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Echo Wednesday, September 27, 2017
For what it’s WORTH Natalia Caraballo nataliacaraballo@ slpecho.com
Hurricane hits home
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FEATURES
urricanes are common in Puerto Rico, but haven't had a devastating impact until now. When my family and I heard about the category five monster, Maria, heading toward the island we consider our home we were in shock. We worried about all of our family who live there and tried to remain in contact with them as much as we could, making sure they had all the supplies they would need and that they were safe. Throughout most of the week, my house was filled with extreme anxiety. I wasn’t able to focus at school because I could only think of my family in Puerto Rico. Wednesday Sept. 20 came, the day I was dreading. Watching the place where I grew up and where my family lived being destroyed by this storm was devastating. The aftermath was chaotic. Trying to get a hold of my family members seemed impossible. I didn’t get to hear from my step aunt until Friday night, and we still haven't heard from other family members. Not knowing the status of my family was stressful and terrifying. A few cell towers were torn down during the storm, which made comWhat’s the munication difficult all POINT? over the island. My Students grandma should be aware of global had to drive 30 events and minutes lend a helping just to get a signal hand on her phone. The entire island was out of power and would take months to recover. What I am still struggling with is seeing the amount of destruction on the island and it becoming almost unrecognizable from my childhood home. Seeing small businesses like my grandfather’s, that have fought and worked hard for their place, becoming destroyed is devastating. Seeing everything I knew in ruins greatly impacted my family and me. My hope for the future is for people to step up and help. By donating to organizations like ConPRmetidos and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), can help those restore what they have lost. Participating in local hurricane relief events or getting a group of students to help with hurricane relief aid would also be very helpful. I am thankful for my friends and family who have supported me through this difficult time and I’m hopeful that my family in Puerto Rico can have a successful recovery from the hurricane.
In the SPOTLIGHT
My cousin was in Florida (during the hurricane) and she had to stay and work at the hospital. Ella Thomas, sophomore
Junior experiences different lifestyle Owen Goddard returns home from living abroad Owen Goddard, junior
What was your initial reaction to going to Ghana? My initial reaction was that this is amazing and I was all for it. (My family) had been talking three years prior about looking into possibly living overseas. My parents did an overseas stay when I was born and they’ve always wanted to do it as a family. I think we were all very excited that (this trip) was going to happen. What was the hardest adjustment to living in Ghana? There are so many differences and adjustments, like adjusting to a new school or new people. My class size was 50 kids compared to whatever I had here. New cultures, new food, new house. Living in Ghana was almost like restarting my life as a 15-year old. It was crazy, and there were a lot of things that I had heard about that were going to be changes and adjustments. Did it make you want to continue to live abroad in the future, did you have any thoughts on wanting to do it again? I think living abroad is definitely something I would consider. I love traveling.
Used with written permission by Owen Goddard Cultural representation: Students from the IB school represent their home country by dressing in their native clothing.
In my lifetime I’ve been to 13 rural countries. But living overseas was a one time thing, once was kind of enough for me. Are you still connected with the people you met during your trip? There are a few kids that I’ve been snapchatting with on a weekly basis. There are great friends and mentors I'll continue skyping with. If you could have one takeaway from this experience what would it be? You really can’t describe what it’s like. You can share photos you can tell stories but you really can’t get the full understanding of it unless you've been in Ghana. Do you have one story that stuck with you? When we were in, this was probably October of last year, we went to the festival there. We were coming home from it and turns out my mom left her phone in the taxi so as soon as we realize it I get on my computer and phone and trace it. So now we’re taking a different taxi following this
taxi. So we get out and it’s me and my dad at this point my mom went back home and were literally walking through this village. And the locals there — they are in these metal box houses. (We) were knocking on doors asking “do you know this taxi driver?” Probably for an hour, (the tracer) says it’s 500 feet or whatever away. There’s like a dozen of these houses in that distance. We couldn’t find it that night, we gave up and it is probably midnight at this point. (We) wake up the next morning and my mom is devastated at this point. The next day she ends up finding (her phone). What was the Ghanaian lifestyle like? I really got an understanding of what the Ghanaian local life style was like when I was there. People are living in these boxes that are so small — a lug room house. That was a really an important part. It gave me a really good understanding of how fortunate I am and also you know how basic their lifestyles are. Annabella Strathman annabellastrathmanr@slpecho.com
Echo named as 2017 Pacemaker finalist
Park’s newspaper selected along with 49 other publications Tenzin Gyaldatsang tenzingyaldatsang@slpecho.com
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enior managing editor Atticus Raasch said the Echo staff deserved to be named one of the National Scholastic Press Association (NSPA) 2017 Pacemaker finalists. “I think that everyone on staff really deserves it and it just shows how committed we all are to producing good, real and true content,” Raasch said. According to the National Scholastic Press Association, the Association named 49 student newspapers and magazines as finalists for the 2017 Pacemaker competition. Senior co-editor-in-chief Mimi Fhima said all of the staff’s hard work presents itself. “It feels really amazing to know that our work is being seen by other journalists and
being recognized as one of the top school newspapers in the country,” Fhima said. “It feels really good to know that all the hard work that we put into the paper is paying off.” Echo adviser Lori Keekley said an important part of Echo is the staff doesn’t produce the newspaper for any awards. Keekley said the newspaper has been a Pacemaker finalist six times. “The students don’t do it for the awards. Students work very hard to cover the student body and robustly and make sure that they get the best product possible,” Keekley. “So the students getting the awards are great but we still concentrate on what we do on a daily basis.” Fhima said despite having received the award on several occasions, each time the staff
Photo Maddie Lund
Working hard: Senior Echo managing editor Atticus Raasch works with senior content editors Sam Birnberg and Hanna Leff to improve their page designs. feels proud to be recognized. “I regard the award pretty highly,” Fhima said. “While we have gotten a few Pacemakers before every time we keep it in the same regard.” Senior managing editor Alec Pittman said he feels prideful for the newspaper’s staff as a whole when thinking on the Echo's achievement. “I feel tremendously proud of not only the efforts of our adviser Ms. Keekley, but of all editors and staffers,” Pittman said. “I have had on incred-
ible experience on Echo” According to the NSPA, this competition recognized only print newspapers. The Echo was also a finalist in the April Online Pacemaker competition. Senior co-editor-in-chief Annabella Strathman said getting recognized with the award is a motivator for the staff. "Although we don’t do it for the awards, knowing that our hard work is being acknowledged feels great,” Strathman said.