I’ll write something down, go straight into it, and end up changing the whole thing and starting over.”

Instead of carefully deciding where she wants to go with a piece, she lets inspiration take her where it wants. Sullivan always likes to throw in a twist, as well: “For most of my art projects, I feel like I’ve put a different spin on it. I like being able to do my own thing.”

And art truly is a lifestyle for Sullivan.

“I will honestly spread out and do art anywhere, as long as I have floor space or table space,” she said. Her willingness to adapt to the surroundings means that the world acts as both studio and muse.

“From an artist’s perspective, you look at everything a different way,” Sullivan said. “You look at every detail and you think about how you would draw it.”

Sullivan aims to give herself the opportunity to draw it all. She’s applied to a multitude of art schools,

where she wants to pursue art as a career path.

“I want to go into graphic design, but my Plan B option would be digital art or animation,” Sullivan said. “I want to be an art director – just be the leader of it all, make all the executive decisions.”

She’s looking toward the future, and urges aspiring artists to do so as well: “If you interested in making art, don’t stop because you’re not where you want to be yet,” she

advised. “From personal experience, I know that practice does make you better.”

And, according to Sullivan, dedication to art is definitely worth it in the end.

“I think artwork will always progress and be relevant,” she said, “and it’s always going to be used for communicating something.”

Senior Sarah Skinner can be reached at skinnersa0619@daretolearn.org.

Artwork submitted by Gabrielle Sullivan Senior Gabrielle Sullivan drew this self-portrait of herself and junior Dagen Gilbreath (top) based off one of her favorite photos. At left is a concentration piece Sullivan drew for Advanced Placement Art. Her concentrations are centered around one theme: future tech. Another piece for AP Art features a jellyfish morphing into wires.

Nighthawk News Magazine / / features

15

‘Rogue One’ rebels against Star Wars norms to a new galaxy

By Mack Doebler and Byrde Wells Nighthawk News

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Photo by Lucasfilm Ltd. Anticipation for ‘Rogue One’ has been growing since last year’s revival of the series. ‘Rogue One’ opens Friday, Dec. 16, with large crowds expected at the KDH Movies 10.

super weapon beyond anything the galaxy has ever seen, a dark lord of hatred, and a rebellion. It has only been a year since the theatrical release of “Star Wars Episode Seven: The Force Awakens,” but already Disney is giving us a taste of the beloved galactic film series with “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.”

The film surrounds the team of rebels that steals the plans to the Empire’s ultra-destructive weapon, the Death Star. These plans are then used on the assault in which Luke Skywalker destroys the aforementioned death machine in “A New Hope.” Needless to say, the events of this movie are a big deal.

Although there was an explanation for the acquisition of these plans in the Expanded Universe of Star Wars lore, this has since been reduced to non-canon material and was never widely known by most fans.

Some fans, like local comic shop owner John Moore, have been waiting for a proper telling of this story for the majority of their lives.

“My first introduction to Star Wars was in 1983 when ‘Return of the Jedi’ made its first run in theaters. After seeing that and my dad turning me on to the fact that there is more, I always

wondered what led up to the point of the rebels getting the plans to the Death Star,” Moore said. “I’ve been waiting for this story for the better part of 25 years.”

The lead of “Rogue One” is Jyn Erso, the daughter of an energy scientist who finds herself rescued by a rebel recruiting officer, Cassian Andor, from the clutches of the Empire.

From here, her involvement becomes more intense as she begins to assist in stealing the Death Star plans. Erso, played by Felicity Jones, is the second leading female character in the Star Wars films, the other being Rey from last year’s “Force Awakens.”

“I really like the aspect that they’ve been doing with ‘Episode Seven’ and now with ‘Rogue One.’ We’ve been getting females in the main lead and that’s a great thing,” Moore said.

While continuing this new trend for Star Wars, “Rogue One” is also a big step in a new direction for the franchise.

All Star Wars films in the past have been focused on or closely related to the Skywalker family of characters.

Fans enjoyed the exploits of Anakin Skywalker in the prequel trilogy, Luke Skywalker in the original trilogy and Rey (whose lineage is a topic of much debate) as she searched for none other than Luke Skywalker.

The reason for this focus on the Skywalkers is simple: They are always at

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Join today! Forms available in the Media Center and Main Office. Contact SawinSu@daretolearn.org for info.

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The Rebel Scum: Bios Jyn Erso

Cassian Andor

Jyn Erso was born to Galen and Lyra Erso at some point after the outbreak of the Clone Wars. After the age of 15, she split with her parents and began a life of ignoring the rules.

She eventually comes into contact with the Rebel Alliance and plays a key role in the theft of the Death Star plans. Jyn has racked up a long list of offenses toward the Galactic Empire, which only heightens her reputation. Some fan theories have our new lead falling to the darkside.

Cassian Andor is a high-ranking spy for the Rebel Alliance. He has many contacts throughout the galaxy and is well-trusted by rebel leader Mon Mothma. Throughout his exploits, he at some point came upon an Imperial security droid, which he programmed to work with him. He is assigned to watch over Jyn Erso on her assignments for the Rebel Alliance, as she is prone to risky behavior. Not much else is known about him. What is this spy hiding?

Saw Gerrera

Orson Krennic

Saw Gerrera got his start rebelling at a young age during the Clone Wars, when he was a key player in the liberation of Onderon. He worked closely with Jedi Ahsoka Tano and, after the end of the Clone Wars, began a military insurrection against the Empire. His resistance cell was one of the first to help form the Rebel Alliance. Although some viewed his tactics as erring on the side of terrorism, he did play a vital role in the theft of the Death Star plans.

Orson Krennic was a member of the team building the Death Star under Chancellor Sheev Palpatine during the reign of the Galactic Republic.

When the Clone Wars ended and the Republic transformed into the Empire, Krennic retained his position working on the Death Star. He was a close friend to Galen Erso and manipulated their friendship to exploit Erso’s work in energy for the Death Star. It seems like he answers to Vader himself, so no pressure.

the heart of galactic conflict. The main story of Star Wars has always followed this family line, but the universe of Star Wars is incredibly deep and there are more stories than just those of the galaxy’s favorite force-sensitive family.

“Rogue One” is the first film that sets itself apart from the main line of movies. It defines itself as a “Star Wars Story,” existing somewhere outside of the main plot.

Disney has already announced the next Star Wars Story as a Han Solo film, and even though “Rogue One” hasn’t even released yet, fans are already buzzing about it. Moore has been theorizing certain scenes he hopes to see on the big screen when it hits in 2018.

“It would be interesting if we see the poker match happen and Han goes off with the Falcon and Lando is all (ticked) off,” Moore said. “Then we see someone come out of the shadows and offer him Bespin and that’s where he gets stuck at. At that point, though, NIGHTHAWK News Magazine / / features

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they’d have to age Lando pretty quickly, but maybe not. Maybe it will just fall right in.”

Beyond the Han Solo film, the lineup is purely speculative.

Online forums buzz with chatter about a possible Boba Fett movie or even an Obi-Wan film with the hopes of a returning Ewan McGregor, who played the daring ObiWan “Ben” Kenobi for the prequel trilogy. As Moore sums up, “With everything that Disney has planned for Star Wars in the future, it is hard to not imagine the crazy limitless things that they can do.”

Speculation for films still two {00111507} and four years away aside, “Rogue One” looks to be a delightful jump into what fans love from Star Wars – a great story to tell and a great cast to do it with. All seems well on this end of the Galaxy. May the force be with you, always.

Seniors Mack Doebler and Byrde Wells can be reached at doeblerma0930@daretolearn.org and wellsje1210@daretolearn.org.

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Crafty Kathy Neal spreads Christmas cheer

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Photos by Blair Smith/Nighthawk News Personal Finance teacher Kathy Neal has enjoyed her family’s tradition of crafting since she was 5 years old. Neal decorates her tree each year with a variety of handmade ornaments.

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By Blair Smith Staff Writer

n a cold winter night a few days before Christmas, a young girl sat and looked anxiously at a LeeWards catalog with a smile gleaming across her face. She was amazed at all of the beautiful things in it.

You may think this little girl was looking for toys or clothes she wanted for Christmas. But this was no toy catalog, this was a crafting catalog. Personal finance teacher Kathy Neal has been crafting since she was 5 years of age and has a history of crafting in her family.

“My great-grandma, both grandmas, my mama and at least one aunt on each side have crafted,” Neal explained.

The Neal family had another tradition – to love Christmas – and Neal now spreads that love of Christmas and crafting with her students.

“Grandma Hawthorne always had this catalog sitting around and especially at Christmas, I would go to her house and just sit there and look through the catalog and make a big long list of all the stuff I wanted,” Neal said. “I had paints and beaded projects I wanted, little quilting things, just everything – it was like a kid in a candy store, only it was no candy.”

Ever since, Neal has had an interest in crafting, and her family – especially Grandma Hawthorne – has been supportive of her.

“She was excited that I was getting into crafts like she was,” Neal said.

Neal started with jewelry, then quilting, then was sewing by the age of 13 or 14. She even started to make her own clothes: “For many years I designed and made at least 50 percent of my wardrobe,” Neal said.

As Neal got older, she decided to step out of the ordinary world of crafting and decided to spice things up a bit. She explored the art of Kumihimo, a Japanese form of braiding; card weaving and lucet braiding.

“I love to find, learn and make obscure, oldworld crafts,” Neal said.

Still, her traditional Christmas crafts always come back to her. Her family always loved the holiday: “I love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of the year, and that’s a family tradition (to love Christmas) because it’s Jesus’ birthday!”

Ever since her mother made the kids ornaments for every Christmas, Neal has wanted to carry on that tradition herself. They started working on a craft together one year when Neal had foot surgery and her mother was helping care for her – not sitting at home crafting like she normally would be.

“Mama was worried because she didn’t have ornaments for all of,” Neal explained. “I had all of Daddy’s clothes and I was going to make quilts out of them for everybody, and so I said, ‘Mama, why don’t you make this angel that I made out of Daddy’s clothes?’ ” It was a special moment for Neal, who calls herself a “Mama and Daddy’s girl. Even though I’m grown up and on my own, I am totally attached.”

In 2007, Neal’s father passed away from a heart condition.

“I love my daddy so much that I would have taken his place if I could have,” Neal said with tears in her eyes. “But it wasn’t meant to be.

And that’s good, because then I wouldn’t have met all of y’all.”

Now, when Neal talks about making Christmas ornaments for her family, she means both relatives and students. Since she began teaching, she has always been close to her students.

“Not being able to have kids has made me become so attached with y’all,” Neal said. “I appreciate the heck out of y’all letting me borrow you for whatever time I get to have you each day because you fulfill a need in me to care for children.”

Neal first started making stained-glass window cookies for her students, because she loved how they looked.

“You take a sugar cookie and with a small cookie cutter, you cut out the middle of it and you take any hard candy you want and bake it in the oven and it looks like a little stained-glass window,” Neal explained. “It was really cool!

That year I did the stained-glass cookies I was very proud of myself because that had a personal touch.”

The next year, Neal decided to make initial ornaments so they could be more personal for all of “her” kids. She makes them from beads that represent the birthstone of each student and by what grade the student is in.

“When I started doing the initials, I just couldn’t stop!” she said. “As I get older it takes me longer to do them because I move slower,” she added with a laugh. “I used to be able to make one in about three minutes, but now it takes me around 15 minutes for each one.”

It takes Neal about 24 hours, in eight-hour increments, to make the initial ornaments.

Sometimes she barely sleeps the night before the she distributes the ornaments to her students.

“Sometimes I fall asleep still making them, or have 15 minutes of sleep. But to hear some of my students tell me they still have their initial ornaments and how special it is, it makes every minute spent worth it,” she explained. “I hope it’s something special that they will keep, like I do with the ornaments that people gave me.”

By making the ornaments for her students, Neal wants them to feel like she does every year when she is putting up her Christmas tree.

“When I hang my ornaments that Mama made me on the tree each year, sometimes I get goosebumps, like right now talking about it,” Neal said, “and sometimes I just smile because I remember the year they gave it to me. Sometimes I cry because I remember that that Christmas, Daddy was still here and it was extra special, or maybe it was the one I got the year that was his last Christmas. A lot of things go through my head when I’m putting up my tree, but there’s nothing I enjoy more than just touching those ornaments and having it remind me of where it came from.”

Sophomore Blair Smith can be reached at smithas0621@daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

Christmas fun, from gag gifts to great gifts

By Hunter Haskett Staff Writer

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he holiday season is here, and with that comes gift giving. Some people love to treat others with wellthought out gifts. Others, meanwhile, like junior Ethan Valdivieso, believe the whole ordeal sucks their wallet dry.

Junior Ida Greenlee said she enjoys the gift-giving process.

“I love it, because my mom owns a store (the French Door), so I just go into her store and look around for a bit, find some cute things for my friends, and it’s all 50 percent off for me, so it’s even better,” Greenlee said.

Freshman Lauren Shelton also likes giving gifts to others because it makes them happy. But finding the right gift can be difficult, especially for family. She is not alone in that department, as many students struggle with figuring out what to get for relatives.

“My close family, I pay attention, I get them really good gifts,” sophomore Julia Bachman said.

“Then sometimes I don’t really know what to get everyone else, so I just give them a card or a hug.”

Greenlee, on the other hand, has a different approach to the Christmas season with her sibling.

“My brother and I have this kind of mutual agreement not to buy each other gifts, so if I don’t buy him a gift, he won’t buy me a gift,” Greenlee said.

Valdivieso prefers a list to know exactly what he’s shopping for, so don’t expect any surprises from him.

Trying to find family and friends the perfect gifts is a challenge, so knowing the right places to shop will be a Christmas miracle. Bachman likes to do her Christmas shopping at the mall or TJ Maxx.

“I like to go online to Urban Outfitters because you can get a lot of cheap knick-knack type of stuff, and Foxy Flamingo usually has cute deals,” Greenlee said.

And if you can’t find a gift?

Different students have different go-to gifts.

“You get someone a gift card to somewhere. They can pick out what they want,” Bachman advised.

“A lot of times I base their gift NIGHTHAWK News Magazine / / features

from their personality,” Greenlee said, adding that her go-to gifts are bath bombs and candles.

Valdivieso prefers gift cards to Wal-Mart or Amazon because they have everything.

If you’ve run out of time to shop, hand-making a gift is a thoughtful thing to do, but they don’t always turn out how you expect. So you might want to go ahead and get overnight shipping from Amazon.

“Nobody in my family likes getting handmade gifts from me,” Bachman said. “I tried to make that sugar scrub stuff, but then it didn’t really turn out that great and it sort of smelled bad. I’ve never done that again.”

Other times, you’re prepared and you’ve knocked out all of your shopping and you end up getting people really good presents – presents that you like yourself.

“All the time – and I usually do keep it and then get them another gift,” Bachman said.

“Oh my God, yes, I usually buy multiple gifts of the same thing, but like little things within the gift, so if I find a cute lip balm then I’ll buy different types of that, but for each of my friends and then I’ll buy one for myself, too,” Greenlee said.

Just admit it: You’ve kept a present you really liked too, and then had to find a new one.

Once you’ve got a new present that you didn’t keep this time, now it’s time to actually give it to the person – and hope they like it.

Shelton recalled a time when she was younger: “I bought my sister a cotton candy machine when I was 7 – she never used it.”

People all have unique ways that they exchange gifts with the people they care about. Greenlee and her friends host “Thanks-getting.”

“My friends and I are planning on having it closer to Christmas now. It’s Thanksgiving with friends and pie and gifts,” Greenlee explained.

Whether you choose to hunt for the perfect gift, grab a gift card, or attempt to make a present, you can’t go wrong – except maybe if it’s a funny-smelling sugar scrub.

Sophomore Hunter Haskett can be reached at hasketthu0318@ daretolearn.org.

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Our View: Sun sets on rough 2016

I Editor-in-Chief – Mary Pat Thompson Business Manager – Beverly Murry Features Editor – Arabella Saunders Online Editor – Mack Doebler Opinions Editor – Sarah Skinner Photo Editor – Amy Wrenn Sports Editor – Byrde Wells Photographer – Ben Tran Staff Writers – Cecilia Cortez, Hannah Ellington, Chloe Futrell, Ashlee Geraghty, Suzanne Harrison, Trinity Harrison, Hunter Haskett, Sophie Johnson, Dair McNinch, Cassidy O’Neil, Olivia O’Steen, Alex Rodman, Blair Smith, Buzzy Staten, Jayne Walker Adviser – Steve Hanf

Don’t wait for the next print edition in March – stay current at the new NighthawkNews.com website!

t has been said that 2016 has you read this article, that number been the worst year ever. Jokes is expected to grow. From police are made that one day when shootings to the Pulse nightclub in our kids ask us about the year Florida, the loss of human life this we’ll respond with icy stoicism year has been astonishing. trying to hold back tears.

Politically the world has shifted The year kicked off with the drastically as well. On June 23, the death of a beloved pop culture United Kingdom made the controicon, David Bowie. He versial decision to leave had just released his the European Union. final studio album, Our election of Donald J. “Blackstar,” which resTrump was an unpreceonated a darker tone dented accomplishment with listeners – almost for a candidate and has as if he had known he many Americans hopeful was going to pass. The and just as many worried.

STAFF prolific musician, actor Global temperatures EDITORIAL and artist left a deep rose. Hurricane Matthew and long lasting effect brought devastation. The with people across the world.

Zika virus led to nervous arrivals Then came the death of Alan for the Summer Olympics.

Rickman, known most notably for Racial divides and riots showed his role as Severus Snape in the how the citizens of the U.S. have Harry Potter films. Legendary mudrifted apart as our political climate sician Prince passed away in April. became increasingly polarized.

Author Harper Lee. Golfer Arnold And yet…

Palmer. Boxer and cultural icon Popular hip-hop artist Childish Muhammad Ali. Astronaut John Gambino released a new album Glenn. The list went on and on. with an exciting modern take on On a lighter note, 2016 even the R&B/Funkadelic/Soul music seemed to get the best of self-proof ‘70s black culture and it was claimed rapper “God” Kanye West, fantastic. Disney is giving us a much-needed taste of Star Wars. who was hospitalized for a numThe Olympics reminded us that ber of stress-related reasons this November after going on numerous despite coming from different countries, we’re all people. rants during a series of concerts, Perhaps 2016 was a rotten year, even going as far as saying he but maybe there is a little bit of would’ve voted for Trump. 2016, good shining through all that bad. why are you so cruel?

The world did not sit still in And the bad can make the good 2016 and grant time to mourn parts feel all the better. In the wise words of President Barack Obama celebrity deaths. There have been the night of the election, “Rememsome 450 mass shootings in the ber, no matter what happens, the United States alone, according to Mass Shooting Tracker. By the time sun will rise in the morning…”

IN OUR OPINION

Hawk Talk: What are you looking

“Every year I fall asleep before the ball drops.”

– senior Berkley Sylvia

20

“Getting together with a bunch of friends and family, watching the ball drop and cooking a bunch of food.”

– senior Morgan Brinkley

“We go on the porch and we make a lot of noise with pots and pans.”

– sophomore Jasper Dean

winter / / 2016

Cheating online? You’re only cheating yourself

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ifteen minutes to take a not found on Quizlet. quiz. You click the dreaded The active presence of cheating “BEGIN” icon. Immediately, coupled with potential distractions you are overwhelmed with leave online classes nowhere near the unfamiliarity of the key terms as effective as the traditional classyou never bothered to memorize. room. With hours of tedious comTen minutes left, your heartbeat puter work to be done, students get quickens, you pull off your jacket bored or are unable to focus as they as you’re flushed with a wave of would in a classroom setting. Based heat. With your on experience grade on the line, and the word of you slide your online students, cursor to the top those taking of the page and online courses reluctantly click often complete open a new tab, their classes giving in to the knowing little to temptation. After no more than the searching the knowledge they Nighthawk Notions question in the went in with.

Alex Rodman Google browsThere is er, you breathe a sigh of relief as a common misconception that Quizlet – the holy grail of online online courses require less time classes – once again prevails by and commitment than traditional providing you with the answer. classes. While they may be more At first you are proudly satisfied convenient for someone with a with the 100 percent that appears busy schedule, they lack the vital on your screen, but as it begins to student-teacher interaction that set in, you feel a twinge of remorse is promoted in a classroom setting (as you should). and evoke less participation and You cheated. thought from the students.

That’s the main problem with An interactive class provides online classes: the ease of cheatan intellectual community for ing. As long as students have students, one where troubled access to the internet and the students can ask questions and material they need is online, it’s get feedback. Where teachers can inevitable that they will cheat. Not identify the topics that students to say that teachers shouldn’t use are struggling with and need to be online resources, but if they actutaught in depth. Where the pace ally want their students to learn of the class is guided by the needs course material instead of learning of the students, not by a predeterhow to copy answers, they should mined lesson plan that is strictly consider creating some original set months in advance. Traditional content for their classes – content classes are so much more person-

Photo by Alex Rodman/Nighthawk News Students huddle around their computers in the online room. With the proliferation of online classes has come the issue of students searching for easy answers on the internet rather than learning about their assigned topics. able and prosperous than online classes, where any simple mind with Google can ace the course.

Supporters of online classes argue that they promote self-sufficiency and teach students how to be “independent.” But turning an assignment into a dropbox on time is not independence. These traits can’t be obtained through online due dates. They are fostered by an individual’s desire to succeed.

With technology progressively advancing, high schools and

universities across the nation are attentively pursuing online forms of education. While some students prosper with the flexibility of an online class, you can’t deny that the online quality of learning is not equivalent to that of a handson environment. As a student, it is your obligation to find what works for you – even if that may include online courses – without cheating yourself out of an education.

Junior Alex Rodman can be reached at rodmanal0704@daretolearn.org.

forward to on New Year’s Eve?

“Be with my family. We all hang around and call people from other families and wish each other ‘Happy New Year.’ ”

– senior Pablo Pavon

Nighthawk News Magazine / / opinions

“Hang out with my friends and watch the ball drop.”

– freshman Olivia Bowlin

“To hang out with my parents. It’s like a family tradition to watch the ball drop with my family.”

– junior Braxton Hughes

“My family and I go shoot guns and launch fireworks in Currituck. It’s pretty fun.”

– senior Parker Banks

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Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...

Nighthawk Notions Buzzy Staten

Finding a real tree is a treat

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hether it’s red-andwhite round shiny ornaments, twinkly lights, or homemade ornaments from elementary school, a Christmas tree shows your family’s personality and traditions. It’s the cherry on top of Christmas. But only if it’s real.

Christmas is not complete without a real Christmas tree. So here are four reasons why you should have a living, breathing, O2-producing Christmas tree.

Going to pick out the perfect tree right after Thanksgiving is the most important step. You drive up and down Croatan Highway every day, spotting all the different places like Food Lion, Home Depot, OBX Boarding Company, Longboards and Kitty Hawk Garden Center that have fresh-cut trees.

Then you finally pick out your tree.

Blood is rushing through your veins as you find the perfect one, bringing you back to memories of Christmas past. Watching the

employee stick it through the redand-green net. Tying it to the top of your parents’ minivan or sticking it in the truck bed. Taking it home and trimming just the right amount of the bottom off to fit under your ceiling and in the tree stand, and finally, moving it just a little to the left … right ... and then forward so it fits just right in the living room.

Second, there’s the decorating: gathering up the whole family to place all of your most prized ornaments in just the right crevasse of the tree. Wrapping the lights around and around, up and down the tree until it illuminates the whole room. Standing back and admiring your newly decorated tree, wondering if you could do it all with a fake, plastic and tacky tree.

Third, it may be harder to handle and yeah, the pine needles fall and make a mess and you have to water it every few days, but that’s all part of the fun.

And lastly, there’s walking through your front door with the sweet and sour smell of pine and syrup rushing to your nose, turning the corner of your hallway and seeing your dark green-colored pine tree. The smell of a Christmas tree is the best. It fills your whole house. With a plastic, store-bought tree you would have to use a Glade “Seasons Greetings” scented candle, which is cheating.

But in the end, no matter what kind of tree you have, I hope you have a great holiday filled with peace, love and joy!

Sophomore Buzzy Staten can be reached at smithas1127@daretolearn.org.

Nighthawk Notions Blair Smith

Spruce up that fake tree

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o more massive clumps of pine needles, less cleanup, less hassle hanging lights and ornaments, less cost, easy assembly.

What am I, you ask? I am a “fake” Christmas tree. Although a real Christmas tree smells amazing, is it worth all the work and hassle?

There are many ways to decorate and “spruce up” your tree, and it doesn’t have to be a real tree.

A fake Christmas tree is easier, in some cases cheaper, and beautiful. A fake Christmas tree has many positives, including little cleanup, less hassle, being used for many years, and having a natural and proportional look.

If you love the smell of a real Christmas tree but don’t want all the work, you can buy air fresheners that smell like a Christmas tree and tuck them gently into your masterpiece, and it will smell just like a real tree without the sticky sap left behind.

When you are shopping for a

real Christmas tree, you have many steps to take so it doesn’t die.

I’ve had my fake Christmas tree five years now and it still looks as beautiful as it did when we took it home. I love having a fake Christmas tree because it takes only a few minutes to put up. The only complaint I have is that you have to “fluff” it up each year, so it looks fuller. When we decorate our tree, my mom and I use big poinsettias so there are no holes in the tree. It looks full and just like a real one.

Compare that with how you have to care for a live tree. The Purdue University Extension Agency explains that after the first six to eight hours after cutting your Christmas tree, you must cut half an inch off of the stump before you put it in a tree stand and water. If you don’t cut your Christmas tree for the second time, then the wood is exposed to air. When this happens, it blocks water from going in the tree, leading to tree death. Purdue also explains that putting the real tree into a stand is the most difficult part of the process.

With a fake tree, that’s no trouble at all.

Some fake trees are quite light and come in multiple parts for easy setup and assembly. And many now come with pre-installed lights to make it even easier to decorate.

You also can decorate your fake Christmas tree however you like because its branches are sturdier than real Christmas trees.

Real trees help clean our air, produce oxygen for us to breath, absorb carbon dioxide and reduce greenhouse gases. The fewer trees we have, the more we and our environment suffer. By buying a fake Christmas tree, you are creating less hassle for yourself while also saving the environment.

Sophomore Blair Smith can be reached at smithas0621@daretolearn.org.

Illustration by Gabrielle Sullivan Real or fake? There’s no right answer to the debate over which kind of Christmas tree to get, but most students at least agree that having the tree up helps get them in the holiday spirit.

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winter / / 2016

Christmas can wait

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he scent of turkey and stuffing is floating around the house, the table is set perfectly with candles and pumpkins, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade is on the television, and your family is gathering for a feast ahead. Everything is going perfectly.

Then, a Christmas tree is spotted.

Fall and winter is jam-packed with three holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. The holidays are no longer properly enjoyed, though, because people are so concerned with Christmas.

Even before the Halloween candy is off the shelves, the Christmas ornaments are up and the fake fraser firs are out on full display.

Premature Christmas is a disruption and the other holidays, such as Thanksgiving, are being affected.

“I feel as if Thanksgiving kind of gets ignored,” sophomore Codie Patterson said. “On the internet especially they will have pictures describing people on Oct. 31 all dressed up in pumpkins, and then on Nov. 1 dressed up as Santa.”

Some people start celebrating Christmas early to help get them into the holiday spirit. Junior Leslie Jennings, a premature

Nighthawk Notions Cecilia Cortez Christmas activist, loves Christmas and doesn’t think that a month is enough time to properly get into the holiday spirit. She starts celebrating as soon as Halloween is over and even takes a day in the summer to celebrate.

“I do celebrate Christmas in July. I watch Christmas movies all day. Christmas is the best day of the year and it should be celebrated all year. If I could live in a place where Christmas is all year, I would,” Jennings said. “It gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling, making me really happy.”

Although most people start celebrating early to get in the holly-jolly mood, some people do it to make sure everybody knows what presents to get them. Businesses make sure Christmas comes early

so they can make the most money.

“Businesses do not care about the spirit of the holiday, all they care about is how much money they are receiving,” sophomore Kenan Reeder said.

Other students, such as junior Isabell Eckard, claim that Christmas is losing its religious ideals.

“Christmas has become over-materialized and it is making the youth of our nation care too

much about presents and money rather than the importance of family and religion,” Eckard said.

Some would say that Christmas is one of the best holidays, but if it is celebrated too early, not only is the spirit of the other holidays lost, but also the true meaning of Christmas vanishes.

Sophomore Cecilia Cortez can be reached at cortezce1029@daretolearn.org.

Seniors can avoid stress with this timely advice

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f you’re a senior, or even down – your writing. Remember, an underclassman who’s the officer doesn’t know what been near seniors, your first drafts looked like, only you’ve probably heard your final one. Have a peer read the words “college applicait, have a parent read it, have a tions” being slung around counselor read it. Listen to their (likely in an angry tone of feedback as outside parties, but voice, or accompanied by don’t be afraid to stick to your one or two choice words). guns. After all, this essay is a Nighthawk Notions Between transcripts, score representation of you. It should feel right. reports, essays and recomSarah Skinner mendation letters, it can No. 3 – Pick teachers who feel utterly overwhelming. Here are a few tips would want to recommend you. Ask the teachers for how to keep your head above water. that you have the best relationships with, and No. 1 – In real estate, the mantra is “location, who know you best as a student and as a person. location, location.” For college applications, it’s Don’t pick people based only on what they teach. “timing, timing, timing.” Start everything long A praising recommendation from a high-level before you think you need to. You gain nothclass can be impressive, but if you struggled, ing at all by waiting. As a rule, everything will didn’t participate or didn’t present your best take longer than you think it will. This is a rule work, the teacher might find it hard to write anyI didn’t follow very well, and I have never seen thing but the generic. Believe me, college officials my father in such a state of “why-do-you-docan see right through that. So choose teachers this-to-me” as when I turned in an application who will rave about you, not ones who will be at 11:43 p.m. Don’t do it. thinking, “Well, they weren’t the worst student No. 2 – Quality, rather than quantity. There’s I ever had.” Also, remember that some colleges no rule requiring your essay to actually hit require counselor recommendations as well! the maximum. Write enough, but don’t get so No. 4 – Check all the timelines. Colleges wrapped up in word count that you lose the require a ton of information, much of which clarity or direction of your piece. It’s easy to lose comes from different sources: score reports focus when you’re trying to beef up – or pare from the testing companies, dual-enrollment NIGHTHAWK News Magazine / / opinions

transcripts from COA, or financial aid information from your parents. Make a list of what you need and when you’re going to need it by. Your counselor or Seth Rose can help with this if you have any questions. Get it done and get it done early. The feeling when you realize you missed a deadline for an opportunity is horrifying.

No. 5 – It’s all about the money. There are things you can do to cut the cost of applications, which can get pretty steep pretty quickly. You’re going to need that money for college itself, so don’t spend it all before you walk in the door.

Fee waivers allow you to apply to four schools for free, as well as send four free score reports. You’re automatically eligible if you qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and in some other situations as well. Also, look into applying to schools with no application fee. A fair number of great schools have decided to drop the fee, and a no-cost application is usually indicative that the school provides solid financial aid in the long run.

Lastly? Take a deep breath, seniors. There’s a lot to be done, but you can do it. Whether you’re headed to a far off university, a local community college or into the workforce, graduation will bring a host of new opportunities and experiences. So enjoy the moment – but start your applications today. (Really. Trust me.)

Senior Sarah Skinner can be reached at skinnersa0619@daretolearn.org.

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Runners rejoice over opportunity to run indoor track

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By Dair McNinch Staff Writer

icture this: track, but in the winter. It’s cold but that doesn’t matter – because it’s indoors.

At First Flight, this all starts with junior Alex Rodman.

“The Currituck coach approached me after cross country my freshman year. She asked me if I wanted to do indoor track since she knew I played soccer and couldn’t run outdoor track,” Rodman said.

That conversation led to Rodman going nearly an hour to a rival high school two days a week all winter of her freshman year. The next year, Hailey Schreyer and Skylar Stultz jumped in and did it as well.

This year, though, cross country coach Chris Layton offered to set up an indoor track team for the Nighthawks and worked out the details with Athletic Director Ray Scott.

“I think the way to have a very good cross country and track program is to keep people running as much as possible. And part of that is indoor track,” Layton said.

“We have enough talent and opportunity for people to succeed both on the track and in cross country that it made sense to have a program to give people the chance to be competitive.”

At their first practice, Rodman said there were between 12 and 15 people who showed up. The North Carolina High School Athletic Association sanctions indoor track, but no team in the state actually has an indoor track. Runners usually practice outside, then travel to indoor complexes in the central part of North Carolina or Virginia for meets.

First Flight has a few invitational matches scheduled: one at Virginia Tech and one at Christopher Newport University.

The various races in which they compete will help the Nighthawks work toward the NCHSAA state championships on Feb. 10-11 in Winston-Salem. Layton is eager to see what this first season holds and has big ideas for what’s ahead.

“I think if we can be successful, more people will want to do indoor track next year, and hopefully more people will want to do outdoor track and cross country.

So it all works together,” Layton said. “I really think First Flight can have a very solid running program that can be something that continues and we can get a reputation for.”

Both Layton and Rodman have things to look forward to this winter.

“I’m probably most excited to experience indoor track with a bunch of people because I love it, but I think it’s really hard to share it with people, so this year just having a team I think is gonna be really cool,” Rodman said.

Added Layton: “I think we’re obviously going to muddle our way through this at first, but based on who we have – a dedicated group of kids – we have a real opportunity to make some noise.”

Sophomore Dair McNinch can be reached at mcninchle1121@daretolearn.org.

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Photos by Dea Celaj and Ben Tran/Nighthawk News Freshman Jada Cardenas-Salazar shakes hands with head coach Russell Kepler. ‘They’re our family,’ Cardenas-Salazar said of the coaching staff. ‘They’re like our parents.’

As tough as she looks J

By Mary Pat Thompson Editor-in-Chief

ada Cardenas-Salazar stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror.

With a bun atop her head and a towel beneath her feet, she gripped at her red-handled scissors and knew what she had to do.

No time to hesitate. Snip. There, better. But after a day she knew the initial cut wasn’t enough. Her hair still fell out of the annoying and painful wrestling cap.

“I decided, shave it off. Simple solution,” Cardenas-Salazar said. “I love wrestling more than I love my hair. If guys can do it, girls can do it.”

For the freshman, this change in hairstyle was not a stylistic choice. It was just one more step in pursuing her dream.

When she was still in eighth grade, the high school wrestling team started recruiting members to make sure they would fill all of their weight classes in the next year.

“No guy would do it. So they were like,

‘Jada, why don’t you do it,’ cause people are always like, ‘Jada’s tough.’ I do stuff that normal people wouldn’t do. I say what everybody else is thinking,” Cardenas-Salazar said.

“I did. And I liked it. I got involved and I started going to tournaments on the weekends, and I started coming over to the high school even though I was still in middle school. I’ve been doing it for almost an entire year. I just fell in love with the sport.”

But it wasn’t love at first sight. At first, Cardenas-Salazar faced nothing but struggle. Wrestle-offs – a face-off between two teammates vying for the same varsity position – made her dread going to practice.

“I used to hate wrestle-offs because I would always lose to some seventh-grader. I was so upset. I used to say, ‘That little seventh-grader’s beating me, I’m older than him! I have a better mentality than he does. One day he skipped practice to get a haircut,’ ” Cardenas-Salazar admitted, a phrase which now holds more value considering her new hairstyle. winter / / 2016

“And I said, ‘I haven’t skipped any practices.

I’d get upset and say, ‘I’m done.’ Every day I went to practice and I wanted to quit. Every day I would tell myself, tomorrow I’m gonna quit, tomorrow I’m gonna quit.”

It all changed when she found someone to look up to. Cara Strachan, former First Flight student and female wrestler, helped the younger athlete find her confidence.

“When Jada first began wrestling she was timid and unsure of herself on the mat. Insecurities off the matt will always follow you on if you don’t learn to let them go,” Strachan said.

“When I started training with Jada, I was relentless. Whether you’re a boy or a girl, the sport is the same – and I treated her like a competitor.

The one thing that has made me a great wrestler is the fact that I tried every day and put in the effort. As a female it is essential to put in the work, or even more work than the boys, in order to gain their respect. By teaching Jada these lessons I was able to better prepare her to take on high school wrestling.”

Suddenly it didn’t matter that she didn’t have the biggest muscles out on the mat.

“Cara has shown me you don’t need to be a guy to be the best,” Cardenas-Salazar said.

“You need to have the mentality and have the training, the mental training that she does. And, she’s not here at this school, but I know that her mentality is with me.”

Now an official member of the high school wrestling team, Cardenas-Salazar doesn’t refer to her fellow wrestlers as her teammates, but as Nighthawk News Magazine / / sports

her family. This includes junior Arien Leigh.

“It’s insane how much work she’s put in. She runs all the time, even after practice, even after we’ve been killed in practice, she just wants more,” Leigh said. “She doesn’t wanna quit. She does everything that she can to better herself.

We look past that she’s a girl. A lot of people like to label her as a girl, and she is, but we see her as someone who is gonna work hard, and that is not gonna hold her back from doing all the things we can do.”

Cardenas-Salazar says her biggest motivator is her teammates.

“They are my family. Without them I would be nothing. They taught me everything,” she said. “Arien’s really fast, and he’s taught me how to be fast. Carlos (Martinez) has pointed out things … he doesn’t have a filter. When he says something, he means it. And that’s the only way you’re gonna get better. It’s not because they’re trying to be rude, it’s because they’re trying to point out your mistake. They’re not trying to hurt you, they’re helping you.”

Already a determined person, wrestling only brought out more of Cardenas-Salazar’s fiery persistence. Surrounding herself with like-minded people only increased her dedication. Last year, First Flight graduate Connor Hughes’ commitment sparked something inside of her.

“He said that when he was in seventh grade his coach told him to write a goal, to write it on a piece of paper and to put it on his door. And he thought it was so stupid. He goes, ‘OK, I’m

gonna be a state champion,’ ” Cardenas-Salazar said. “He put it on his door. Every day he just kept getting it deeper and deeper in his head until he said, ‘I’m gonna do it. I’m gonna be a state champion.’ He trained and he trained and drilled and drilled and worked his butt off. Until he did it.”

She has a slip of paper on her door now, too.

Except, hers does not say state champion.

“My goal is to be a national champion,” Cardenas-Salazar said.

“I’m gonna do it. And I don’t care how many people tell me, ‘You can’t do it, it’s gonna be a really long time.’ Guess what? I’m willing to take the shot. I’m not gonna stand back. I’m not gonna watch other people win and just have me look and watch.”

Although she has high standards for herself, Cardenas-Salazar knows one thing for sure.

“You watch your first match from the beginning of the season and you watch your last match within the season and you see your improvement. It doesn’t really matter whether you’ve won a match or not, you’ve already won if you’ve made progress. That means you’ve actually worked for it, that you actually wanna get somewhere,” Cardenas-Salazar said. “No matter how many times you fall down, you’re gonna get back up. You’re not gonna die on that mat. You’re gonna pass out long before you die. And your family’s gonna pick you back up.”

Senior Mary Pat Thompson can be reached at thompsonma1001@daretolearn.org.

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Photo by Amy Wrenn/Nighthawk News Senior Trevor Brackenridge takes a spin around the neighborhood in a go-kart he built himself. Brackenridge built and modified the kart to go up to 40 mph.

Brackenridge fulfills need for speed

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By Cassidy O’Neil Staff Writer

he sparks have settled, the welds have been made, the gas tank has been filled.

After innumerable nights inside a cluttered garage, the only thing senior Trevor Brackenridge can see now is the road flying by at 40 mph.

“I have always wanted a gokart. Just being able to whip it around the neighborhood anytime I want really was what drove me to make one,” Brackenridge said.

After scouring the internet for a go-kart that fit his needs, he found it would be considerably cheaper to restore and modify a pre-owned frame instead of purchasing a new one. What he found was a rusty skeleton frame designed to seat two kids that was listed on Craigslist.

As the kart arrived it was clear it wasn’t in the best shape.

“The floor was rusting, the tires were flat, and multiple welds were broken and held together with black electrical tape,” Brackenridge said.

Weeks of sanding and prepping left the go-kart rust-free and shining, but a few problems still remained. First, it was held together with electrical tape. Second, since it was intended for children, it was too small to fit larger people.

Brackenridge found the answer to both problems when he taught

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himself how to weld.

“In the beginning, I wasn’t confident when welding, but after practicing for hours I improved greatly,” Brackenridge said.

With his newly acquired skill, Brackenridge was not only able to remove the tape and replace it with something structurally stronger, he also could extend and widen the gokart to comfortably fit two adults.

The next step was to lay on a fresh coat of bright blue paint, making the transformation complete.

It now looked great. While most people would be satisfied with that, Brackenridge insisted in making it go faster and run smoothly.

“If Trevor has his mind set on something he will do it without stopping, and work on it constantly,” said his friend Aaron Appleman, a senior.

When Brackenridge is not working on his go-kart, he is working at Coastal Fast Lube, a local car shop that he has an internship at.

“It helps me perfect skills that I can take back and use on the go-kart, skills like maintaining the motor and how to wire a circuit,” he said.

With the glossy blue coat shining and the motor purring like a race car, it seemed like there was not much left to do, but Brackenridge decided to take it to the next level when he wired up a full circuit, allowing the go-kart to not

only be able to start with a key but also have head- and taillights. With all the time and money that went into the project, Brackenridge said that it was well spent.

“Getting the thrill of going to the front yard and causing havoc with my tires as I drift was worth the money spent to get it to this point,” Brackenridge said.

For anyone in the Martin’s Point neighborhood, there’s a good chance they’ll see him flying by on the go-kart or even drifting it in the nearest empty lot.

“There’s no feeling quite like drifting. When the kart turns way harder than it was ever intended to your heart is racing,” he said.

While Brackenridge loves to drift, he also enjoys just driving it

around the neighborhood: “The wind’s in your face, your hair’s a mess, and your eyes are watering, but you’re having the time of your life.”

If you think the go-kart is the end of his projects, you’d be wrong.

Together, he and his brother Owen built a drift trike (a motorized tricycle that utilizes PVC tire sleeves to allow it to drift at high speeds).

When asked what his next project would be, Brackenridge responded with a smirk.

“A-low rider golf cart that I’m planning to have go over 50 mph. It should be done by 2017.”

Now we’re on our way!

Sophomore Cassidy O’Neil can be reached at o’neilca1210@daretolearn.org.

Shorelines Yearbook Don’t forget to remember!

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Spots remain for business ads and senior tributes as well!

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YearbookForever.com winter / / 2016

Lucast skates through rough patches

S

By Cecilia Cortez Staff Writer

pinning across the ice, gracefully executing every move, she strikes the ending pose and the crowd erupts in applause.

Senior Mystie Lucast competed at the Special Olympics World Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where the 2018 Olympic Games will be held, and represented the U.S. as a figure skater. She got to meet people from all over the world, got to see President Barack Obama, and meet one of her role models, Michelle Kwan.

Debby Lucast recalled looking everywhere for her daughter one day during the Olympics and finally asking Dr. Timothy Shriver, the president of the event, if he knew where Mystie was.

“He replied, ‘She is getting a lesson from Michelle Kwan!’ ” Debby recalled.

Kwan is a former American figure skater and Olympic medalist.

The Special Olympics is for mentally and physically handicapped athletes and the World Games is the most prestigious competition athletes can compete in. Lucast was the youngest member on the American team at the age of 14. She was amazed that the judges chose her over the older girls.

“I trained a lot,” Lucast said. “I would be off ice for a couple minutes, then come right back onto the ice, so it was a lot of back and forth.”

One factor other than Mystie’s intense training schedule that set her apart from her competitors was that she used ice skating to express herself.

Lucast used to be very shy and almost never talked. Ice skating has impacted her life in a way that made her more outgoing.

“I was trying to find some things to bring me out of my shell. Skating was the first thing I had connected with,” Lucast said. “It was like a natural thing. The first time I went on the ice, I just started skating around, not holding on to the wall or anything. It was meant to be.”

Lucast was adopted at 2 years old. Before she was adopted, Lucast had been left in her crib for such long periods of time that she was not able to talk or walk.

“If it wasn’t for my mom adopting me, I would not be who I am now,” Lucast explained.

Originally from Missouri, Lucast moved to the Outer Banks a couple of years ago when her aunt became ill. Although she misses being able to walk to her rink, she really enjoys being on the OBX. She liked being able to trade in the tornadoes and snow for the sunny beaches and sand.

Mystie still competes on the ice, but now has to drive to Virginia Beach to Iceland Family Skating Center. There, she competes with Special Olympics and the team at Iceland.

Nighthawk News Magazine / / sports

Photos submitted by Debby Lucast Senior Mystie Lucast has used ice skating as a way to express herself over the years. She earned a spot in the Special Olympics as a youth and still skates today out of Virginia Beach.

“I like doing it in a normal setting because all of the other skaters do not have the same problems as I do, but they still struggle just like me,” Lucast said.

Mystie also likes to help with the younger kids’ lessons and is working on a Christmas piece that her rink is performing.

“Now Mystie enjoys helping new skaters at her rink in Virginia Beach. Her coach encourages Mystie to tutor the younger skaters,” Debby said. “She loves helping them with choreography for shows and competitions.”

Sophomore Cecilia Cortez can be reached at cortezce1029@daretolearn.org.

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Taking on Taína-kwondo

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By Hannah Ellington Staff Writer

he audience is silent in anticipation.

She walks onto the mat and the blood coursing through her veins is like a pounding in her head. Across from her she sees him, another fighter, dressed as she is – their arms, legs and chests padded and helmets held under their left arms. The referee motions for the two to shake hands and put on their helmets. On opposite sides, the coaches nod at each other and take their seats. The fighters stand at the ready, hands up in fists. The people watching are tense, waiting. The referee lets out a deafening yell, and the fight begins.

Taekwondo, “the way of the fist and foot” in Korean, is a form of martial arts that involves unarmed fighting for self defense. This includes punching, kicking, blocking and dodging. For many people, the difference between taekwondo, karate and kung-fu is lost on them.

Sophomore Taína Santana is not one of those people.

“What I do, we practice two of the major styles of taekwondo and we incorporate some competitive aspects and then some more realistic things,” Santana said. “It differs from karate because it is more broad. It includes more closerange fighting and punches and kicks, and it’s a more well-rounded, in my opinion, fighting style.”

Santana is taught at Dae-Yang Taekwondo in Nags Head. Her instructors are Master Chris Rock and Shawn O’Neill. They have both watched her grow up and mature not only as a martial artist, but also as a person.

“Taína was probably about 8 and she came to help me with my 4- to 6-year-old class,” O’Neill said. “I was amazed at how good she was as an assistant instructor. Better than the adults that I’ve had helping me!”

She had always been interested in taekwondo but was too scared to go by herself. Santana made a friend go with her on the first day. The friend ended up not enjoying it, but Santana loved it and was eager to continue and learn more about martial arts.

Eight years later, Santana is ranked No. 1 in the state for taekwondo for ages 15 through 18, 100 pounds on up. The martial art crosses genders as well, so she has had to fight plenty of males. Santana has held this rank for three years and has had her black belt for a little over a year.

“As a young girl, she just put so much of herself into her training. She struggled a lot with controlling her emotions, but she persevered through it all,” O’Neill said. “Watching her get her black belt, I was just bursting with pride.”

However, through the years, Santana has come across some difficulties in the art.

“The way Olympic-style sparring today is not how it was when I started. People are not hitting as hard, so they’re not doing the techniques as well and they’re just kicking lightly to

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Photo by Ben Tran/Nighthawk News Sophomore Taína Santana spars with Traford Hill at Dae-Yang Taekwondo. After years of training, Santana has become one of the top girls in taekwondo in the state. get points. I get yelled at and points deducted at tournaments sometimes for hitting too hard,” Santana explained. “I’m hitting as hard as I was taught to and I’m not going over the top and putting the other person at risk, but nowadays everybody is hitting so lightly that it’s hard for me to adapt my fighting style because that’s not how I was taught.”

She has also had to deal with people not seeing her as an equal among her fellow martial artists.

“It happens a lot more so at tournaments with people who don’t know me and don’t know how hard I work,” Santana said. “It’s hard, though, because people try to change how they explain for me to do things when I’m learning something new because I’m a girl ... I want to be able to do it the same as everyone else.”

Santana is proof enough that taekwondo is for everyone, not just men.

“I think in the past, martial arts appeared to only be for men, and this false bias has existed for a long time,” Rock explained. “However, in modern times, I see more and more women involved with martial arts. I think one of the reasons more women don’t get involved is self-confidence in their physical abilities. Many would be surprised just how good they can be.”

Despite the stereotypes placed on martial arts, it can be a good experience if one is willing to take up the challenge.

“Martial arts is so empowering,” O’Neill said.

“You realize that being smaller or less strong is not an impediment. You discover all the ways that you can use these to an advantage.”

The roots of the art started 2,300 years ago, but only started being used and known as taekwondo around 1955.

“Taekwondo can be a challenging activity, but with a little effort and training, the rewards are limitless,” Rock said.

That’s why Santana also works hard to share

Photo by Ben Tran/Nighthawk News Taína Santana smiles while enjoying downtime on the mat. She has been training for over seven years. the rewarding experience of taekwondo with younger kids. Three times a week, she helps with kids ages 7 through 14.

“It’s been such a blessing having Taína working with Jude in taekwondo,” said Brandi Levy, the mother of one the kids Santana teaches.

“I could go on about what a positive influence she’s had on my shy 8-year-old, but he summed it up best when he said, ‘Taína always gets me to do my best and helps me try harder. She always tells me to never give up, and that makes me want to not quit!’ ” Sophomore Hannah Ellington can be reached at ellingtonha1214@daretolearn.org. winter / / 2016

Cooler swells bring surfers together

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By Olivia O’Steen Staff Writer

othing compares to the feeling of taking that first dive into the icy, dark blue water and making the long paddle out to avoid getting swallowed up by the winter swell.

With the right kind of gear and an eager mindset, the cold water could never ruin the fun of surfing.

“When you surf in the winter, you have to wear wetsuits, booties and hoods, and it’s a lot to put on,” sophomore Codie Patterson said.

It’s a much different experience from just running onto the beach in the summer heat.

“In the winter, it’s hard finding the motivation to put on a wetsuit knowing the water is freezing rather than in the summer, when it’s warm every day,” junior Ryan Golden said.

Due to stronger winds in the winter, the waves are usually bigger, stronger and more

consistent than in the summer months.

“It’s not just the water temperature that is different, the waves are different,” freshman Luke Byrum said.

Golden, who has been doing Eastern Surfing Association competitions for a few years, never misses the chance to be in the water – even if the water is unbearably cold.

Junior Raleigh Wiles also competes in ESA competitions, which are usually held locally in Kitty Hawk.

“The thing with surfing during the winter is, you only go out if it’s really good, unlike the summer, when you jump in no matter what the surf is,” Wiles said. “The only thing motivating you to paddle out in the cold water is good waves.”

Patterson also takes part in other smaller competitions. Byrum travels up and down the East Coast, competing in multiple contests.

When the weather gets to be too much, some students get away to more tropical climates

that come with warmer water and better waves.

Last year, Wiles and Golden decided to escape the cold and travel to the Dominican Republic for almost two weeks.

“It was probably my favorite trip I’ve ever been on,” Wiles said. “Not only did I get to surf amazing waves every day with my best friends, but it made me a lot better at surfing.”

Added Golden: “It was probably the most fun I have had surfing in my life.”

Patterson has taken trips to Hawaii, California, Costa Rica and Florida, and Byrum usually goes to Nicaragua or Puerto Rico for surfing.

“When I go on surf trips, I learn about the culture and the different types of waves,” Byrum said.

These trips and the hassle of wetsuits and cold water are just part of the life experience enjoyed by those who live to ride the next big wave.

Sophomore Olivia O’Steen can be reached at osteenol0806@daretolearn.org.

Freshmen eager to take flight with varsity Nighthawks

By Sophie Johnson Staff Writer

T

he big talk of the First Flight men’s basketball team is the freshmen.

They ended their season last year undefeated and even beat River Road, a team that had never been beaten by the middle school boys basketball team.

Coach Solomon Dixon and assistant Brad Beacham were a big help last year, according to freshman Dylan Blake. Also, this group of eighth-graders had been playing together on the First Flight Ballers travel team before the season started last year.

“I think that we played together so long that we just played so good,” freshman Tyler Witt said.

Still, there can be a lot of nerves in the air when making the move from middle school to a high school team.

“I’m kinda nervous about being a freshman on a high school team because of playing time,” freshman Zyon Demers said.

Some players are just eager about playing on a high school team for the first time.

“I’m not really nervous about being a freshman,” Jordan High said. “Sometimes, maybe, but it’s really a great opportunity to get better and play with older guys.”

Size and grade isn’t all that matters, which the team proved Nighthawk News Magazine / / sports

last year when it faced teams with much taller players.

“I learned that it’s not about size, it’s just about how much work you put in and how much time you spend to get better,” Blake said.

All the players can do is look to the future and forget about the past, even if they finished their season undefeated last year. The freshmen are excited about this year.

“I think we have a chance to be something special with this group, no matter how big we are or what class we are in,” High said.

In previous years, there have only been a few freshmen on varsity, but coach Chad Williams is excited about this group.

“They are a really tight group and there’s a lot of them. In the past, we’ve only had a few come up,” Williams said. “These kids have come more ready to play, either on the JV or varsity level.”

Sophomore Grayson Bell believes the freshmen will help out a lot.

“There’s more than we’ve ever had and it’s kinda weird because we only had two last year and now there’s like seven of them, but I’ll get used to it,” Bell said. “I think they’ll help a lot. Even though they’re not very big, they’re good.”

The varsity team ended its season 17-9 last year and the freshmen are hoping to make this year’s record even better.

Photo by Ben Tran/Nighthawk News Freshman Jordan High swoops through the lane for two points against Cape Hatteras. High is one of several key ninth-graders on varsity this season.

“I’m looking forward to having the best season we can have and getting the best record,” Witt said.

“I think we’ll do good and finish in

the top five, hopefully.”

Sophomore Sophie Johnson can be reached at johnsonso0628@ daretolearn.org.

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First Flight Winter Sports Spotlight

Jayden Carpenter Junior

How long have you been playing basketball? 12 years What is your favorite memory from basketball? Probably Coach Head shattering his clipboard.

What has been your biggest victory throughout your career?

Trying to get to 1,000 points before my senior year, and I’m still working on that.

Who is your favorite basketball player? Blake Griffin Favorite sports brand? Nike What song do you listen to before each game? “Till I Collapse” by Eminem Where is your favorite place to eat before a game? Tropical Smoothie If I won a million dollars, I would ...? Probably buy a nice car, then more shoes.

If you were stuck on a deserted island, what are two things you would bring with you? Water and food What is your favorite pizza topping? Pepperoni What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Cookie dough If you had to be a breakfast food, what would it be? Chocolate chip pancakes, because who doesn’t like chocolate chip pancakes?

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Devyn Dodson

Megan Ash

Dagen Gilbreath

Senior

Junior

Junior

What position(s) do you play?

I play the power forward and the center position.

What is your favorite part about swimming? Being part of a team

How long have you been playing? Ever since I was about 5. I first started playing at Rec.

Why do you swim? It is a good workout and it is fun.

What is your favorite memory from playing basketball? Beating Hertford last year. We had never beaten Hertford in the history of First Flight basketball and we beat them for the first time last year and that was probably one of the craziest games of my life. I got 27 points.

What are your future plans with this sport? I plan to go play college somewhere and if not I’ll go play club basketball for whatever school I decide to go to. So far, Roanoke College is probably my No. 1 choice. In the future, I also want to dunk on Tyler High.

What is your favorite TV show? “Naruto” Favorite food? Chocolate chip cookies Who is your celebrity dream date? Jennifer Aniston If I won a million dollars, I would…? Probably just put it in my bank account and chill. I would ask my mom what to do with it.

If you could eat dinner with any three people, who would they be? Reagan Pearson, Matt Poznanski and Jennifer Aniston

How long have you been swimming? All of high school Who is your celebrity dream date? Leonardo DiCaprio. He is really hot.

Who is your favorite music artist? Kodak Black If you could be one person for a day who would it be? Mr. Albert, so I can boss everybody around.

You have to choose an age to be for the rest of your life. What age? 25: You are getting your life started but you can still have a lot of fun.

If you could change one thing about history what would it be? I wish dinosaurs were never extinct.

I want a pet pterodactyl. I think it would be fun to put him on a leash and take him for a walk.

What is your go-to order at your favorite restaurant? Barefoot Bernie’s, blackened chicken sandwich.

You are going on a road trip with one person. Who would you go with and where would you go? Shirtless Channing Tatum.

We would go to hot and steamy Mexico.

Why do you swim? I ask myself that every day. I really like the rush of winning an event and the feeling after a good meet.

What is your favorite event?

I like almost any everything with freestyle; probably the 100.

If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be? Thomas Jefferson, to have a discussion with him. I would want to talk about where America is currently and see how he feels about it.

What would your dream vacation be? Either China or Thailand.

I like good food and immersing myself in different cultures because I think it is interesting.

What is your favorite movie?

“Akira.” Animation is really cool and something I am super interested in.

I have been since I was a kid.

If you could live in any other era, when would it be? Being part of the millennium is a really good time. Other than the debt that I will face and the crushing social issues, right now is the time to be alive.

If you had to be an animal, what would it be? I would be an owl. Owls are the coolest birds.

Say you went into the future but could only discover one thing, what would it be? Nano-machines that can cure any serious illness.

What is your go-to order at your favorite restaurant? Pad thai from Vilai Thai winter / / 2016

& more!

Cort Varela

Abby Hite

Aidan May

Junior

Freshman

Freshman

How long have you been wrestling? Since ninth grade

How long have you cheered?

Five years

Is wrestling hard? Wrestling is pretty hard and kind of scary when you start because everyone else is all in shape and they know what they are doing.

What is your favorite part about cheerleading? Stunting: That’s when you put a flyer in the air and do tricks

What was your first match like? My first match was an exhibition at the Pierce Davis Tournament. I had to cut down to 154 pounds. At the time, it was absolutely terrifying. I’d never been out in front of people before focusing on me. It was pretty scary. I lost pretty bad. I had no idea what I was doing.

Is there a lot of conditioning?

There is a ton of conditioning and training. At my first practice, we had to do stance drills, sprints, gymnastics stuff and a few live wrestling spurts. I almost passed out for the first time in my life.

What is your favorite fast food? Definitely Chipotle. It is the dankest, you get to make a “phat” burrito with that good food and hot sauce.

Favorite pizza toppings? Jalapeños and bacon

What is your favorite memory with cheerleading? At practice one time in the weight room, we were doing the mannequin challenge and we had to keep repeating it because someone would move or laugh and it was hard not to.

Favorite Christmas movie?

“How The Grinch Stole Christmas,” the live version, not the animated version.

What is your favorite restaurant? The taco bar at Barefoot Bernie’s What celebrity would you most like to meet? Dylan O’Brien What is your favorite subject?

Social Studies, I think history is super interesting.

What is your favorite beach access? First Street, because that’s where all my friends go

Who is your celebrity dream date? Any date. I will be a loner for the rest of my life.

What is your dream job? To be a plastic surgeon, because it would be interesting, but I don’t want to go to school that long.

What would your superpower be? I’d want teleportation, so I could travel the world for free and never have to sit on a plane again.

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Double Dunker from Turkey Hill, because it has a lot of different delicious things inside.

Why did you decide to run indoor track? Because other people that I liked were doing it What are you looking forward to most this season? The gains, and finishing my races What events do you hope to run? The 4x800 relay, and Coach Chris said I might do the two mile Favorite shoes to run in: So far Nike or New Balance What is your favorite pre-race snack? Probably a granola bar, just chocolate chip.

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What is your dream vacation?

I would probably go to all of the Major League Baseball stadiums and watch (the teams) play. I would go to Wrigley Field first and Marlins Park in Miami last.

If you won the lottery, what is the first thing you would buy? I would buy a Major League baseball stadium, the Orioles’ field in Baltimore.

What would you do with three wishes? I would wish to be the fastest runner in the world, the best baseball player, and to never get fat.

What would you have as your last meal? Definitely prime rib, I love prime rib.

Favorite movie? My favorite movie is “42.” It’s a baseball movie about Jackie Robinson.

Photos by Dea Celaj, Buzzy Staten, Ben Tran & Amy Wrenn || Reporting by Cecilia Cortez, Ashlee Geraghty, Suzanne Harrison, Alex Rodman, Arabella Saunders & Blair Smith NIGHTHAWK News Magazine / / sports

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